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From RP (Qualifying) to RP, on one page
What CRPO requires to reach full registration: the exam, 450 direct client contact hours, 100 supervision hours, the time limits, the transfer, and what comes after.
Study aid, not legal advice.Last verified against the official sources linked below on .
The three requirements
- Hours count only once your psychotherapy program began (s. 6 (7)), and every Qualifying position must be supervised.
| Requirement | What CRPO requires |
|---|---|
| The exam | Pass the Registration Examination (s. 6 (1), para. 2). |
| Direct client contact | 450 hours, confirmed in writing and approved by CRPO staff. |
| Clinical supervision | 100 hours on those client hours, at least 50 individual or dyadic; groups of 8 supervisees at most. |
What counts as direct client contact
- Counts: therapy in person, by phone or video, even by email with care; clinical intake that shapes the therapy; assessment within a clinical interaction; facilitating or co-facilitating.
- A 45 or 50 minute session counts as one hour.
- Does not count: observing without taking part, record-keeping, reports and administration, mostly administrative testing, and supervision itself.
Your clinical supervisor
- In good standing with a college whose members may practise psychotherapy.
- At least five years' extensive clinical experience since graduating.
- CRPO's independent practice hours: 1,000 client hours and 150 supervision hours.
- 30 hours of directed learning in supervision (coursework if they began on or after April 1, 2026), and CRPO's learning module.
- Informal peer supervision does not count.
The time limits
- First exam attempt within 24 months of your Qualifying certificate (s. 6 (4) (a)).
- Pass within three attempts, the third after any upgrading required, inside the limit below (s. 6 (4) (b), (c)).
- Every requirement within five years of the certificate; extensions only in extenuating circumstances.
- Not actively pursuing them? Tell CRPO within 30 days, or the certificate may expire.
- Quality Assurance within two months of first registering; renew each year by the end of March, with liability insurance.
The transfer, and after
- Once eligible, you have 30 days to request the transfer in your CRPO account and pay the fees.
- Late: a late fee and 30 more days, then administrative suspension.
- Until then the title is "Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)" or "RP (Qualifying)", never "(Q)".
- As an RP, practise with clinical supervision until 1,000 client hours and 150 supervision hours (s. 8 (1)); at least 25 of the further 50 individual or dyadic.
- Then at least 750 hours of practice in every three years (s. 8 (1), para. 2).
The exam, 450 and 100, within five years; then transfer within 30 days.