Application Procedure
Part I (MCQ) and Part II (OSCE) Application Forms
You may choose to take one or both parts of the Qualifying Examination in a given session. There are two different application forms for Part I (MCQ) and Part II (OSCE). If you wish to take the full Qualifying Examination (both Parts I and II) in Spring 2010 or Fall 2010 you need to complete and submit separate applications for each part. Application forms are available by clicking here:
Application Form Part I (MCQ)
Application Form Part II (OSCE)
The application form for each part must be completely and accurately filled in each time you apply to take the examination. You must use the most current application form which indicates the version code, i.e., “EMCQ1108” for Part I (MCQ) and “EOSCE1108” for Part II (OSCE), if taking the examination in English or “Fqcm1108” for Part I (MCQ) and Fecos1108” for Part II (OSCE), if taking the examination in French. The version codes can be found in the bottom right-hand corner of the forms, and are available on the website. The Qualifying Examination Application Checklist on page two of each application form must also be completed and signed before the application form is sent to PEBC.
PEBC is developing an online application process. Please visit the PEBC website regularly for updates.
Each application you submit must indicate the following:
• your chosen examination date
• preferred language for each part
• preferred location for each part, including a second and third choice of location for Part II (OSCE)
• your first and last names (these names must appear on your birth certificate or your Canadian citizenship card or your Canadian Permanent Resident card and will be the names that will appear on the PEBC registration certificate)
Please note that application forms cannot be delivered in person at the PEBC office.
Please keep us informed about any changes to your contact information (address, telephone number, email address), by advising us in writing by fax, mail or email.
| Notice to First Time Applicants to PEBC:
You must submit a signed, witnessed* photocopy of your birth certificate, Canadian citizenship card (Parliament building side) or Canadian Permanent Resident card. The names on your application must appear on your birth certificate, Canadian citizenship card or Canadian Permanent Resident card.
If you choose to use your married name (or if you have legally changed your name), you must submit a certified copy of the marriage certificate (or legal name change document) together with your application.
If you cannot provide a signed, witnessed* photocopy of your birth certificate, Canadian citizenship card or Canadian Permanent Resident card, you must submit a statutory declaration made before a notary public, commissioner for oaths or lawyer, stating that the names shown on your application are those given to you at birth. You must also submit certified copies (done by a notary public, commissioner for oaths, or a lawyer) of two other official documents (e.g., Canadian driver’s license, health card, social insurance number, or major credit card) bearing those same names.
*See the list below for acceptable witnesses. |
If you have sent your birth, marriage, citizenship, and/or permanent resident certificates previously, you do not need to re-submit them.
You will need two, identical, photographs (with date taken, stamped or written on back by a professional photographer), for each application. If you are applying for both Parts I and II, you will need four photographs. They must have been taken within twelve months of the examination date and they must be the same size and quality as passport photos. They cannot be photocopies or digital prints and must be identical.
Glue one photo in the space provided on each application form you are submitting. Staple one photo to the top left-hand corner of each application form.
Once the photographs are attached you will need to have your signature on your application witnessed by an appropriate individual. Acceptable witnesses include:
• the dean or other academic member of your Canadian pharmacy school
• a registrar of a Canadian pharmacy regulatory authority
• a Canadian pharmacist
• a notary public
• a commissioner of oaths
• anyone who may serve as a passport guarantor in Canada who has known you for at least two years and is in one of the following professional categories: lawyer, medical doctor, dentist, chartered accountant, professional engineer, bank manager, school principal, member of parliament or member of provincial parliament.
Your witness must also sign across the front of the attached (glued) photograph on each application.
Enclose a cheque or money order for the total applicable examination fee(s) in Canadian funds. Make it payable to The Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC). All payments from outside Canada must be made in Canadian funds by international bank draft or money order, and drawn on a Canadian bank. Please do not send post-dated cheques.
Completed application forms (including checklists on reverse) and all supporting documents must be received no later than the application deadline date (see General Information). Applications that are received after the deadline date will NOT be processed.
| Importance of Meeting Application Deadline:
It is important to ensure that your application form and fee for either part of the Qualifying Examination are received by the deadline date (see General Information), even if your eligibility to take either part of the Qualifying Examination is conditional until receipt of transcripts, confirmation of graduation or required remediation. Please do not wait for PEBC to acknowledge receipt of the above documentation, prior to sending in your application(s).
Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted even if the pending documentation has been received prior to the examination dates.
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Overseas candidates who require a visa to take the examination in Canada are strongly encouraged to apply for their visa prior to the application deadline date. Candidates are not eligible for a refund due to a visa refusal, unless they have withdrawn from the examination either before the application deadline date or at least 8 weeks before the date of the examination.
Please do NOT contact the PEBC office by telephone, fax or email to confirm receipt of your application or to check your examination location assignment. If you wish to know whether PEBC has received your application, you must do one of the following:
• send it by a courier service or by Canada Post (Security Registered), and request an Acknowledgement of Receipt
• send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (within Canada) or a self-addressed envelope with International Reply coupons (outside of Canada) and the Acknowledgment of Receipt of Application Form #100-Q and the form will be returned to you by mail. If the form is received without appropriate return envelope and postage, it will not be acknowledged.
Application receipt acknowledgement will NOT be provided by phone, fax or email.
Note that the office's return of your Acknowledgment Form #100-Q does NOT ensure that your application is accepted; it simply indicates that PEBC has received your examination application.
| Important Note Regarding Application Acceptance
The only acknowledgment of acceptance of your application, will be the issuance of one PEBC Identification /Card of Admission for each Part of the examination for which you have applied, which will be mailed approximately 2 to 3 weeks before the examination.
At that time, you will also be advised of the exact times and locations of your assigned placement for each Part, together with other important information.
The ID/Cards of Admission for Part I (MCQ) and Part II (OSCE) examinations are each mailed separately.
If you do not receive this information at least 1 week prior to the examination, please contact us in writing, by email to pebcinfo@pebc.ca.
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Examination Centres
The Pharmacist Qualifying Examination, Parts I and II, is held each Spring and Fall at approved locations in Canada.
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Part I Spring and Fall: Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax and St. John's
Additional Spring location in Ontario: Ottawa
Part II Spring: Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, London (Ontario),Toronto, Hamilton, Kingston, Ottawa,
Montreal (bilingual), Halifax and St. John's
Part II Fall: Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Hamilton, London (Ontario), Ottawa and Montreal (bilingual)
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| Note: The Board reserves the right to cancel the examination at any of the stated locations if there are not enough applicants for that location or for other reasons. |
Assignment to Examination Centres
When you apply for the Qualifying Examination, Part II (OSCE), you must indicate three different choices of examination sites. If you do not indicate three different choices, or if you indicate examination sites not offered for the particular session you are applying for, then your location will be assigned by the PEBC office.
| Note: PEBC reserves the right to assign candidates to locations as necessary. |
Whenever possible, PEBC will try to assign your first choice location or the site nearest to the address shown on your application. The location may also be determined by the date of receipt of your application. If there are more applicants than space available for a specific location, applicants will be assigned to one of their alternate choices or another reasonable location. In this case, an email or mailed notice of the change of location will be sent at least one month in advance of the examination.
| Note: PEBC will contact you if your selected location is not available. Therefore, it is recommended that you NOT make your travel arrangements more than one month in advance of the examination date(s). |
Changing Examination Centres
Part I (MCQ)
To change the Part I examination centre requested on your examination application, you must send a request in writing, with an administrative fee of $50 (cheque, money order or bank draft), to the PEBC office. All payments from outside of Canada must be made in Canadian funds by international bank draft or money order, and drawn on a Canadian bank. Payment must be received no later than:
April 5 for the May 2010 examination,
or
September 13 for the November 2010 examination.
Changing Examination Centres
Part II (OSCE)
To change the Part II examination centres requested on your application, you must send a request in writing, with an administrative fee of $100 (cheque, money order or bank draft), to the PEBC office. All payments from outside of Canada must be made in Canadian funds by international bank draft or money order, and drawn on a Canadian bank. Payment must be received no later than:
March 24 for the May 2010 examination,
or
September 1 for the November 2010 examination.
| Note: A request for a site change will be accommodated only if space is available at the requested location. |
Bilingual Examination
The Pharmacist Qualifying Examination is available in both official languages: French and English.
For Part I, if you wish to have a bilingual examination booklet (English and French), you must indicate on your application, that you wish to write the examination in French.
To take Part II in French, you must register for the bilingual centre, which is in Montreal. If applying for the Montreal centre, you must specify, in the area provided on the application, whether you wish to take the examination in French or English. You are then required to complete the examination in the language you have selected.
Special Needs Testing Arrangements
| Note: Your request and supporting documentation must be provided with each application form submitted. |
If you have a physical impairment, or other disability which substantially limits one or more major life and work activities, you may make a request for special needs accommodation, which must be submitted at the same time as your examination application. All requests for accommodation for special needs testing arrangements should be submitted to the Registrar-Treasurer and are subject to review and approval. Confidentiality will be maintained.
In addition, if you use assistive devices such as hearing aids or a wheelchair or any other assistive devices, then you must also submit a written request together with the appropriate documentation and application form. Should the need for an assistive device arise after submission of the application, you must notify PEBC immediately.
You must provide a request letter, which clearly states the nature of your disability and its severity, and the nature of special arrangements requested. Your request must be accompanied by an official, original letter (on office stationery) from a qualified professional appropriate for evaluating the disability. It is your responsibility to provide acceptable documentation.
The intent of the official documentation is to provide current supporting documentation, including:
• details of the disability, including a professionally-recognized diagnosis, diagnostic procedures, test results and other findings in support of the diagnosis
• history, time frame and assessment of current functioning
• description of the current functional limitation due to the stated disability and its impact on daily life and work activities
• specific recommendations for testing accommodation and why these are needed
• name, address, telephone number and qualifications/credentials of the professional expert.
| Note: An independent medical or other assessment of the candidate’s disability and testing needs may be required by PEBC. |
PEBC will assess such requests on an individual basis and, if deemed appropriate, will offer reasonable testing accommodations. However, NO change will be made in the examination date, content or PEBC rules and policies. You will be required to sign an acknowledgement of the agreement reached with PEBC, in advance of the examination date.
PEBC reserves the right to assign the examination centre(s) where the accommodations can be offered, as certain accommodations may not be available at some examination centres. This may require that a candidate accept assignment to a centre other than his or her preferred centre choice(s).
Since arrangements for some accommodations may have significant cost and other resource implications, a candidate who has signed an agreement to the conditions of an accommodation will be bound by those conditions. Once special testing arrangements have been confirmed, cancellations are not permitted and the examination fee cannot be refunded.
Withdrawal/Refund Policies
| Note: You CANNOT transfer your application or fee from one session to the next. For example, if you have applied to take the May examination and you decide instead to take the November examination, your application and fee for the May examination is treated as a withdrawal and you need to re-apply for the November examination. |
If you withdraw or are absent from the examination, part of the examination fee for each application will be refunded according to the following conditions:
(i) If your notice of withdrawal is received, in writing, by fax or mail (including email), in the PEBC office on or before the application deadline (see General Information) an administrative fee of $100 for each examination application, will be charged. Your full fee less $100 will be refunded for each application.
(ii) If you withdraw after the application deadline and up to 8 weeks before the date of the examination,
April 2 for the May 2010 examination,
or
September 10 for the November 2010 examination,
an administrative fee of 50% of the fee for each examination application will be charged. 50% of your fee will be refunded for each application.
(iii) If you withdraw less than eight weeks before the examination, your full fee for each examination application is forfeited.
(iv) Absence because of certified illness, emergency, bereavement or failure to graduate, will be considered case by case. Refunds will be considered but are subject to a minimum $100 administrative fee.
When you request a refund, you must return your PEBC Identification / Card of Admission (if issued), along with appropriate supporting documents (e.g., original medical certificate, etc., within thirty days of the examination). Refunds are processed after the examination session. After a withdrawal, when you re-apply for a future examination session, you must submit a new application form with new photographs and the necessary fee. There is a processing charge of $20 for refunds prepared in the form of a money order (refunds for overseas cannot be processed in the form of a cheque). This amount will be deducted from the total amount of the refund.
Please note that candidates are not eligible for a refund due to a visa refusal, unless they have withdrawn from the examination either before the application deadline date or at least 8 weeks before the date of the examination.
Withdrawal/Absence for Special Circumstances
If unplanned incidents arise immediately before or during the examination or before dismissal from the examination, the Presiding Officer (Part I) or Chief Administrator (Part II) is authorized by the Board to make decisions regarding admission to or continuation through the examination, at his/her discretion.
If you are unable to attend an examination sitting or complete the examination because of illness or for a compassionate reason (e.g., bereavement), you must immediately notify the PEBC office. If the matter arises on the day of the examination or just before, you must immediately notify all of the following:
• the PEBC office
• the Presiding Officer/Chief Administrator or examination staff in the assigned examination centre by calling the emergency contact number on your Notice of Examination
Candidates are strongly encouraged not to attempt the examination and to make an appropriate withdrawal if, prior to the examination, they are ill or have extraordinary circumstances, including bereavement, that may affect their performance in the examination.
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Note: Petitions for special consideration received more than seven calendar days after the examination (e.g. upon receipt of a notice of an unsuccessful examination result) will NOT be considered.
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Any request for a refund or for another consideration must include documentation verifying the circumstances. The written request, together with appropriate documentation, must be received by the PEBC office no later than 7 calendar days after the examination.
If absent due to illness, you must provide an original medical certificate, verifying that you were examined at the time of the illness. The date of the certificate must be appropriate for or match the examination date.
If absent due to bereavement, you must provide a copy of the death certificate, verifying that the bereavement was at the same time as the examination.
Refunds will be considered for absences due to special circumstances but are subject to a minimum $100 administrative fee.