Frequently Asked Questions about Membership

Yes, there are. For a complete list of the different types of membership, please click here.

There are many! Please visit the CPA Membership Benefits page to get the detailed list of great benefits and services.

For a complete list of CPA Membership Fees, please visit the Membership Fees page.

Please click here to start your membership application process through our fast, safe and secure online system. Steps are provided to assist you in becoming part a member of CPA on the Join Today! webpage.

Please upload a copy of any document from your university, which indicates your highest level of education obtained. This document must include ALL of the below requirements. If your documentation does not meet the below criteria, your application will be denied.

1. Your full name
2. Your university name
3. Your complete program of study (e.g. Bachelor of Arts in Psychology)
4. The year your degree was conferred OR your active status in the current academic year

If you are an active student, please provide documentation such as a schedule, an enrollment verification letter, or an unofficial transcript. These documents must meet the criteria outlined above.

All documentation must be submitted in English or French.

If you were educated outside of North America, please submit a WES Assessment of your degree.

Financial documentation, such as student loan forms, is not sufficient as they do not indicate your active status.

CPA Sections are the primary agents through which the particular and special needs of members are met and interests served, and have the power to initiate and undertake activities of relevance to its members, draft position papers on topics of relevance to the Section, initiate policy statements in areas of expertise, organize meetings within CPA, make specific representation to external agencies or organizations, if it has received the approval of the Board of Directors to do so. For more information, please visit our CPA Sections Page.

Yes, you can enroll in a CPA Section online, in several ways:

• when completing the online Membership Renewal application;
• when completing the New Membership application form; or
• as a paid CPA Member/Affiliate, you can click on Membership Profile in the Members Only Area to enroll in a section at any time.

Please contact the CPA Member Service Centre at membership@cpa.ca or by telephone 613-237-2144 (Toll Free 1-888-472-0657) ext. 324 if you need any assistance.

Your CPA Membership is valid for one calendar year. The CPA Membership year runs from January 1st to December 31st.

Yes, you may cancel your membership at any time. However, please note that CPA Membership fees are 100% non-refundable, non-transferable and may not be pro-rated.

CPA Membership Renewal for 2025 begins in December 2024. If you were a member with CPA this past year, you can renew your membership by using the online  Membership Application Form.

There are 2 Scenarios in this case:
1. You have renewed your membership with CPA for 2025: in this scenario you cannot change your Category to a Section Associate. You can change your category in the following membership year, 2026.

2. You have not yet renewed your membership with CPA for 2025: in this scenario you can change your category to a Section Associate by contacting the CPA Member Service Center at membership@cpa.ca.

You can find the renewal cost by visiting the Membership Fees page.

Yes, you can find your receipts in the Members Only Area within the Membership Profile.  You will find it under the My Profile drop-down, called the “Account Statement”.

If you require a copy of your receipt for an earlier year not listed, please send an email to the Member Service Centre membership@cpa.ca or call the toll free number 1-888-472-0657 ext. 324.

You can renew your membership for the current calendar year on the Renew Now! Webpage or by opening the membership renewal link where you will log in using your username and password.

Please contact the Member Service Centre at membership@cpa.ca or by calling 613-237-2144 (Toll Free 1-888-472-0657) ext. 324 for any assistance.

Your receipt will be automatically emailed to you after you complete your payment online.

A lapsed membership occurs when one full membership year has passed since you were a fully paid member in good standing. To reactivate your membership with the CPA, you will need to contact the Member Service Centre at membership@cpa.ca or by telephone 613-237-2144 (Toll Free 1-888-472-0657) ext. 324.

If you graduated with your Masters or PhD (in Psychology, or a related field) in 2024 then YES you are eligible for the ECY1 Membership type.

No. Because you are continuing your studies, you are still considered a student and would apply for the Student Affiliate rate.

Yes, you are eligible for the Early Career Year 1 membership, provided your PhD is in Psychology or a related field.

Yes, provided you either:

1. Graduated with your Masters or PhD in Psychology or a related field in 2023

OR

1. Were a CPA Member under the category ECY1 for the 2024 membership year

Yes. You will be required to provide proof that your Parental Leave is taking place during the 2025 calendar year. See below for Parental Leave document requirements.

If you are taking a year off to apply to graduate school, then you can apply for the Bachelor Gap Year Affiliate category.

If you have completed your studies, you will apply for the Special Affiliate category.

You may not apply for Early Career Year 1 as this category is for students who have graduated with a Masters or a PhD in Psychology.

A Bachelor’s degree does not qualify you for full membership with the CPA, and the Early Career Year 1 and Early Career Year 2 membership types are part of a graduated fee structure that bridges the Student Affiliate to full CPA Member status.

Early Career Year 1 membership is valid for one year. At the end of the membership year (December 31^st) your membership type will automatically change to Early Career Year 2.

The same will happen at the end of the next membership year: your Early Career Year 2 membership will automatically change to CPA Member.

Yes, you would still qualify for insurance with BMS if you choose to upgrade your membership to Early Career Year 1 or Early Career Year 2.

If your membership type is Parental Leave, your Psychology Practitioner Liability Insurance policy includes 12 months of Extended Reporting Period (ERP) coverage at no additional charge.

This means that if you are participating in the insurance program and have discontinued practice because of maternity or parental leave, you will remain protected for up to 12 months following the expiry of your policy. Note that you must renew your insurance and have an active policy in place before returning to practice.

See BMS Insurance page - https://www.psychology.bmsgroup.com/faqs.html

Yes, to retain access to BMS insurance, you must upgrade your membership to CPA Member before you return to work. To do so, please contact the CPA Membership Service Center either by email at membership@cpa.ca or by phone: 613-237-2144 (Toll Free 1-888-472-0657) ext. 1324.

A Parental Leave membership is only valid for one calendar year and cannot bridge 2 years. If your parental leave carries over to the next calendar year, you may choose which year to apply for Parental Leave membership.

If you are upgrading your membership type from Student Affiliate to Early Career Year 1, you are required to submit a document from your university that clearly shows:

• Your full name
• Your program of study
• The year of completion (2024)

If you are looking to register for the Parental Leave you are required to submit a copy of the notice of your parental leave presented to your workplace which outlines the start and end date of your parental leave or the duration of your leave.

There are 2 Scenarios in this case:

You have renewed your membership with CPA for 2025: in this scenario you cannot change your Category to a Section Associate. You can change your category in the following membership year, 2026.

You have not yet renewed your membership with CPA for 2025: in this scenario you can change your category to a Section Associate by contacting the CPA Member Service Center at membership@cpa.ca

Yes, you can change your Category from Section Associate to CPA Member or Affiliate by contacting the CPA Member Service Center at membership@cpa.ca

Student Affiliates are students enrolled full-time or part-time in a Bachelors, Masters or Doctoral Program, residing in Canada or the United States, who provide proof of enrolment, in a psychology program or a field of psychology, at a recognized university, for the current academic year. Those working on their Post Doc are not eligible for Student Affiliate Status, but are eligible for Early Career Year 1, 2 or full Membership depending on the year they graduated.

The Student Affiliates rate is currently $75 plus applicable taxes.  Please visit the Members Fee page for all other fees.

You can find more information on the Student Section here.

You can become involved in the student section by becoming a Student Affiliate and then join the Student Section.

You can log in to your profile through the Members Only Area. Under the “Home” dropdown, select “Member Benefits” to read more about your member benefits and discounts.

CPA does not provide license to practice in your Province/Territory. Contact the Provincial/Territorial Regulatory Body of your province to found out more about licensing.

You can find the Provincial and Territorial licensing requirements on a detailed chart by clicking here.

Yes, as a CPA Member/Affiliate you can access the CPA journals that are available online through your Membership Profile using the APA PsychNet search tool.

CPA Members receive Psynopsis magazine both electronically and by mail; Student Affiliates only receive it electronically.

If you are a current CPA Member and/or Affiliate and you are not receiving your publications, please contact the Member Service Centre via email membership@cpa.ca or by phone.

You can find online versions of the current or past issues of Psynopsis on the Psynopsis page.

Individuals are required on the CPA membership/affiliateship application or renewal forms to respond to ethics questions pertaining to whether they have been sanctioned for unethical behaviour or convicted for serious criminal offence. The expression “self-disclosures of unethical or criminal conduct” refers to any disclosure of unethical behaviour or serious criminal offence made voluntarily in completing a CPA membership/affiliateship application or renewal form. Such disclosures are reviewed by the Chair of the Committee on Ethics or its Review Subcommittee, as applicable, only if it involves the disclosure of a serious criminal offence for which the individual has been convicted and a pardon has not been granted or the disclosure of unethical conduct for which the individual was sanctioned by a regulatory body, licensing board or any other professional, scientific or administrative body.

A serious criminal offence is defined by the CPA’s Rules and Procedures for Dealing with Reports and Complaints of Unethical Behaviour (found here: https://cpa.ca/aboutcpa/committees/ethics/rulesandproceduresreportsofunethicalbehaviour/ ) as an infraction of the Criminal Code or related statutes that has resulted in a peace bond, a fine of $5000 or more, probation, or any period of post-conviction imprisonment, and would include conviction of any offence classified as an indictable or hybrid offence for which a pardon has not been granted.

A sanction is any condition or penalty imposed by a disciplinary body (e.g., regulatory/licensing/certification body, research ethics board, complaint structure within a university) because of conduct that was judged by that disciplinary body to be unprofessional or unethical. Such sanctions may include, but are not limited to, fines, loss of funding, demotion or loss of position, required education, required supervision, or temporary or permanent revocation of a license or certification to practice.

All Members and Affiliates of the CPA are required to adhere to the principles, values, and standards of the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (found here: https://cpa.ca/aboutcpa/committees/ethics/codeofethics/), and the CPA has the right to refuse or revoke membership/affiliateship of persons not meeting this requirement.

The Association’s Director of Membership brings a need for review of the application or renewal to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or the CEO’s designate who forwards the matter with all related information to the Chair of the Committee on Ethics (CoE) for review. The Chair determines whether to: (i) make a recommendation directly to the CEO; or (ii) refer the matter to the Committee’s Review Subcommittee for a formal review of the unethical behaviour and recommendation to the CEO. In either case, the individual who reported to have been sanctioned or convicted may be asked for further information by the CPA Ethics Officer or the Chair of the CoE to help determine whether the unethical behaviour or criminal offence is inconsistent with the expectations set out in the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (found here: https://cpa.ca/aboutcpa/committees/ethics/codeofethics/). This review process can take between 6-8 weeks.

No, the Committee on Ethics reviews each disclosure made by individuals who apply for membership/affiliateship or renew the same on a case-by-case basis. They make recommendations based on a number of factors, including (but not limited to) its seriousness (e.g., as defined above for a conviction, or whether license or status with an organization was suspended or revoked), the time since it occurred, whether there has been more than one incident, and fulfilment of any penalties or conditions.

Depending on the nature of the infraction/sanction, the Committee on Ethics might request information related to the time since the offence/sanction, number of offences, behaviour since the offence, seriousness of the sanction or sentence, whether the practitioner’s license was suspended or revoked, and/or fulfilment of any penalties or conditions of probation.  Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of the information that could be requested, but serves as an example of the types of information that may be needed in these cases.

Once the review of a self-disclosure has been completed, the Committee’s Chair or Review Subcommittee, as applicable, makes a recommendation to the Association’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or the CEO’s designate about whether the relevant membership/affiliateship application or renewal should be approved, denied, or made provisional under specified conditions and, in the case of an existing Member or Affiliate, whether further action is required (e.g., temporary conditions on continued CPA membership or affiliateship, recommendation that the Member or Affiliate be suspended or expelled from the Association). The CEO then determines whether to uphold the recommendation made by the Committee’s Chair or Review Subcommittee. The CPA Board of Directors is responsible for making the final determination when the CEO does not agree with the recommendation from the Committee on Ethics.

Any concerns related to the decision made by the CPA should be forwarded to ethics@cpa.ca.

Your username is your personal unique email. Please contact the Member Services Centre via email membership@cpa.ca or by telephone at 613-237-2144 (Toll Free 1-888-472-0657) ext. 324 to update your profile with your new email.

You can click on “Forgot your password?” on the login page. A password will be sent to your unique email.

Your contact information can be changed at the time of your membership renewal or by logging into your account in the Membership Profile in the Members Only Area page, or by contacting CPA by email via email at membership@cpa.ca or by telephone 613-237-2144 (Toll Free 1-888-472-0657) ext. 324.

Please contact the CPA Membership Service Center either by email at membership@cpa.ca or by phone: 613-237-2144 (Toll Free 1-888-472-0657) ext. 324.