Health Profession Corporations

A Health Profession Corporation (HPC) means a corporation incorporated under the Business Corporations Act that holds a valid certificate of authorization issued under the Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA) or the Health Professions Procedural Code, Schedule 2.

It is not permitted to run dental fees for services through a HPC until a certificate of authorization has been issued by the College.

Certificates of authorization are renewed annually.

Before you can apply for an HPC certificate of authorization, you need to:

have a registered corporation under the Ontario Business Corporations Act; and
been issued a corporation number by the Ontario Business Registry

Apply for an HPC Certificate of Authorization

You can apply for a Health Profession Corporation (HPC) online through the RCDSO Portal. Applications by mail, email or fax will no longer be accepted after June 30, 2023.

Once logged in to the RCDSO Portal, select “Applications” in the drop down menu under “My Account” and navigate through the steps to generate a new HPC application.

The fee for submitting an HPC application is $750. The fee is non-refundable.

Prior to submitting your HPC application, please ensure that your application meets the following criteria:

The person completing the application is a Director and/or Officer (must be a dentist and member of the College) who is authorized to sign on behalf of the Corporation.
Each Director and/or Officer (must be a dentist and member of the College) of the Corporation has executed an Undertaking in Form C.
Each Dentist Shareholder (must be a member of the College) of the Corporation has executed an Undertaking in Form D.

To complete the HPC application online, the following documentation is required:

The Undertakings in Form C and D have to be signed, dated and witnessed. Once completed, the forms can be submitted as an attachment in the Document Upload section of the application.
Corporation Profile Report of the Corporation (also known as Entity Profile Report) indicates that the corporation is active. The report must be current-dated (valid for 30 days from the date generated and is typically 7+ pages in length). It can be obtained from the following website: Ontario Business Registry
Articles of Incorporation / Articles of Amalgamation / Articles of Continuance (whichever is applicable)

* You will not be able to submit your application if the required documentation has not been uploaded

IMPORTANT: All certificates of authorization expire on August 31 of each year regardless of the initial date of issuance and must be renewed annually. If the certificate of authorization is not renewed before August 31, it will be revoked effective September 1 for failure to comply with renewal requirements.

Additional Information/Documentation

HPC Naming Criteria

Click here to learn more about the naming criteria for a health profession corporation.

HPC Optional Naming Pre-approval Form

Download the HPC Name Pre-approval Form.

Revised HPC Certificate of Authorization

Download the Application for a Revised HPC Certificate of Authorization.

Notice of Change of Shareholders for HPC

You are required to notify the College when there are changes to your corporation's shareholders. Download the Notice of Change of Shareholders Form and Declaration and send the completed forms to the College.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I obtain legal or accounting advice with respect to my application? Can my certificate of authorization be back-dated? Can my application for a certificate of authorization be expedited for an additional fee? Can I use my HPC without a certificate of authorization issued by the College?

It is not permitted to run dental fees for services through a health profession corporation (HPC) until such time that a certificate of authorization has been issued by the College. You can continue to practice dentistry and bill for services and fees as an individual until your HPC certificate of authorization issued. Having a health profession corporation is optional and it has no impact on your ability to practice dentistry as a member of the RCDSO.

Can a Health Profession Corporation or a Holding Company own shares of another Health Profession Corporation? Who can hold non-voting shares in an HPC? Are there any restrictions, if any, on business the corporation may carry on? What happens if I amalgamate?

Upon amalgamation the predecessor corporations cease to exist and a new certificate of authorization is required. You should submit a new application for a certificate of authorization for the newly amalgamated corporation.

The application and the supporting documentation can only be submitted by the purchaser/new director after the amalgamation takes place.

A cancellation notice of the predecessor certificate(s) may be submitted together with the application and the supporting documentation.

Can I obtain a certificate of authorization for a Federal Corporation?

A certificate of authorization cannot be obtained for federally incorporated corporations.

The rules governing health profession corporations are provincial and set out under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 and the Business Corporations Act, 1991. In order to satisfy the legislative requirements governing an Ontario dentistry corporation, the Corporate Type should be “Ontario Business Corp”. In addition, the Jurisdiction on the current-dated Corporate Profile Report should be “Ontario”.