The PGME completion of training certificate is a special document embossed with the name, crest and seal of the University of Toronto and includes the signatures of the Program Director/Supervisor, the Department/Division Chair and the Vice Dean Medical Education. It also includes the trainee’s name, the start and end dates of the trainee’s PGME program, the name of the PGME program and the date of the PGME certificate issuance.
The PGME certificate is issued to confirm the successful completion of residency or clinical fellowship training. The certificate is issued separately for each program successfully completed; a single certificate does not record multiple programs.
The PGME Office will produce the certificate for registered trainees who have:
Postgraduate Medical Education training certificates are not issued for:
Please see below an overview of PGME policies on certificates in addition to information about obtaining your Postgraduate Medical Training certificate.
The name of the trainee will appear on the PGME certificate as it appears on the CPSO registration record. It is the responsibility of the trainee to ensure that the appearance of their name in the CPSO record is correct prior to the issuance of the PGME certificate.
The name of the fellowship as it appears on completion of training certificate must conform to its appearance in the statement of objectives submitted to the CPSO.
Foreign Governments and organizations sometimes require documents be authenticated before they will accept them. For information about how to have Canadian documents authenticated so that they will be accepted for use abroad, please consult the website of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.
The PGME Office does not issue copies of certificates. Your certificate is a legal document; therefore, the only copy of your certificate is the one that you received. Please take your original certificate to any local Notary Public and they can provide you with a certified copy. (Please note that a Notary Public is a public official who can authenticate documents with a notarial seal. Many lawyers are also Notaries. A Notary Public is not equivalent to a Guarantor. Please contact a local law office in your area.)
The PGME Office can respond to third-party requests for verification of the issuance of the PGME certificate.
The verification function relies on the fact that, under the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, confirmation of a degree, diploma or certificate is public information. This is the only information that the PGME Office can release without the trainee’s explicit consent.
Other information, including confirmation of enrollment, can be released to a third party only with the explicit consent of the trainee.
Unless the certificate is issued to the trainee by the trainee’s postgraduate department as part of a departmental certificate event, the trainee can obtain their certificate in one of the following ways:
The PGME Office will hold the certificate for one year following the date of printing before it is destroyed.
Availability of the certificate:
Office Hours: PGME office hours change over the course of the year. Trainees are encouraged to check office hours before visiting to pick up the certificate.
Trainees who lose or damage their certificate may obtain a replacement. The fee for replacing a certificate is $60.00.
If you make a request to have your certificate delivered to you, it will be sent via courier. The fees are:
Payment in the form of credit card (VISA card or MasterCard only), certified cheque or money order in Canadian funds only must be made payable to the University of Toronto and forwarded to the PGME Office.
All certificates that are couriered will require a signature by the receiving party. Please provide an address where your certificate can be received during business hours (9 AM – 5 PM, Monday – Friday), to avoid delay and returned certificates.
If undeliverable, the Courier Depot may hold the package for 5 days before returning it to the PGME Office. It will then be subject to further payment for another delivery.
Courier services will not deliver to P.O. Boxes. Please include a full street name and number.
If the original certificate has been lost or destroyed:
Payment in the form of credit card (VISA card or MasterCard only), certified cheque or money order in Canadian funds only must be made payable to the University of Toronto and forwarded to the PGME Office.
In the case of a lost or destroyed certificate, you must complete a Declaration and have it signed and sealed by a Notary Public, legally swearing that the original certificate has been lost or destroyed. (Please note that a Notary Public is a public official who can authenticate documents with a notarial seal. Many lawyers are also Notaries. A Notary Public is not equivalent to a Guarantor. Please contact a local law office in your area.)
If you wish to have your Replacement Certificate couriered to you once complete, please see Certificate Delivery. Please make sure to fill out the forms in their entirety before submitting them to the PGME Office. Typical processing time for a Replacement Certificate is approximately 3 weeks upon receipt of documentation and payment.
If the original certificate has been damaged:
Payment in the form of credit card (VISA card or MasterCard only), certified cheque or money order in Canadian funds only must be made payable to the University of Toronto and forwarded to the PGME Office.
Please complete the Replacement Certificate Request Form in its entirety before submitting to the PGME Office (NOTE: if you do not know your student number, you must provide a date of birth and/or SIN Number).
You must return your damaged original certificate to the PGME Office with your completed request forms.
If you wish to have your Replacement Certificate couriered to you once complete, please see Certificate Delivery. Please make sure to fill out the forms in their entirety before submitting them to the PGME Office.
Typical processing time for a Replacement Certificate is approximately 2 weeks upon receipt of documentation and payment.
If the original certificate requires a name change:
In order to obtain a Replacement Certificate printed with a different name, you must first have your name officially changed in the University of Toronto PGME record. Please follow the steps outlined below:
Complete a Change or Correction of Name form. This form must be accompanied by one of the following supporting documents:
Please note:
Once your name has been changed in the PGME record your request for a Replacement Certificate can be processed. You must return your original certificate to the PGME Office with your request for a replacement certificate.
Payment in the form of credit card (VISA card or MasterCard only), certified cheque or money order in Canadian funds only must be made payable to the University of Toronto and forwarded to the PGME Office.
Please complete the Replacement Certificate Request Form in its entirety before submitting to the PGME Office (NOTE: if you do not know your UofT student number, you must provide a date of birth and/or SIN Number).
If you wish to have your Replacement Certificate couriered to you as soon as it is complete, please see Certificate Delivery.
Please make sure to fill out the forms in their entirety before submitting them to the PGME Office. Typical processing time for a Replacement Certificate is approximately 3 weeks upon receipt of documentation and payment.
If the original certificate was not claimed:
Prior to completing a Replacement Certificate Request form, please contact the PGME Office at postgrad.med@utoronto.ca to verify that your certificate was never claimed.
Once you have verified that your certificate was never claimed, please complete the Replacement Certificate Request Form in its entirety before submitting to the PGME Office.
Please note that the PGME Office will hold certificates for one calendar year from the date of completion of training.
Certificates not claimed after one calendar year are destroyed for reasons of security and storage. Reminder letters are mailed to the last recorded address in POWER approximately two months prior to the destruction of the certificate.
Certificates that have been destroyed can be replaced at a cost of $60.00 CDN for each certificate.
Payment in the form of credit card (VISA card or MasterCard only), certified cheque or money order in Canadian funds only must be made payable to the University of Toronto and forwarded to the PGME Office.
If you wish to have your Replacement Certificate couriered to you once complete, please see Certificate Delivery. Please make sure to fill out the forms in their entirety before submitting them to the PGME Office. Typical processing time for a Replacement Certificate is approximately 3 weeks upon receipt of documentation and payment.
If none of the four options above apply to you, please contact the PGME Office at postgrad.med@utoronto.ca .
The PGME Office will hold your replacement certificate for one year following the date of reissue.
The replacement certificate will include the word “Reissued” and the date of re-issuance below the University of Toronto seal.
