Guides
Short answers to the questions candidates ask most about the CRPO Registration Examination and practice in Ontario, each checked against CRPO's and Ontario's official sources and linked to them. Each guide leads to the study module that covers its topic in depth.
The exam
- What is the CRPO registration exam format?The CRPO exam is a 3-hour online test of 10 client simulations (9 scored), each a scenario then about 5 to 8 Information Gathering and Decision Making sections.
- How is the CRPO exam scored?Each option is weighted +3 to -3. Your choices form two separate totals, Information Gathering and Decision Making, and you must reach the pass mark in both.
- Information Gathering vs Decision Making on the CRPO examInformation Gathering sections ask what you need to know; Decision Making sections ask what you would do. Each is its own total, and you must pass both.
- CRPO exam pass rate and pass markCRPO reports an 85% average pass rate over the past eight years. There is no fixed pass mark: COMPASS sets a passing point for each version of the exam.
- I failed the CRPO exam: what happens next?You get three attempts at the CRPO exam. After a first fail you keep practising under supervision and retake it; a second fail adds a learning plan first.
- How to study for the CRPO exam in 8 weeksGive the CRPO exam six to ten hours a week for eight weeks: two weeks of format and standards, three of practice by area, two timed mocks, then a light week.
- What happens on CRPO exam day? Online proctoring, ID and rulesYou write the CRPO exam online from a private room, watched live by a MonitorEDU proctor. Bring government ID, log in 15 minutes early, then you have 3 hours.
- CRPO exam practice questions: two sample items, answered and explainedCRPO exam questions are sections of a client case, not stand-alone items. Here are two original practice sections, each option weighted +3 to -3 and explained.
- How to answer CRPO exam case scenariosRead the scenario for what makes it an ethics or safety case, name each section's purpose, sort every option before clicking, and ask whether you know enough yet to act.
- How to pass the CRPO exam: tips that match how it is scoredPass the CRPO exam by learning the Competency Profile, practising timed simulations, selecting only what each section asks, never skipping, and ignoring the client's mood.
- What to study for the CRPO exam: the competencies, standards and laws it testsStudy the Entry-to-Practice Competency Profile, CRPO's Practice Standards and Code of Ethics, and the Ontario laws an RP applies, then practise using them inside client cases.
- CRPO exam prep: how to choose a course or practice toolUse CRPO's free official material first, then pick prep that mirrors the real format, explains every weight with official sources, offers timed mocks and fits your language.
- Can you write the CRPO exam in French?Yes. The CRPO Registration Examination is offered in English and French. You state your language when you confirm eligibility, and can ask for a French-speaking proctor.
- Free CRPO exam resources: official documents, sample questions and practiceEvery free resource for the CRPO Registration Exam in one place: CRPO's official documents, the Lucia sample, a free diagnostic, a full practice case and study sheets.
- CRPO exam dates 2027: the spring sitting, deadlines and a planning timelineThe next CRPO Registration Examination sitting is 5 to 8 April 2027 (subject to change). Here are the deadlines before it, the fee, results timing and when to start studying.
Becoming a Registered Psychotherapist
- RP (Qualifying) to RP: clinical supervision and hours requirementsTo move from RP (Qualifying) to RP you must pass the exam and have 450 direct client contact hours and 100 supervision hours approved, within five years.
- How to become a Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario: the steps, fees and deadlinesFinish a psychotherapy program, pass CRPO's jurisprudence module, apply, practise as an RP (Qualifying) under supervision, pass the exam, log your hours.
- CRPO jurisprudence module: what it covers and how to pass the quizEvery CRPO applicant completes the online jurisprudence module before applying: CAD 157 plus HST, one year to finish, and a pass mark of 15 out of 20 (75%) on its quiz.
- The CCTPEI registration exam: PEI's COMPASS exam is the CRPO examPEI's counselling therapy registration exam is COMPASS's CPSCP, the same exam CRPO uses in Ontario: same days, fee, format and blueprint. How to prepare, and what differs.
Practice and the law
- When must a psychotherapist in Ontario report? The duty to reportOntario RPs report a suspected child in need of protection to a children's aid society immediately, and a colleague's sexual abuse of a client within 30 days.
- Consent and capacity for psychotherapy in Ontario (HCCA)Under Ontario's HCCA, an RP needs informed, voluntary consent from a capable client of any age, or from the right substitute if the client is incapable.
- Record keeping and privacy rules for registered psychotherapists in OntarioRPs keep an accurate, complete, legible record for each client for at least 10 years after last contact or the 18th birthday, and protect it under PHIPA.
- Dual relationships and boundaries for registered psychotherapists (CRPO Standard 1.7)RPs avoid dual relationships with current clients unless unavoidable, as in a small community, should avoid them with former clients and document judgment.
- What is the controlled act of psychotherapy in Ontario?It is treating a serious disorder of thought, cognition, mood, emotional regulation, perception or memory by psychotherapy technique, through a therapeutic relationship.
- Duty to warn in Ontario: when a psychotherapist may break confidentialityOntario has no general statutory duty to warn. PHIPA lets an RP disclose, without consent, what is needed to reduce a significant risk of serious bodily harm.