Acceptable identity documents | Medical Council of Canada

Confirming your identity

To access the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) exams and services, you must confirm your identity by providing:

a certified copy of primary identity document(s)
a photograph
a signature

Identity validity period

Once these identity documents have been reviewed and accepted, the identity validity period in your physiciansapply.ca account will begin. It will expire either when your primary identity document expires, or in 10 years if your primary identity document does not have an expiry date.
You can view the identity validity period’s expiry date in your physiciansapply.ca account by clicking on Documents. The Identity Expiry Date will be displayed at the top of the middle panel.

If the identity validity period has expired, you will be prompted to provide new documents (primary identity document, photograph and signature) the next time you submit a source verification request or apply for an exam.

In all instances, the MCC reserves the right to request additional identification, if necessary. Do not mail your original documents to the MCC.

Primary identity documents

Passport

A valid (not expired) passport can be used as your primary identity document. Submit a certified copy of the pages of your passport that contain the following information:

name
photograph
signature (may be located on a separate page)
date of birth
passport expiry date (may be located on a separate page)

We do not need copies of any blank pages or the pages with your visas.

Canadian citizenship card

You can submit a certified copy of your Canadian citizenship card (front and back) as your primary identity document.

A Canadian citizenship card includes your photograph, signature, and date of birth, and is an official government-issued document. Note that as of February 2012, citizenship cards are no longer issued by the Government of Canada.

Canadian or U.S. driver’s licence together with other government-issued documents

If you are a Canadian or United States (U.S.) resident and you do not have a valid passport, you will need to submit 2 primary identity documents, as we require government-issued documents that contain your photograph, signature and date of birth.

You can submit certified copies of one of the following combinations:

A valid Canadian or U.S. driver’s licence and a Canadian citizenship certificate (without photo)
A valid Canadian or U.S. driver’s licence and a Canadian permanent resident card (front and back)
A valid Canadian or U.S. driver’s licence and a Canadian or U.S. birth certificate

Your driver’s licence should reflect your current legal name.

Baptismal certificates and health cards are not accepted.

Photograph

You will be required to upload a photograph of yourself.

The photograph must be:

in a JPG format
passport quality (full-face and very clear with contrasting background)
in colour
recent within 6 months

This photograph will be visible to organizations with whom you share your identity and should be professional in appearance. Selfies or cropped group photos will not be accepted.

Signature

You will be required to upload a copy of your signature by signing a piece of plain white paper and taking a photo of it.

The signature must:

be your handwritten signature (using a black or blue pen)
be in a JPG format

What if my current passport hasn’t expired, but I have a new passport?

If one of the organizations registered with the MCC repository has requested that you provide a new passport, you can submit a certified copy through your physiciansapply.ca account. Click on Documents on the left panel, then on Update identity documents in the middle panel and follow the instructions.

What if my name has changed?

If your name has changed since creating your physiciansapply.ca account and you want your new name to appear on your account and related MCC documents, follow the instructions on how to make a name change request.