Exam security | Medical Council of Canada

The Medical Council of Canada (MCC) also has a responsibility to candidates and to Canadians to ensure the integrity of its examinations. As a candidate, it is your responsibility to understand the following:

The examination Terms and Conditions that you accept during the online application process in physiciansapply.ca
Your legal and professional obligations as an examinee
What constitutes a breach of MCC test security
Your responsibilities under the Canadian Medical Association Code of Ethics

The video below and the information on this page, will help you do that.

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Legal agreement

Before you take an MCC examination, you will first need to agree to the examination security policy. This is done in two ways.

Through your physiciansapply.ca account at the time of application to an examination
At the examination centre on the day of the examination. You will be given a Confidentiality Form to read and agree before you take the examination

These are binding legal agreements between you and the MCC.

Consequences of security violations

If a security violation is suspected, it is investigated by MCC staff and reviewed by MCC test committees. If it is deemed a violation of test security, the consequences can be significant.

You may be denied a standing on your examination
You may be banned from taking future MCC examinations
Your physiciansapply.ca account may be suspended
A permanent annotation may be made on your physiciansapply.ca account
A report may be made to Medical Regulatory Authorities and other organizations
Legal action may be taken against you

Examination security breaches pose risks to Canadians and to candidates’ professional careers. For this reason, it is important that you fully understand the agreements that you sign with the MCC.

Examples of security breaches

The following common examples are provided to help you better understand your legal and professional obligations. This is not an exhaustive list of possible security breaches.

Reproduction of examination content

Under the Canadian Copyright Act, the MCC is the only entity that has the exclusive legal right to produce, reproduce or publish its examination content.

You may not discuss, copy, reproduce, or share examination content in any way, including from memory.
You may not make notes of any kind while in the secure areas of the examination centre, except on the writing materials provided for that purpose. You should also be aware that you are not permitted to remove any notes from the exam centre.
You may not seek, provide, or obtain unauthorized access to examination materials or content, by any means.
Third parties may not use, disclose, distribute, or solicit content from candidates, or otherwise provide access to questions or answers from actual, past or current MCC examinations.

Dishonesty and false statements

You must be truthful when providing information on your examination applications and related documents.
You may not take an examination for another person, or engage another person to take an examination for you.

Unauthorized devices

You may not bring unauthorized materials or devices into the secure examination areas. This includes photographic equipment, communication or recording devices, watches, etc.

Failure to cooperate

If a test security violation is being investigated, the affected candidate must cooperate fully in the investigation.

Beware of third-party preparatory materials

The MCC is aware that individuals and companies offer test preparation materials for candidates preparing for MCC examinations. Please be aware:

These external resources are not endorsed by the MCC, and they are not created by the people who develop MCC examination content.
The MCC monitors these third-party websites to ensure that they do not contain actual MCC examination content.
It is illegal for any test preparation service or program to use, disclose, distribute, or solicit content from candidates, or to otherwise provide access to questions or answers from actual MCC examinations. The MCC reserves the right to pursue action if there is evidence that you enrolled in, participated in, or used any test preparation program or service that used MCC content.

Instead of third-party products, we encourage the use of our preparatory materials, which in most cases have been created by the test committees and subject matter experts who write MCC exam content.