Policy: Examination Candidates Returning After Three Previous Failures

Background

The General Regulation under the Massage Therapy Act, 1991 states:

3. (2) In every case where a candidate has failed the examinations three times after obtaining a diploma from a massage therapy program acceptable to the Registration Committee, the candidate is not eligible to apply to take the examinations again without obtaining another diploma from a massage therapy program acceptable to the Registration Committee. O. Reg. 266/04, s. 1.

The College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO) has two certification examinations, the Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) examination and the Objectively Structured Clinical Evaluation (OSCE). If either exam is failed three times, the candidate must complete a new Massage Therapy diploma before being eligible to attempt the exams again. Sometimes a candidate will pass one examination before failing the second examination three times. This policy clarifies where a candidate may obtain a new diploma, and that the successful exam attempt no longer counts after a new diploma has been completed.

Policy

Any candidate who fails one of CMTO’s certification examinations three times must obtain a new Massage Therapy diploma from a program accredited by the Canadian Massage Therapy Council for Accreditation^[1] and/or recognized by the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities before being eligible to attempt the examinations again. The new diploma must be issued by a different educational institution than the previous diploma.

After completing a new Massage Therapy diploma, the candidate will be treated as a new examination candidate. This means they must obtain a successful result on both the MCQ and OSCE examinations after completing the second diploma regardless of their previous history on the examinations.

Adopted by Council: May 25, 2007

Amended by Council: February 8, 2022

¹ Please see Canadian Massage Therapy Council for Accreditation and Education Program Equivalence (for programs outside Ontario) Policy for more information