Professional Regulation
Last updated on July 17, 2025
In British Columbia, there are 26 regulated health professions, of which 25 are governed by 6 regulatory colleges under the Health Professions Act (HPA). The HPA provides a common regulatory framework for health professions in British Columbia.
One profession (emergency medical assisting) is regulated by the government-appointed Emergency Medical Assistants Licensing Board under the Emergency Health Services Act.
Many social workers also practice within the health system. Social workers are a self-regulating profession governed by the British Columbia College of Social Workers under the Social Workers Act.
Regulatory College Role and Responsibilities
A health regulator’s (college’s) legal obligation is to protect the public through the regulation of their registrants. They do this by:
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determining registration requirements
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setting standards of practice
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recognizing education programs
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maintaining a register that everyone can search, and
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addressing complaints about their registrants
Colleges are required to review all complaints about the health professionals they regulate, including both current and former registrants. Colleges may conduct an investigation into a complaint, and in serious matters may refer the complaint for disciplinary action.
If you have a concern or complaint about a health professional, you can visit the college’s website to learn about their complaints process. Complaints should be in writing and describe a specific concern about the conduct, competence, or physical or mental impairment of an individual health professional. Links to each regulatory college website can be found on the profession specific pages to the left.
The Ministry of Health cannot investigate specific complaints about health professionals, as colleges are independent organizations that have been given legal authority to do so.
For more information on regulatory colleges, boards and commissions established by statute or regulation associated with professional regulation and oversight, please visit the following web page:
Legislation, Regulation and Amendments by Profession
Under the Health Professions Act (HPA), amendments to most regulations and college bylaws are subject to a three-month notice period, unless the Minister specifies a shorter period. The Ministry is responsible for giving notice of proposed amendments to regulations. Each college is responsible for giving notice of proposed amendments to its bylaws, including posting them on the college website, and all bylaw amendments must be filed with the Minister to be effective. Filed bylaws come into force 60 days after the date of filing, unless the Minister either disallows the change or specifies an earlier date, or the college withdraws the change.
The full text of a college's current bylaws and information about any proposed bylaw amendments may be obtained by contacting the college.
Official copies of all statutes and regulations may be obtained by contacting Crown Publications.
Copies of approved Orders in Council and Ministerial Orders may be obtained on the BC Laws website.
Regulatory College Amalgamations
Effective June 28, 2024, the following professions are now regulated by the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC. For additional information, please see the profession-specific webpage or visit the college website: www.cchpbc.ca
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Chiropractic
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Massage Therapy
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Naturopathic Medicine
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Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture
Effective June 28, 2024, the following professions are now regulated by the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC. For additional information, please see the profession-specific webpage or visit the college website: www.chcpbc.org
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Dietetics
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Occupational Therapy
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Opticianry
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Optometry
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Physical Therapy
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Psychology
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Speech and Hearing Health Professions
History of Professional Regulation Modernization
In April 2019, the Honourable Adrian Dix, former Minister of Health, released the report, An Inquiry into the Performance of the College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia and the Health Professions Act. The report was authored by Mr. Harry Cayton of the United Kingdom’s Professional Standards Authority. The report contains two parts:
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Part 1 makes recommendations to College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia; and,
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Part 2 suggests possible approaches to modernization of BC’s overall health regulatory framework.
Harry Cayton's report can be viewed here (PDF, 1.0MB).
For the Terms of Reference for the Inquiry, click here.
In response to the suggestions outlined in Part Two of the Cayton report, Minister Dix established and chaired the Steering Committee on Modernization of Health Professional Regulation, to provide advice on an approach to modernize the regulatory framework for health professions in BC.
During an initial phase of public consultation, members of the public and health sector stakeholders were invited to provide written feedback on Part Two of the Cayton report.
A summary of themes from the initial public engagement which closed June 14, 2019 can be viewed here (PDF, 116KB).
From Nov. 27, 2019 to Jan. 10, 2020 members of the public, community groups and health-sector stakeholders were invited to submit feedback on the proposals in the consultation paper titled Modernizing the provincial health profession regulatory framework: A paper for consultation (PDF, 1.0MB). Feedback was accepted via an online survey and written submissions. Read the What We Heard report (PDF, 489KB) for a summary of engagement results.
On August 27, 2020, the Steering Committee on Modernization of Health Professional Regulation released its Recommendations to modernize the provincial health profession regulatory framework (PDF, 669KB). Feedback from the consultation assisted the steering committee to finalize these recommendations for improving the model of health profession regulation in B.C. View a diagram (PDF, 44KB) of how the recommendations would change current health professions regulation.