A physician can hold one of the following permits:

Permit to Practice

The permit to practice is issued at the end of training of a resident who has completed all of the training periods required in a manner satisfactory to the faculty of medicine concerned and the Collège des médecins du Québec and successfully passed the examinations.

Restrictive Permit

The Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ) may issue a restrictive permit to a physician in accordance with guidelines established by the Board of Directors. Valid for a period of one year, this permit is renewable. This type of permit indicates the nature of medical acts that may be performed by the physician holder of this permit as well as the establishment or establishments in which they may be performed. 

The different categories of restrictive permit are the following:

• Restrictive permit for professor: permit issued to physicians recruited as professors by a faculty of medicine, in accordance with le plan d’effectifs médicaux universitaires;
• Restrictive permit for medical clinician:  permit issued to physicians recruited to meet specific needs by a non-university establishment in region;
• Restrictive permit for resident:  permit issued to resident in their last year of training;
• ARM with France permit:  permit issued to physicians graduated and certified in France in accordance with the conditions established by L’Arrangement de reconnaissance mutuelle with France (entente Québec-France).

To obtain further information on the subject, please contact the CMQ during working hours.

Temporary Permit

The Board of Directors of the Collège des médecins du Québec may issue a temporary permit to a physician whose knowledge of the French language is inadequate. This permit is valid for a maximum period of one year and may be renewed no more than three times, under certain conditions. At its discretion, the Board may also grant a temporary permit to a person legally authorized to practice medicine outside of Québec. This permit is valid for one year and is renewable.