COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT

The Competency Assessment (“CA”) evaluates your ability to apply your occupational therapy knowledge, skills, attitudes, and judgment to ensure that you have the entry-level competencies required for safe, effective, and ethical practice in Canada. Your competencies are measured against ACOTRO’s Essential Competencies of Practice for Occupational Therapists in Canada, 3rd Edition.

Update (September 8, 2026): Effective September 30, 2026, the CA will align with the Competencies for Occupational Therapists (OTs) in Canada (2021/2024). The existing Competency Assessment has been mapped to the 2021/2024 competencies. The assessment format, blueprint, scoring approach, and required performance standard have not changed as part of this transition.

The Competencies for Occupational Therapists (OTs) in Canada (2021/2024) update and reorganize the competencies described in the Essential Competencies of Practice for Occupational Therapists in Canada, 3rd Edition. The mapping of the two competency versions demonstrates high alignment between the 3rd edition competencies and the 2021/2024 competencies.

The CA samples entry-level occupational therapy practice across the following areas:

  • Professional responsibility
  • Critical thinking
  • Practice knowledge
  • Occupational therapy practice process
  • Communication and collaboration
  • Practice management and advocacy

Please be sure to review the Competency Assessment: Applicant Guide for Remote Delivered Assessment, which you can find on the SEAS Forms and Guides page. This guide provides detailed information on the remote delivered assessment.

Before starting your CA, you must provide valid identification to authenticate your identity to the assessor. The only accepted identification will be your primary identification document that you submitted to SEAS. If you do not bring this identification to the assessment, the CA will be cancelled, and your fee will not be refunded.

Assessment Format

The CA is conducted by an occupational therapist trained in assessing competencies.

The assessment is a 6.5-hour, interview-style assessment. The assessment is broken down in three sections:

  1. The Behaviour Based Interview
  2. Assessment Case
  3. Treatment Case

All three sections follow a similar question format:

  • You will be asked a core question related to a competency in one of the practice areas.
  • The core question will be followed by one or more probing questions if needed.  The probing questions help to focus your responses on the performance indicators being assessed in that competency.  

Competencies are assessed through demonstration of performance indicators. Each competency in ACOTRO’s Essential Competencies of Practice for Occupational Therapists in Canada, 3rd Edition and Competencies for Occupational Therapists (OTs) in Canada (2021/2024) have a set of performance indicators.

Performance indicators describe the performance expected by occupational therapists. The assessor will be measuring your performance of the performance indicators during the CA.

The following is an example:

Competency area: Communication and collaboration. B3. Collaborate with clients, other professionals, and stakeholders

Core question: Describe a situation in which a client had a learning barrier, which impacted the delivery of your OT services, and how you handled that.

Probing question: What specific learning barrier did you identify?

In this example, the probing question provides the test-taker with an opportunity to provide additional information to assess how the test-taker would identify their client’s learning needs.

Note: The assessor will not provide you with feedback on your responses or your score during the assessment.

Scheduling the Competency Assessment

After you have paid your 3rd installment fee, the SEAS Associate will contact you by email to schedule the CA.

Please refer to the ACOTRO SEAS Policies page for information on rescheduling fees.

Preparing for the Competency Assessment

You can prepare for the CA by reviewing the Competencies for Occupational Therapists (OTs) in Canada (2021/2024) and considering how you apply occupational therapy knowledge, skills, attitudes, and judgment in practice.

The CA samples entry-level occupational therapy practice across areas including professional responsibility, critical thinking, practice knowledge, the occupational therapy process, communication and collaboration, and practice management and advocacy.

You are encouraged to think about examples from your occupational therapy education and practice that demonstrate how you apply your knowledge and professional judgment in these areas.

ACOTRO Accommodation Policy: Please refer to the ACOTRO SEAS Policies page on the website if you require accommodation for the CA. Requests for accommodation must be submitted a minimum of 45 days prior to the CA. The submission must include the Request for Accommodation Form and supporting documentation.

CA Re-takes

You are permitted two attempts at the CA. You may request a re-take of the CA if your score on the first attempt is a failure. You may also request a re-take of the CA if your score on the first attempt results in mandatory gap-filling.

To request a re-take of the CA, you must do the following:

  • Submit a re-take request form within 30 days of receiving the result of your first CA
  • Pay for the 2nd CA at the time of scheduling the re-take, as set out in the ACOTRO applicant fee schedule (fee for full CA)

Results

You will receive the results of your CA within four weeks of the date of the assessment.

Your results will provide your overall score, as well as your score on each practice area unit. There are three possible outcomes:

Overall score of 90% or higher
Minimum requirement for overall score has been met. Gap-filling activities may be required if you have not met the minimum threshold for one or more practice area unit.

Overall score of 80% – 89%
Minimum requirement for overall score has been met. Gap-filling activities will be required.

Overall score of 79% or less
Minimum requirement for overall score has not been met and is a failure.

Next Steps

The CA is the last step you take in the SEAS process. All of the results of your SEAS assessments will be reviewed by the Determination Committee to determine if you have met substantial equivalency.