Certified means that you have a certificate, license, registration or any other form of official documentation, issued by a regulatory body, which allows you to work or to use a specific title in a regulated occupation in your province or territory.  Certified workers may also be referred to as regulated, registered or licensed workers.

In some cases, rather than issuing a license or a certificate to a worker, a regulatory body will keep a central registry or roster of certified workers. Workers who are listed on a registry or on a roster are covered by Labour Mobility provisions of the CFTA, if this registry is used by the regulatory body to recognize that workers are qualified to practice their occupation.

Sometimes, there are different titles or names used across Canada for a similar profession or trade. Even though names or titles differ, if the activities and the scope of practice are similar, you can have access to the certification in this province or territory.

Other times, a same title or name is used across Canada for professions or trades that have major differences in the range of activities and job duties. In this case, certificates may not be equivalent.

Workers who have work experience in a specific occupation for which certification is NOT required to practice that occupation in their province/territory are not considered as certified workers under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. For example, actors, flight attendants, university lecturers or waitresses are not regulated occupations. Therefore, workers in those fields would not be considered certified workers.  Please refer to question 4.

It is possible that your occupation is regulated in a province or territory but not in another. Contact your Labour Mobility Coordinator if you are unsure whether your occupation is regulated in a specific province or territory.