Illustration of a health care assistant with mountains and cedar trees behind a small care home in British Columbia.

How to register with the BC Care Aide Registry

Insights · Registration · September 29, 2026 · 3 min read

To work as a health care assistant in a publicly funded BC setting, you register with the BC Care Aide and Community Health Worker Registry. It is free. There is no exam, but applicants trained outside Canada take a competency assessment.

Registry: BC Care Aide and Community Health Worker Registry
Who must register: HCAs working for publicly funded employers such as the health authorities
Cost: Free to apply and to stay registered; no annual fee
Exam: None. Internationally educated applicants take the HCA Competency Assessment
Review time: Five to ten business days, longer for complex applications
Every year: Verify your account, even if nothing has changed

Who has to register

In BC, publicly funded employers such as the health authorities require health care assistants to be registered. The registry notes that private providers can currently hire HCAs who are not registered, "though this could change". Most HCAs register, because most HCA jobs are publicly funded. HCAs in BC are not a regulated profession, and the registry is not a regulator.

Choose your route: five categories

BC HCA graduates. You prove completion with your certificate, a transcript showing final grades for every HCA course, or an official completion letter. Your school also sends a graduate list straight to the registry. Your application waits until that list arrives, and a transcript that shows the program still in progress is refused. BC programs include at least 270 hours of practice education: 210 in multi-level or complex care, and 60 in the community.

Canadian HCA graduates from outside BC. You can take the Expedited Pathway or the HCA Competency Assessment. The Expedited Pathway has two categories:

Category 1: 1,125 practice hours in the last three years, or 450 in the last year, plus a reference from a nurse manager.
Category 2: graduated in the last two years, plus a reference from a clinical instructor.

LPNs, RNs and RPNs licensed in Canada. You send official proof of a current or recently expired licence.

Nursing students in Canada. Eligibility depends on the coursework you have completed.

Internationally educated health care professionals. The registry first checks whether you qualify, then refers you to Inspire Global Assessments for the HCA Competency Assessment. You need an English test result (IELTS Academic, CELBAN, PTE Academic or OET), or an exemption form if English is your first language. The assessment has a computer-based part and a simulation lab. Inspire's published fee for the two parts is $2,000 plus GST.

How to apply

You apply online, through the link for your category on the registry's applicant portal. The registry asks for a desktop or laptop computer rather than a phone or tablet. If your documents show different names, include a marriage or name-change certificate.

A review takes five to ten business days, and complex files take longer. When you are approved you receive a registration number. As the registry puts it, this is the number employers will ask for. If your training is more than three years old, expect to be asked for a résumé of recent HCA work, and possibly a competency evaluation or some transition education.

Keep your registration active

You must verify your account every year, even if nothing has changed. You do this from the registry's email, on a laptop or desktop. If you miss it, your account is archived and your name and number stop showing in the registry. The number itself does not expire, but you will need to contact the registry to reactivate it.

Paid training: the Health Career Access Program

If you have little or no health care experience, the province's Health Career Access Program hires you first and then trains you. The province pays for your education and a weekly living allowance while you are in full-time classes. In return you work 12 months after registering. The prerequisite is English 10 or equivalent.

How practice fits in

BC has no HCA exam, so there is nothing to cram for. What you need in your first weeks on the job is sound judgment within your scope. Our BC health care assistant practice is a Readiness Check written to the BC HCA provincial curriculum and BC law, and it explains every answer. If you trained under another title, see health care aide vs personal support worker. CareAide is practice only. It is not a program or the registry.

Common questions

Is there an exam to register with the BC Care Aide Registry?

No. BC and Canadian HCA graduates and Canadian-licensed nurses register without an exam. Internationally educated applicants take the HCA Competency Assessment through Inspire Global Assessments.

How much does BC Care Aide Registry registration cost?

The BC Care Aide and Community Health Worker Registry says it is currently free for health care assistants to apply and to remain registered, with no annual fee. Some categories may pay for assessments or transition education.

How long does BC Care Aide Registry approval take?

The registry says a review takes five to ten business days. Complex applications can take longer, and a BC graduate waits until the school sends its graduate list.

Do I have to renew my BC Care Aide Registry registration?

BC health care assistants must verify their registry account every year. If you miss it, your account is archived until you contact the registry to reactivate it. Your registration number itself does not expire.