Certification

The Canadian Board of Genetic Counselling (CBGC) is committed to ensuring that individuals seeking genetic counselling services in Canada are receiving these services from an individual with a high level of competency. The process of certification and recertification has been adopted by most professional organizations as a mechanism for assessing and maintaining the knowledge and skills of its practitioners.

Candidates should refer to the information below for details regarding the examination, eligibility and logistics.

A CBGC certified GC can use these credentials: CCGC (Canadian Certified Genetic Counsellor) or CGAC (Conseiller en génétique agréé du Canada).

Note to employers

Candidates who meet the criteria to apply to write the Canadian certification examination through Pathway A, B, C or D are considered to be 'Board Eligible'. This term is used by the candidate at their discretion. The CBGC does not deem a candidate eligible to write the examination until their application has been approved.

CBGC Certification Pathway Updates

CBGC is committed to protecting the public and ensuring quality of care by setting and maintaining certification standards. As part of this commitment, a taskforce was convened in 2023 to review the CBGC certification pathways. Based on the taskforce’s recommendations, the Board of Directors has revised these pathways. In anticipation of professional regulation, the Board also created a new pathway (Pathway E). A French translation of the document will be available soon.

Changes to Pathway C are effective immediately. Changes to Pathways B and D will be effective for the application window for the 2028 examination. Pathway E will come into effect after regulation is enacted for the first time in any Canadian province.  

Upcoming exam dates

Thursday, February 20th, 2025

Thursday, February 19th, 2026

Last updated February 2025

Forms

Questions regarding the certification process and completed applications should be directed to the Certification team lead.