Pediatrics: the Practice Eligibility Route
Requirements as published by the Royal College. Last reviewed August 2026.
Pediatrics at a glance
- Required time in training
- 4 yearsSTR: Four (4) years of approved residency training
- 2026 exam timing
- Written in the Fall; Applied in the Spring (following year)
- Apply for assessment of training
- by August 31 of the year before your exam
- Register for the exam
- February 1 – April 15 of the exam year
- Exam attempts
- Maximum 4 attempts per component within a 5-year eligibility period
The Royal College reads your postgraduate training and practice record in Pediatrics against the published Specialty Training Requirements. Those requirements are set out in full below, so you can see how your own training compares before you apply.
What licence can I get, and when?
Certification is national. Licensure is provincial. You do not need Royal College certification (FRCPC) to be licensed. Several provinces license you at an earlier PER stage, and the earliest any province accepts is the eligibility letter alone. The table applies to every specialty that reached exam eligibility through the PER.
Full province table: MCCQE, job offer and licence type
| Province | MCCQE | RC written | RC applied | Licence issued | Job offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | Required | Required | Required | Full | Not required |
| British Columbia | Not required | Required | Required | Provisional | Required |
| Saskatchewan | Required | Required | Required | Provisional | Required |
| Manitoba | Not required | Required | Required | Provisional | Required |
| Ontario | Not required | Required | Not required | Provisional, 3 years | Required |
| Nova Scotia (a) | Not required | Not required | Not required | Defined, 6 to 24 months | Required |
| Nova Scotia (b) | Not required | Required | Required | Full | Required |
| New Brunswick | Not required | Not required | Not required | Special, then Defined | Required |
| Newfoundland & Labrador, PEI | Required* | Not required | Not required | Provisional | Required |
* The MCCQE may be waived where the candidate has five or more years of independent practice abroad. Case by case, never guaranteed.
Educational only. Rules change, and each regulator decides on factors that may not be listed here; Filipe Santos MD does not make licensure decisions. Checked October 9, 2026 against each regulator's pages; Ontario confirmed with the CPSO in October 2026. Confirm with the regulator before you act.
Province notes (Alberta, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the MCCQE) are in the PER guide.
How training is structured
The Royal College sets out the training for Pediatrics in the blocks below. An internationally trained specialist is assessed on whether their own training and practice record is comparable in structure and content.
Requirements document: 2015; Version 1.0 (applies to those entering residency on or after July 1, 2015)
Required experiences11
Specific experiences the Royal College names for this discipline.
- 1.1 A minimum of twenty-one (21) and a maximum of twenty-seven (27) blocks of Pediatrics, comprising 1.1.1 to 1.1.9 below
- 1.1.1 Two (2) to six (6) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of community/rural Pediatrics
- 1.1.2 One (1) to four (4) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of ambulatory/hospital-based outpatient Pediatrics
- 1.1.3 Two (2) to four (4) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of inpatient ward/clinical teaching unit (CTU) Pediatrics as a junior resident
- 1.1.4 Two (2) to four (4) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of inpatient ward/CTU Pediatrics as a senior resident
- 1.1.5 One (1) to two (2) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of developmental pediatrics
- 1.1.6 Three (3) to five (5) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of newborn care, which must include neonatal resuscitation in the case room, care of the normal newborn, and rotations in level II and level III neonatal units
- 1.1.7 Two (2) to three (3) blocks in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)
- 1.1.8 One (1) to four (4) blocks in pediatric emergency medicine
- 1.1.9 A minimum of two (2) and a maximum of (3) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, in the fields of mental health, adolescent medicine, child maltreatment, and/or social pediatrics
- 1.2 A minimum of six (6) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of training in subspecialty rotations selected from at least six (6) of the following clinical areas (listed 1.2.1-1.2.13 in this order), with a maximum of two (2) blocks per clinical area: pediatric cardiology; pediatric clinical immunology and allergy; pediatric complex chronic care; pediatric endocrinology and metabolism; pediatric gastroenterology; pediatric hematology/oncology; pediatric infectious diseases; pediatric medical genetics; pediatric nephrology; pediatric neurology; pediatric palliative medicine; pediatric respirology; pediatric rheumatology
Flexible or selective components2
Where the requirements allow a choice.
- 1.3 Up to six (6) blocks of any of the following: 1.3.1 anesthesia (maximum one (1) block); 1.3.2 dermatology (maximum one (1) block); 1.3.3 diagnostic imaging (maximum one (1) block); 1.3.4 surgery/surgical subspecialties (maximum three (3) blocks); 1.3.5 research (maximum three (3) blocks); 1.3.6 electives (maximum three (3) blocks)
- 2. Advanced Pediatrics year (structure sections 2.1 and 2.2): up to one (1) year further residency in Pediatrics reflecting career plans, or up to one (1) year of clinical residency in any Pediatrics subspecialty area
Common questions
More questions about specialists trained abroad, each answered once with its official source, are in the IMG FAQ Center.
What is the Practice Eligibility Route in Pediatrics?
The Practice Eligibility Route (PER) is the Royal College process by which an internationally trained specialist can be assessed for eligibility to sit the certification examination in Pediatrics without repeating a Canadian residency. The Royal College reads your postgraduate training and practice record against the published Specialty Training Requirements for the discipline.
What training does the Royal College expect in Pediatrics?
The Specialty Training Requirements describe four (4) years of approved residency training. The full block-by-block structure is set out on this page, taken from the Royal College document for this discipline.
Does meeting the training requirements guarantee eligibility?
No. Eligibility is a committee decision made on your individual file, and other factors are considered. This page reproduces the published requirements so you can see how your own training compares before you apply; it is not an eligibility ruling.
Where do I start?
Read the seven steps in the PER guide, then have your training mapped against the Specialty Training Requirements before you pay any fees. The free PDF for this specialty carries the steps, the document checklist, and the Pediatrics requirements in one file.
The Pediatrics guide as one PDF
The seven PER steps, your document checklist, and the Pediatrics training requirements in a single file. Free. Not sure the PER is your route? The screener checks your file against every route in about two minutes.
Other specialties27
Canadian clinical fellowships in Pediatrics are in the Fellowship Finder.
Adapted from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Specialty Training Requirements for Pediatrics. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Royal College; every application is reviewed individually and final decisions rest solely with the Royal College. Verify current requirements at royalcollege.ca.