CICC CPD Requirements
a plain reference for RCICs and RISIAs Reporting Term 1 July to 30 June · Summarised from the College's own CPD Regulations, links at the foot of this pageThis page is a summary, not the rule itself. The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants sets CPD requirements in its CPD Regulation for RCICs (2021-003) and its CPD Regulation for RISIAs (2021-001). Where anything here differs from those documents, the College's regulation governs. Figures below were checked against the College's published regulations and website on 26 August 2026.
| RCIC | RISIA | |
|---|---|---|
| CPD hours each Term | 16CPD Regulation for RCICs, s. 4.2 | 6CPD Regulation for RISIAs, s. 4.2 |
| Professionalism hour | 1 of the 16 must relate to professionalism and/or the Code of Professional Conducts. 4.2 | 1 of the 6 must relate to professionalism and/or the Code of Professional Conducts. 4.2 |
| The rest of the hours | The regulation sets no second quota. The remaining hours simply have to fall within the Essential Competencies, which are listed in the next block. | |
| Reporting Term | The College's fiscal year, 1 July to 30 June. Everything must be completed by 11:59 pm local time on the last day of that year.s. 4.4, and the College's Continuing Professional Development page | |
| Maximum carry forward | 6 hours to the next Term, and only if you earned more than 16s. 16.1 | 2 hours to the next Terms. 16.1 |
| Where you report | The College Portal, through the CPD Learning Log, as part of Annual Renewal. Email submissions are not accepted. | |
| Keep your records | 5 years. Receipts, or other proof of attendance or purchase.s. 14.2 | |
If you were licensed part way through a Term
RCICs: one CPD hour for every month, or part of a month, left in the Term. You do not have to spread them evenly, they simply have to be done before the Term ends. Licensed in April, May or June, you owe nothing for that Term.
RISIAs: licensed 1 January to 31 March, three hours that Term. Licensed 1 April to 30 June, nothing that Term.
CPD Regulations, s. 3.6Surplus hours, and what the rule does not say
Go past 16 hours as an RCIC and up to 6 travel into the next Term. As a RISIA the cap is 2.
Two things the regulation does not spell out, so do not assume either way without asking the College:
- whether a carried hour can satisfy the professionalism hour
- whether the same surplus can be carried on again into a third Term
The detail
What your hours have to be about
The College does not divide CPD into "professionalism" and "substantive" pools. It sets one professionalism hour, and asks that your activities fall within the Essential Competencies for RCIC Practice. Those competencies are listed in the regulation as follows.
- Foundational Knowledge
- Case Management
- Legal Research and Informatics
- Business Management and Leadership
- Immigration and Refugee Board and Administrative Tribunals
- Professionalism1 hour required
- Cultural Competence
- Communication, Counselling and Advocacy
- Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Evidence-Based Practice
CPD Regulation for RCICs, s. 5.1. A course only counts where its subject matter falls within your scope of practice.
A note on the word "substantive"
CICC does not use the word substantive anywhere in its CPD Regulation. The College names the nine competencies above and asks for one hour in the Professionalism area.
Substantive is the term the wider legal professions use for education on the law itself and how to apply it to a file, as distinct from hours spent on ethics, professional responsibility, client care or practice management. Law societies set their own categories in their own words, so a lawyer or paralegal should check the wording that applies to them with their own regulator.
C.D.E.S. labels each course Professionalism or Substantive on that basis, so you can see at a glance which hour in a bundle answers the CICC professionalism requirement. The label is a reading aid. What the College records is the hours you earned and the competencies they relate to.
What counts, and what does not
Counts
- Approved CPD courses and programs, whether live, recorded or asynchronous
- Courses at a post-secondary institution
- Teaching, on an accredited programme, at a CPD activity or conference, or through case studies
- Writing a book or article on approved subject matter
- Taking part in the College's Mentoring Programme as a mentor
- Observing tribunal or court proceedings
- Group case study discussion, between 2 and 15 participants
s. 6.1
Does not count
- Practice Management Education (PME) courses
- Specialization Programme pathways
- Taking part in the Mentoring Programme as a mentee
- Content unrelated to the Essential Competencies
- Marketing content, or material focused on growing profit
- Pro bono work
- Mentoring outside the College's own programme
- Anything marketed as a specialised credential
- The same content taken again in a different format
s. 7.1
If you fall short
Reporting your hours
- Complete your hours before 11:59 pm local time on 30 June.
- Sign in to the College Portal and enter each activity in the CPD Learning Log.
- Submit the Annual Renewal Form inside the renewal window. For the 2026 renewal that window ran from 1 June 2026 at 12:01 am ET to 1 July 2026 at 11:59 pm ET, covering hours earned between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026.
- Keep your receipts and proof of attendance for five years.
Email submissions are not accepted. Check the College Portal for the renewal window that applies to your current Term.
- CPD Regulation for RCICs, 2021-003, approved 17 November 2021: college-ic.ca
- CPD Regulation for RISIAs, 2021-001: college-ic.ca
- Continuing Professional Development, licensee obligations: college-ic.ca
- Annual Renewal: college-ic.ca