I want to incorporate my dental hygiene practice. What should I do?
Dental hygienists are required to get a permit (i.e. consent) from BCCOHP before practising dental hygiene under a corporation name. We recommend obtaining professional accounting and legal advice before applying to incorporate your dental hygiene practice. See below for instructions on how to incorporate a dental hygiene practice.
All Licensed Dental Hygienists are able to own a private dental hygiene practice (e.g., corporation, sole proprietorship) and/or engage in private dental hygiene practise.
If a private dental hygiene practice is owned through a corporation, a Health Profession Corporation Permit is required.
A Health Profession Corporation that holds a valid permit may not carry on any activities other than the provision of dental hygiene services or services that are directly associated with the provision of those services that would, for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada), give rise to income from business.
In order to obtain a permit, you must:
Review BCCOHP Bylaw 9.08 for the Health Profession Corporation naming requirements.
Apply to the Registrar of Companies to reserve your proposed name.
Download a Dental Hygiene Corporation Name Application. Complete the form and return it to the College office. Refer to the College bylaws for information about naming your corporation.
Please note that processing time may vary; it may take up to six weeks for your application to be processed.
Once you receive name approval from BCCOHP, apply to the BC Corporate Registry for consent to incorporate.
Once your corporation has been registered under the B.C. Business Corporations Act, you may apply for a permit. Download a Health Profession Corporation Permit Application Form. This form is for an initial application (please see below for renewal forms). Complete the form and return it to the College office along with the following additional documentation:
The permit is valid from the date issued by BCCOHP until the following March 1.
Payment can be made by cheque, money order, or online by credit card. If paying by credit card, once your application has been reviewed, you will receive an email notification to pay the application fee online.
Please allow six weeks for your application to be processed.
You must renew your permit annually to ensure that BCCOHP has up-to-date information about oral health professionals who are practising through a health profession corporation. You will renew your permit on the same application for license renewal. The annual renewal fee is $53 per corporation.
Yes. All corporations must be considered “in good standing” under the Business Corporations Act to hold a valid permit, as per BCCOHP Bylaws.
Once your corporation is amalgamated, its predecessor corporations will no longer exist. Therefore, the predecessor corporations are not considered in good standing, and the amalgamated corporation will require a new permit.
Note: Once a permit for the amalgamated corporation has been issued, the permits for the predecessor corporations will be cancelled immediately.
Complete and submit a name change application (outlined in Step 1, above) and pay the $53 application fee.
Get in touch using our contact form or by email at corporations@oralhealthbc.ca.
