Voluntary Relinquishment of Licence - Registration Policies College of Physicians & Surgeons of Nova Scotia

Preamble

All registrants who wish to relinquish their licence must submit a request in writing to the Registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia (the College). Pursuant to Section 20 of the Medical Act¹, relinquishing a licence requires consent from the Registrar after a review of the registrant’s status.

The College understands that a registrant may wish to voluntarily relinquish their licence for various reasons including, but not limited to, retirement, a prolonged absence from practice, or they are no longer practising in the province.

Once the licence has been relinquished, the registrant will no longer be able to practise in Nova Scotia². In all circumstances where the Registrar agrees to the relinquishment of a registrant’s licence, an annotation will be made to the Medical Register noting the relinquishment of the licence and the date. This information will remain publicly available on the College’s Registrant Search webpage³ for a period of time.

Purpose

This policy describes the registrant’s responsibilities to relinquish a licence and the College’s process for annotating the Medical Register.

Scope

This policy applies to all registrants who wish to voluntarily relinquish their licence in Nova Scotia. Pursuant to this policy, registrants whose licensure has a known end date are not required to submit a written request to relinquish their licence.

Policy

Written Request

Pursuant to this policy, a registrant seeking to relinquish their licence must submit a request in writing using the College’s Practice Closure or Discontinuance of Licence Form⁴. The request must be submitted directly from the registrant requesting to relinquish their licence.

For registrants without the capacity to submit a request in writing, the College will accept the request from the registrant’s substitute decision maker.

Registrants who are also closing their practice in Nova Scotia should also refer to the College’s Professional Standards Regarding Temporarily or Permanently Closing a Medical Practice⁵.

Failure to Provide Written Notice to Relinquish a Licence

Registrants who do not request to relinquish their licence and do not complete the annual renewal process prior to their licence expiration (December 31^st of each year), will have an annotation to this effect placed on the Registrant Search section of the College website until such time as the licence is reinstated or the registrant formally applies to relinquish their licence in accordance with section 20(1) of the Medical Act and the Registrar consents to the relinquishment of their licence.

Review of Request to End a Licence

Upon receipt of the written request, the Registrar will consider the status of the registrant’s file in determining whether to consent to the relinquishment of their licence. The Registrar will consider factors including:

Open complaints
Outstanding fees
Open compliance requirements (such as litigation or complaints in other jurisdictions)
Corporation permits
Active conditions/restrictions
Registration Committee referrals
Status of sponsorship or supervision (whether acting as a Sponsor or Supervisor, or under Sponsorship and/or Supervision)

The Registrar may provide conditions to the registrant that must be met before the Registrar will consent to the relinquishment of the registrant’s licence.

The College Maintains the Authority to Investigate Complaints

In cases where a person ceases to be registered or licensed under subsection 20(1) of the Medical Act, they continue to be subject to the jurisdiction of the College in respect of any disciplinary matter or allegation of incapacity that occurred while they were a member of the College.

Resources

Applicable Legislation:	Section 20 of the Medical Act
Approved by:	Council
Approval Date(s):	March 22, 2024
Review Date:	March 2027