Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the difference between an OAA Licence and an OAA Certificate of Practice?

A. The Association has two-tiered licensing—one is a Licence as an architect and the other is Certificate of Practice to offer services to the public. Individual Licences and Certificate of Practices are two different fees that need to be renewed each year. The Certificate of Practice pricing is based on a per employee rate, which is why the individual employee is listed under the practice.

Q. I have two offices for my Practice, do I need to pay for both?

A. You are only required to renew your main office each year. If you are not sure which office is your main office, please contact the Office of the Registrar at officeoftheregistrar@oaa.on.ca.

Q. When are renewal payments due and what period does the renewal cover?

A. Both renewal invoices are available online during the first week of December. Their due dates are staggered so they are not due at the same time in order to provide some financial relief for our members.

Individual renewal invoices are due January 2 each year and cover January 1 to December 31 of the current year. You have until February 28 to pay the fee without a penalty. If the fee is paid between March 1 and 31, you will also have to pay the late penalty fee. If not paid by March 31, the licence will be cancelled.

Certificate of Practice renewal invoices are due March 1 each year and cover March 1 of the current year to February 28 of the following one. You have until May 1 to pay the fee. If not paid by May 1, the Certificate of Practice will be cancelled.

Q. What is the difference between the Unique Account ID Number, Licence Numbers, and Certificate of Practice Numbers?

A. OAA Unique Account ID numbers is an internal identifier that is separate from your Licence number and Certificate of Practice number. The OAA’s system requires that each individual has a unique ID number.

Within the OAA’s system, individual accounts and Certificate of Practice accounts are separate—this is because the OAA is required to keep records of the individual employees within each practice as well other specific information that only applies to the practice itself. A member may have an address of record that is not his or her work address and this is affiliated with your individual Licence within the system whereas a practice is affiliated with each of its architects and Licensed Technologists OAA.

Q. If I require a receipt, who do I contact?

A. Receipts for fee payments are now automatically sent. If you require a receipt for prior years or for another payment, email oaafees@oaa.on.ca.

Q. What are Local Architectural Societies and how do I join?

A. The Local Architectural Societies are the grass roots of the OAA. Located in 14 communities across Ontario, societies provide a venue for dialogue between local architects, a support network for professional advice, social interaction among the architectural community and opportunities for leadership, continuing education and community outreach.

The OAA accepts payments on behalf of Societies up until April 1, when the list of members who have paid their annual Society dues for the year are distributed to the individual societies. After April 1, individuals wishing to join a Society should contact it directly and arrange a payment.

If you have joined a Local Society and have not received any information from it, you should contact the OAA Finance Department at oaafees@oaa.on.ca to investigate this for you.

CONTACT

Wendy Ortega, Administrative Assistant, Finance
t: 416.449.6898 Ext. 229
e: oaafees@oaa.on.ca

REFERENCES

Guidelines for Individual Renewal
Guidelines for Practice Renewal