Transferring Forest Professionals

In compliance with the agreements below, regulatory bodies, such as ours, are required to mutually recognize the qualifications of forest professionals from other Canadian jurisdictions:

• Federal Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA);
• Forestry Professional Regulators of Canada (FPRC) mutual recognition agreement for registered professional foresters (RPF) and forest engineers (ing.f.);
• Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) between British Columbia and Alberta; and
• New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA) between British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Professional Foresters

• If you are a Registered Professional Forester (RPF) from another Canadian jurisdiction, you may qualify for recognition as Registered Professional Forester (RPF) in BC and be entitled to full practice rights in BC.  

Forest Technologists

• If you are a Registered Professional Forest Technologist from Alberta or Saskatchewan, you may qualify for recognition as a Registered Forest Technologist (RFT) in BC and be entitled to full practice rights in BC.
• If you are transferring from a province other than Alberta or Saskatchewan, and want to become a Registered Forest Technologist (RFT) in BC, you are not eligible for transfer and must go through our RFT registration process. Go to the Become an Registered Forest Technologist page for details.

Apply for Registration

Eligibility

To apply as a transferring forest professional (TFP) under the provisions of the labour mobility agreements, you must be a fully registered member (RPFT or RPF) in good standing with one of the following Canadian regulatory bodies:

• Alberta Association of Forest Management Professionals
• College of Alberta Professional Foresters
• College of Alberta Professional Forest Technologists
• Association of Saskatchewan Forestry Professionals
• Ontario Professional Foresters Association
• Ordre des ingénieurs forestiers du Québec
• Registered Professional Foresters of Newfoundland Labrador
• Association of Registered Professional Foresters of New Brunswick
• Registered Professional Foresters Association of Nova Scotia

Note: If you are a trainee or a conditional registrant of a listed organization or if your organization is not listed, you are not eligible to transfer. To become a registrant, you must enrol as a trainee and complete the ABCFP's registration requirements. For more information, visit the Become a Registrant page.

Apply

Complete and submit the Transferring Forest Professional Application Package along with the required documents and fees noted in the package.

Registration Process

1. Your application will be reviewed by ABCFP for completeness and accuracy.
2. Completed applications are forwarded to our Council for approval. The process takes 4 to 6 weeks.
3. If approved, you will be granted professional status (RFT or RPF) with full practice rights in BC, conditional on completing the TFP registration requirements within six months of membership.
4. TFP requirements are completed online, and include information modules and related exams. 
5. Upon completing the TFP requirements, you will be a fully registered professional (RFT or RPF) in BC. 

Transferring forest professionals, please sign-in to the website to see information on your registration requirements.

Questions: Contact the registration department.