Chiropractic Online Education Guidelines

Mandatory items and program elements can change between cycles. Confirm your current obligations in the CCOA Member's Centre and the Continuing Competence Program Manual.

Most jurisdictions let you renew and audit later. Alberta does not. CCOA states it plainly: chiropractors must complete their 24 approved and mandatory CC credits before they can access their annual practice permit renewal application.

That single sentence changes the planning maths. It isn't enough to have finished your hours by the deadline — the credits have to be submitted and posted to your member profile, because the renewal form doesn't open until they are. A certificate sitting in your inbox on May 30 is not a completed credit.

Best practice: aim to be done by early-to-mid May. That buffer covers submission processing, a certificate that arrives without a reference number, or a credit that doesn't post correctly the first time — any one of which becomes urgent if discovered on May 30.

Alberta qualifies seminars, not providers. CCOA operates a seminar approval process and issues an approved course a Seminar Reference Number — and that number is what makes your credit submissible.

Check the certificate, not the marketing. For a course to be valid for Alberta CC credit submission, your certificate should show a visible CCOA Seminar Reference Number. If a certificate is issued without one, it may not be accepted or credited to your member profile — regardless of how well-regarded the provider is elsewhere.

This is also why blanket accreditation claims carry no weight in Alberta. A provider's standing with the FCLB's PACE program, or with any accrediting body, does not substitute for a CCOA seminar approval on the specific course you took. Before enrolling in anything as an Alberta registrant — from us or any other provider — confirm the course carries a CCOA Seminar Reference Number for the current cycle.

Alberta registrants carry three named mandatory obligations alongside the 24 credits — all set out in the registration requirements under the Chiropractors Profession Regulation.

Basic Life Support including CPR — certification must be maintained, not completed once. The hands-on skills component is done in person through a recognised provider; diarise the expiry date separately from your CC cycle.

Record-keeping — CCOA maintains a specific record-keeping requirement within the mandatory competence set. Confirm your current status and due date in the Member's Centre.

Trauma-informed care training — Alberta registrants must be trained in trauma-informed care. This is a named registration requirement, not an elective topic.

CCOA's Continuing Competence program extends past coursework. The College also operates practice visits, professional communication review, self-submission practice review, and X-ray Quality Assurance Program review as competence elements.

None of these can be satisfied with online coursework from us or anyone else. If one falls due in the same cycle as your credits, it competes for the same calendar — another argument for finishing the 24 early rather than in May. Details and scheduling live in the CCOA Continuing Competence Program Manual.

Twenty-four credits across twelve months is two a month — light enough that the difficulty in Alberta is never the volume. It's the submission mechanics: reference numbers, posting to your profile, and a renewal form that won't open until everything has landed.

A clean Alberta sequence: check BLS/CPR expiry and any outstanding mandatory items in June, at the start of the cycle → confirm which courses carry a current CCOA Seminar Reference Number before enrolling → complete and submit steadily through the year → verify each credit posts to your profile → aim to finish by early-to-mid May.

Building the credits: CCEDseminars coursework is delivered through the Texas Chiropractic College Postgraduate Education Department, a CCE-accredited institution, across 30+ clinical categories and live evening webinars. Confirm CCOA seminar approval and reference-number status for the current cycle before enrolling.

How many CC credits do Alberta chiropractors need?

24 credit hours of continuing chiropractic education per registration year, on a June 1 to May 31 cycle.

What happens if my credits aren't complete by May 31?

Chiropractors must complete their 24 approved and mandatory CC credits before they can access the annual practice permit renewal application. Incomplete credits mean the renewal form does not open — so credits need to be submitted and posted, not merely earned.

What is a CCOA Seminar Reference Number?

CCOA approves seminars and issues each approved course a Seminar Reference Number. For a course to be valid for Alberta CC credit submission, your certificate should show a visible reference number; a certificate issued without one may not be accepted or credited to your member profile.

Does Alberta accept PACE-approved courses?

Alberta does not qualify coursework through the FCLB's PACE program. CCOA approves individual seminars against its own criteria and issues a Seminar Reference Number, so a provider's accreditation elsewhere does not substitute for CCOA approval of the specific course. Confirm reference-number status before enrolling.

What are Alberta's mandatory competence requirements?

Alberta registrants must maintain Basic Life Support certification including CPR, meet CCOA's record-keeping requirement, and be trained in trauma-informed care. These sit alongside the 24 credits.

What else is part of the Continuing Competence program?

CCOA also operates practice visits, professional communication review, self-submission practice review, and X-ray Quality Assurance Program review. None can be satisfied with online coursework.

What do different jurisdictions call these hours?

Chiropractors may search for CE, CEUs, continuing education, or CPD — in Alberta the operative term is Continuing Competence (CC) credits under the College of Chiropractors of Alberta's program.