A career as a registered massage therapist, or RMT, is a rewarding path that allows you to help others and flourish in the health and wellness industry. Being a successful RMT requires dedication, hands-on training, and the completion of certification examinations.
In this article, we’re going in-depth on the ins and outs of the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario’s certification exams — the Objectively Structured Clinical Evaluation (OSCE) exam and the Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) exam.
The Objectively Structured Clinical Evaluation (OSCE) is a performance-based exam that evaluates a person’s clinical skills in massage therapy. It includes seven simulated clinical stations where candidates demonstrate their ability to interview, examine, and treat patients.
The OSCE exam is broken down into the following categories:
Candidates are given two minutes to read the station stem and 10 minutes to perform in each station with a one minute break between stations. This means it takes 90 minutes to complete the entire OSCE exam. The fee for the exam is $958, but changes annually with inflation.
You can find a content outline for the 2025 OSCE exam here.
The Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) exam is a computer-based exam that is made up of 150 questions.
The MCQ exam is broken down into the following categories:
Candidates are given three hours to complete the MCQ. It’s offered in four blocks every year, with the first usually taking place in March or April. The fee for the exam is $681.11 and is also subject to annual inflation.
You can find a content outline for the 2025 MCQ exam here.
To become a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) in Ontario you must pass the CMTO’s OSCE exam and the MCQ exam with a 70% or higher. Candidates have three attempts to complete each exam; if a candidate fails an exam three times they’re required to obtain a new massage therapy diploma before taking the exams again.
To be eligible to take these examinations, you must first graduate from a recognized massage therapy program, like the one offered at Bryan College.
After graduating from a program, your educator uploads your graduation information to Prometric’s website — the third-party exam provider. Prometric then emails exam registration and scheduling information, once you have successfully completed each exam Prometric sends you your exam results.
Prometric then sends that information to CMTO and CMTO emails registration information to those candidates who were successful.
After you complete your massage therapy program and it’s time to start preparing to take your exams, where do you start?
Before taking the exam, candidates are required to read the CMTO’s Candidate Handbook, which includes information about the content and format of the exams. CMTO also provides sample MCQ questions and content outline for each exam on its website.
You can also find online study materials and in-person preparation courses, like the one offered at Bryan College.
When searching for a prep course, keep the following questions in mind:
At Bryan College, we’ve always included comprehensive exam preparation as part of our massage therapy program — now we're making that same expert support available to all massage therapy graduates in preparing for their Ontario certification exams!
Our RMT OSCE preparation course takes you step-by-step through all seven stations of the OSCE exam and offers instructor-led drills to get you ready for test day. You get two opportunities to take part in a full mock OSCE exam, and your second practice attempt is marked by a seasoned RMT and includes a personalized report on how you did in each station. Our course also includes a bonus MCQ practice exam, with preparation and study tips.
Learn more about our prep course or register for the next available weekend online today!
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