Apply for OHIP and Get Your First Health Card

OHIP is Ontario's health insurance plan. It covers doctor visits, emergency rooms, medical tests, and surgeries. Here is how to apply and get your health card.

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Cost

Free

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Wait Period

None

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How to Apply

In Person

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Card Delivery

By mail

📄 Download Application Form 📍 Find a ServiceOntario Centre

Do You Qualify for OHIP?

Answer a few questions to find out if you are eligible for Ontario health coverage.

Who Qualifies

You must meet all three of these:

Be physically in Ontario for 153 days in any 12-month period

Be physically in Ontario for at least 153 of the first 183 days after you begin living here

Make Ontario your primary place of residence

Plus at least one of these:

• You are a Canadian citizen

• You are an Indigenous person registered under the Indian Act

• You are a permanent resident

• You are applying for permanent residence and IRCC has confirmed eligibility

• You hold a valid work permit and work full-time in Ontario for at least 6 months

• You are a convention refugee or protected person

• You hold certain Temporary Resident Permits (case types 86 through 95)

• You are a clergy member ministering full-time in Ontario for at least 6 months

There is no longer a waiting period for OHIP coverage. If you are eligible, your coverage starts immediately when you apply.

How to Apply

You must apply in person at a ServiceOntario centre. There is no online application for first-time OHIP registration.

Bring three separate documents:

1A completed Registration for Ontario Health Insurance Coverage form (you can fill it out before you go)

2One original document proving your Canadian citizenship or OHIP-eligible immigration status

3One document proving your residency in Ontario (original, printed, or digital)

4One original document proving your identity

Photocopies are not accepted. All documents must be originals (or printed/digital as specified on the accepted documents list).

Find a ServiceOntario centre →

Born in a hospital with birthing facilities or with a registered midwife:

Hospital staff or the midwife will give you an Ontario Health Coverage Infant Registration form. Complete it, and they will submit it on your behalf. Keep the bottom section as proof of your baby's health number. The card will arrive by mail within about 8 weeks.

Born elsewhere (at home without a midwife, or in a hospital without birthing facilities):

You must apply in person at a ServiceOntario centre. If you go within 90 days of the birth, bring proof of where the baby was born. After 90 days, you need the baby's birth certificate or statement of live birth.

Use the 5-in-1 Newborn Bundle to register your baby's birth, apply for a birth certificate, OHIP, Canada Child Benefit, and Social Insurance Number all at once.

If you have been outside Ontario for more than 212 days in any 12-month period, you may need to reapply. The process is the same as a first-time application: visit a ServiceOntario centre with the completed registration form and your three documents.

What OHIP Covers

Family doctor appointments

Walk-in clinic visits

Emergency room visits

Medical tests and surgeries

Some other health care providers

OHIP only covers medically necessary services. Cosmetic procedures, most dental work, and prescription drugs (for most adults) are not covered. See the full list of covered services.

Need Help?

Contact ServiceOntario for questions about OHIP eligibility.

1-866-532-3161