College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of British Columbia

What College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of British Columbia does

The College of Complementary Health Professionals of British Columbia (CCHPBC) is the legislated regulatory body for five complementary health professions in British Columbia, Canada, formed on June 28, 2024 through the amalgamation of the College of Chiropractors of BC, the College of Massage Therapists of BC, the College of Naturopathic Physicians of BC, and the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of BC. It regulates more than 14,000 licensees under the Health Professions Act and the incoming Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA), with authority over licensing, complaints and discipline, quality assurance, and professional/clinical practice standards. The college is headquartered at 900-200 Granville St., Vancouver, and is governed by a 12-member board appointed by the Minister of Health, with six public and six registrant members.

The organisation operates an integrated licensee management platform built on a single database covering all 14,000+ licensees, supporting a public-facing Practitioner Search registry, a Licensee/Applicant Portal for renewals and profile management, a complaint submission system, a disciplinary orders database, criminal record check workflows (5-year cycle), Certificate of Standing processing, and the Practice Advisory Service (which handled roughly 3,400 inquiries across two reporting periods in 2024–2025). On April 1, 2026, a unified Professional and Clinical Practice Standards framework came into force across all five professions, replacing legacy codes of conduct and standards of practice.

CCHPBC is a non-profit entity operating on a cost-recovery basis, funded entirely through annual licensing/registration fees rather than government appropriation or external investment. Fee revenue is structured by profession: massage therapists pay $890, TCM practitioners and acupuncturists pay $990, chiropractors pay $1,600, and naturopathic physicians pay $2,645 (Stage One, effective November 2025), with further planned increases in Stage Two. Revenue is contractual and recurring on a March 31 annual renewal cycle, providing highly predictable cash flow tied to a captive licensee base; no commercial monetisation, equity, or outside capital is involved.

Name

College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of British Columbia

Legal name

College of Complementary Health Professionals of British Columbia

Website

https://ctcma.bc.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CCHPBC is the legislated BC regulator for five complementary health professions (acupuncture, chiropractic, massage therapy, naturopathic medicine, TCM), formed in June 2024 through amalgamation of four legacy colleges. It licenses 14,000+ practitioners on a non-profit, cost-recovery basis funded by annual registration fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Regulatory Services

NAICS

Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (92615)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAJACAC

Healthcare Licensing, Accreditation & Credentialing Boards

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Health Policy, Regulation & Compliance Authorities

SECONDARYEDADACAF

Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Accreditation Bodies (Institutional & Programmatic)

SECONDARYEDAAALAC

Healthcare Clinical Professions (CME/CE for Nurses, Allied Health, Pharmacy)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Professional Licensure & Continuing Professional Education (CE/CPE)

Keywords

• Health profession regulation
• Professional licensing services
• Complementary healthcare oversight
• Regulatory college services
• Continuing education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Licensing and Registration Fees: As a non-profit regulatory organization, CCHPBC operates on a cost-recovery basis where revenues approximate long-term costs. The college collects licensing/registration fees from over 14,000 regulated health professionals including annual renewal fees, application fees, and certification fees (for naturopathic physicians, certification fees are now included in the annual licensing fee). Fee structure varies by profession with annual renewal fees ranging from $890 to $3,200 depending on the profession and stage of the fee schedule.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CCHPBC is a BC provincial regulatory body that grants and renews licences, sets and enforces professional and clinical practice standards, investigates complaints, and administers quality assurance programs for over 14,000 complementary health professionals across five professions (acupuncturists, chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopathic physicians, and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners). The college operates on a cost-recovery basis funded by annual licensing/registration fees differentiated by profession, with all regulatory functions consolidated on a single integrated licensee management software platform.

Product overview

The College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC (CCHPBC) is a unified regulatory body formed through amalgamation in June 2024, regulating five health professions: acupuncturists, chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopathic physicians, and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. The organization operates as a platform of regulatory services including a public practitioner registry, licensee portal for registration management, complaint handling system, practice advisory services, quality assurance programs, and comprehensive professional standards framework effective April 2026. The portfolio includes continuing education requirements, criminal record check management, certificate of standing processing, and disciplinary action publication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Annual Professional Licensing and Registration Statutory annual licence and registration service for BC complementary health professionals in five professions (acupuncturists, TCM practitioners, chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopathic physicians). Required to legally practice in BC. Includes annual renewal with fees tiered by profession (Stage One: $890–$2,645; Stage Two: $1,030–$3,200), application fees for new registrants, and inclusion of naturopathic certification within the renewal fee.
• Public Practitioner Registry Free public-facing searchable database enabling anyone to verify the credentials, registration status, and qualifications of regulated health professionals in BC. Supports public protection by enabling credential checks.
• Practice Advisory Service Advisory service for licensees providing guidance on standards interpretation, bylaws, Code of Ethics application, and day-to-day practice questions, delivered by dedicated practice advisors via email and phone.
• Practice Development Program (RMT) Mandatory Quality Assurance program for Registered Massage Therapists comprising self-assessment, learning goals, learning activities, and reflection components, accessed via the PDP Portal.
• Naturopathic Physicians Continuing Education Program Mandatory Quality Assurance program requiring naturopathic physicians to complete a minimum of 40 continuing education hours over two-year periods across five categories (C, D, E, F, G), including cultural safety requirements.
• Criminal Record Check Management Service managing criminal record check submissions, consent form collection, and renewal tracking (every 5 years) on behalf of licensees, with direct integration to BC's Criminal Records Review Program.
• Certificate of Standing Processing Service for licensees requesting Certificates of Standing for out-of-province regulatory bodies, including standardized consent forms and direct issuance to receiving regulators. Future functionality will allow direct application via the Licensee Portal.
• Professional and Clinical Practice Standards Framework Unified set of professional standards (Advertising and Marketing, Communications and Professionalism, TRC Calls to Action, Informed Consent, Integrated Person-Centred Care, Practice Environment, Professional Boundaries and Prevention of Sexual Misconduct, Record-Keeping, Scope of Practice) and clinical practice standards for naturopathic medicine and chiropractic, governing all five regulated professions.
• Complaint Investigation and Disciplinary Actions Public complaint submission system and disciplinary process for investigating allegations of professional misconduct or incompetence against regulated health professionals, with publication of resulting disciplinary orders and citations.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Musqueam Nation (Sulksun)minorOthers · 28 June 2024Sulksun, a Knowledge Keeper and artist from the Musqueam Nation, collaborated on the development of the college's brand identity and logo. He explained the meaning behind elements of the logo, including the twin sister peaks in the North Shore mountains visible from Vancouver. The Indigenous Engagement Group encouraged engagement with an Indigenous artist during the amalgamation process.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• College of Health and Care Professionals of BC: BC's parallel multi-profession health regulatory amalgamation combining dietitians, opticians, optometrists, hearing instrument practitioners, and others. The closest structural twin to CCHPBC as a recent multi-profession BC health regulator formed under the same Ministry of Health modernisation programme.
• College of Occupational Therapists of British Columbia: BC's regulator for occupational therapists under the Health Professions Act. Directly comparable as a smaller single-profession BC health regulatory college, and notably the prior employer of CCHPBC's CEO Carin Plischke, providing a useful governance and operational benchmark.

Regional players

• General Chiropractic Council (UK): UK statutory regulator for chiropractors. Comparable as a single-profession complementary-health regulator in another jurisdiction, providing a peer regulatory benchmark for one of CCHPBC's five regulated professions.
• College of Naturopaths of Ontario: Statutory regulator for naturopathic doctors in Ontario. Comparable as a Canadian provincial regulator of one of CCHPBC's five regulated professions, though operating as a single-profession rather than multi-profession college.
• College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario: Statutory regulator for TCM practitioners and acupuncturists in Ontario — the namesake predecessor of CCHPBC. Comparable as a single-profession regulator of TCM/acupuncture practitioners in another Canadian province, useful as a peer benchmark for the heritage TCM profession.

Broad incumbents

• College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia: Provincial health-profession regulator for physicians and surgeons in BC under the same Health Professions Act framework. Comparable as a peer BC health-profession regulatory college, though broader in scope (physicians) and operating independently rather than as part of the complementary-health amalgamation.
• College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia: Statutory regulator for dentists, dental therapists, and dental hygienists in BC. Comparable as another BC health-profession regulatory college operating under the same legislative regime and undergoing HPOA-driven modernisation.
• Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra): National agency supporting 15 health-profession boards in Australia, including Chinese Medicine, Chiropractic, and Massage Therapy. Comparable as a multi-profession health-profession regulatory model outside North America.
• British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives: BC's amalgamated regulator for nurses, nurse practitioners, and midwives, formed in 2020 by merging three legacy colleges. Directly comparable as a recent BC multi-profession health-regulatory amalgamation and a near-twin of CCHPBC's structural model.
• College of Pharmacists of British Columbia: Statutory regulatory college for pharmacy professionals in BC under the Health Professions Act. Comparable as a fellow BC health-profession regulator operating under the same legislative framework and subject to the same HPOA transition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cchpbc
• Facebookfacebook.com/cchpbc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ctcmabc
• Instagraminstagram.com/cchpbc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of British Columbia