UCDA publishes the CPD numbers OMVIC's page still doesn't, plus who can deduct the $99

Two weeks into OMVIC’s continuing education era, the most complete public description of how the program actually works comes not from the regulator but from the UCDA. The July 2026 issue of Front Line (Vol. 39 No. 06), the association’s member publication, sets out the course parameters, the Key Elements comparison, and a practical answer to the question every salesperson asked on day one: can I deduct the $99?

The context matters. Continuing education became mandatory on July 1, 2026 for every registrant renewing on or after that date. OMVIC’s continuing education page explains who must complete it and when, but as of July 11 it still does not state the pass mark, the course length, or the attempt policy. Our CPD FAQ has flagged those gaps since June. UCDA has now filled them, from the member side.

What UCDA says the CPD course looks like

Per Front Line, OMVIC’s in-house course (REVS, which OMVIC expands as Raising Excellence in Vehicle Sales) works like this:

• 90 days to complete, matching the enrolment window that opens 90 days before your renewal date.
• Format: virtual, on-demand modules with an assessment after each course.
• Pass mark: minimum 80 percent, with unlimited attempts. UCDA’s words: “you cannot ‘fail’”.
• Time: approximately 4 to 6 hours.
• Cost: $99, all-inclusive and not taxable. That is the fee OMVIC announced in its January 60-day notice.

The unlimited-attempts detail is the one that does the most work. Through the consultation period, the 80 percent pass mark was a headline objection; an assessment you can retake until you pass is a competence check, not a gate. These figures are UCDA’s description to its members, not OMVIC’s published terms, so treat them as the best available picture rather than the official one until OMVIC’s page catches up.

For grandfathered registrants, the one-time alternative is the MVDA Key Elements Course through Georgian College, and UCDA’s comparison makes the differences plain: $202.86 all-inclusive, a 40-question multiple-choice open-book test with 60 minutes to complete, written online or in person at certain ServiceOntario locations, 12 weeks from registration to pass, and a minimum of 80 percent with one attempt per registration. On price, time pressure, and retry policy, the $99 course is the softer path; the Key Elements route is the one where preparation actually decides the outcome.

Can you deduct the fee?

Front Line’s second contribution is tax guidance, which UCDA frames with the sensible caveat to confirm with your own tax advisors. The summary:

• Salespeople (employees) can generally deduct CPD fees only if the employment contract requires them to pay for the training, the employer signs a Form T2200 (Declaration of Conditions of Employment), no reimbursement was received, and the training maintains or upgrades existing skills. A course taken to get a new licence, such as the initial OMVIC Certification Course, generally does not qualify.
• Dealers who pay for staff training that is strictly for the employee’s benefit and not required for the job may be creating a taxable benefit on the employee’s T4.
• On the business side, annual dues to a trade association like the UCDA and the OMVIC registration itself are the kind of fees the CRA’s business-expense rules may allow as deductions.

The temperature has changed

The most telling thing about the July issue is its tone. In March, UCDA’s response to the program was a broadside titled “OMVIC NEEDS EDUCATION”, offering free member training as a pointed alternative to the $99 fee. Four months later, the same publication walks members through the portal guides and course formats, then moves straight to the tax treatment. The argument about whether continuing education should exist is over; the conversation is now about completing it efficiently and deducting it correctly. For dealers still deciding when to schedule their staff, that shift is the signal: the program is not going anywhere, and the renewal-date clock under the July 1 rules does not pause.

One operational reminder from the same rules: if the education requirement is not completed by your renewal date, OMVIC’s page states your registration will expire and you cannot trade until it is reinstated. The 90-day window is longer than the course needs, but only if you start inside it.