How to start a speech therapy private practice in Ontario: a step-by-step guide

Step 1: confirm who may use the speech-language pathologist title

The Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Act, 1991 says no one other than a member of the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario (CASLPO) may use the titles “audiologist”, “speech-language pathologist” or “speech therapist”, or hold themselves out as qualified to practise as one (section 8). The Act sets fines of up to $25,000 for a first offence and up to $50,000 for a later one (section 10) [SLP-1]. Check that your practice name, signage and website do not suggest otherwise.

CASLPO’s tips for opening a private practice say every registrant must follow the legislation, regulations, by-laws and practice standards listed on its website, whatever the setting, and the document gathers the duties to plan for [SLP-2]. This guide follows that document, and each step names the source behind it.

CASLPO says it cannot provide business, legal or financial advice. It suggests asking advisers about business planning, partnerships, incorporation, registering a business, zoning, employment contracts, leases, taxes and insurance [SLP-2].

Step 2: choose a practice model

The practice model decides which duties fall on you. The table pairs four common models with what CASLPO’s guide says and with questions to take to your advisers.

Step 3: set up consent, records and privacy

CASLPO says to have a process for obtaining and documenting consent to collect, use and disclose personal health information under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA), and consent to services under the Health Care Consent Act, 1996. It also asks registrants to understand the duties of a health information custodian, including the duty to report privacy breaches [SLP-2]. PHIPA treats a health care practitioner, or a person who operates a group practice of practitioners, as a custodian (section 3(1)) [SLP-3].

On retention, CASLPO’s guide says records are kept for 10 years after the last professional contact and, when the child was under 18 at that contact, for 10 years after their 18th birthday [SLP-2]. Other professions’ colleges set different periods, which our record retention table compares.

Pediatric work adds a consent question. CASLPO’s billing advice says parents who pay for therapy are not automatically entitled to a capable teenager’s health information, and suggests reviewing at the first discussion when information may be disclosed [SLP-4].

Step 4: decide whether to incorporate

CASLPO says you may incorporate your private practice but you do not have to in order to see patients privately. To incorporate, you must obtain a Certificate of Authorization from CASLPO [SLP-2].

The Business Corporations Act, section 3.2, sets conditions for a professional corporation. They include that all the shares are owned by members of the same profession, that every officer and director is a shareholder, that the name includes “Professional Corporation”, and that the articles limit the business to the profession and related activities. The section also lets regulations change the rules for health profession corporations [SLP-5].

Because the shareholder condition refers to members of the same profession, ask CASLPO and counsel how a clinic that wants speech, occupational therapy and other professionals as co-owners should be structured. The College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario, for example, distinguishes professional corporations from practice management corporations, which can have owners from other professions but cannot be used by registrants to practise a regulated profession [SLP-6]. Whether CASLPO takes the same approach is a question for CASLPO.

Registering a business name or incorporating happens through the Ontario Business Registry, which also asks you to report changes within 15 days [SLP-7].

Step 5: insurance, premises and safety

CASLPO’s minimum liability insurance under By-Law No. 6 is at least $2,000,000 per claim, and its guide asks registrants to decide whether they need more [SLP-2].

For premises, CASLPO asks registrants to plan a workspace that keeps patients and staff safe, follows Ontario workplace health and safety and accessibility law as applicable, and protects confidentiality. It also asks them to plan emergency protocols, follow CASLPO’s infection prevention and control standards, and keep equipment and clinical tools in working order [SLP-2].

Employer duties such as workplace violence and harassment policies, accessibility reporting and workers’ compensation depend on how many people you employ. Our Ontario clinic rules page lists them with sources.

Step 6: billing, receipts and prepayment

CASLPO does not provide a fee structure or billing codes. Its professional misconduct rules treat an excessive fee, and charging a patient for a service another party has paid or must pay, as misconduct, and its Code of Ethics asks registrants to set reasonable fees and discuss fees before services begin [SLP-4]. The table summarizes the situations that matter most in pediatric practice. It is not fee advice.

Step 7: support personnel and growing a team

CASLPO’s position statement on support personnel, revised in September 2025, says the SLP is responsible for all aspects of care assigned to support personnel and must supervise them. The SLP must make sure informed consent from the patient or substitute decision-maker is documented, with the support person’s role explained [SLP-8].

• Tasks that may not be assigned include assessing speech, language or communication skills and communicating results, developing or changing intervention plans, selecting, admitting, discharging or referring patients, supervising other support personnel, and consulting with families about specific patient care.
• Tasks the SLP may assign include making or cancelling appointments, preparing materials, collecting information as directed, delivering specified treatment sessions and writing progress notes that reflect performance and behaviours.
• Support personnel must be directly observed providing intervention on a regular basis, though not necessarily with every patient, and the SLP reviews their progress notes.
• A new hire without a CASLPO certificate of registration must not use the restricted titles or hold themselves out as qualified until they are registered [SLP-2].

Step 8: funding, payers and advertising

The Ontario Autism Program guidelines, updated on 10 September 2026, say speech-language pathology services under the program must be delivered or supervised by a speech-language pathologist who is registered and in good standing with CASLPO [SLP-9]. Extended health benefits, auto insurance and workers’ compensation may each have their own provider rules, so research each payer directly before promising a family anything.

CASLPO’s guide also says marketing materials and social media must meet its Advertising Standards [SLP-2]. Our reviews and testimonials table compares what each Ontario college says about online reviews.

A 90-day launch checklist and software to test

Use the checklist below to order the work. It is a planning aid built from the steps above, not a list of legal requirements. When you test software, also check its invoice against the billing table in step 6. In TherapyCRM, an invoice line records the clinician who delivered the session with their name, designation and registration number and, for staff who need supervision or are recorded as not registered, the supervising clinician, printed as “Supervised by”. The clinic, not the software, decides what its invoices must contain.

• Before launch: confirm registration and title use, update your practice location in the CASLPO Registrant Portal, choose a structure with your advisers and arrange liability insurance that meets the minimum.
• Weeks 1 to 4: write consent, privacy, record and retention procedures; draft intake, consent and cancellation wording; decide how invoices will show who delivered each session.
• Weeks 5 to 8: set up scheduling and reminders, test the intake and invoice flow with fictional families, and agree who supervises any support personnel.
• Weeks 9 to 12: see a small number of families, review notes and invoices against the procedures, and fix what you find before you grow.

Frequently asked questions