Frequently asked questions

An online study app for internationally graduated optometrists preparing for the IGOEE in Canada: 520+ General MCQ items, 150+ TPAO questions, full-length mock exams, 15+ OSCE stations, 200+ flashcards and a study notebook.

No. Every question is original, written from public guidelines and Ontario regulations. Recalled exam questions break Touchstone's exam rules and can void a candidate's result, so we never use or accept them.

Every account includes a free sample of every section with no time limit: 50 General MCQ items, a TPAO case, an OSCE station and 15 flashcards. You can also try 7 sample questions without an account.

The Written pass (General MCQ and TPAO) is $299 and the Full pass (everything, including the OSCE) is $399, each paid once for access until the end of your exam sitting. Monthly access to everything is $59. If you sit again, a new pass covers the next sitting.

Until the last day of the exam sitting you choose: March 14, 2027 for the current sitting.

Yes. It runs in any modern browser on a computer, tablet or phone, and your progress and notes sync to your account. It needs an internet connection: the question bank is only available through the website.

Questions are written against published standards (Ontario's O. Reg. 112/11, Diabetes Canada, CAO and similar), and every question cites the standard it follows. Clinical content is for exam preparation, not patient care; check anything important against current guidance.

It's a self-paced online IGOEE prep program rather than a taught review course, so there are no lectures or live classes. You learn by practising: a question bank, practice tests and full-length mock exams, TPAO cases, OSCE stations and flashcards, with a week-by-week study plan to follow.

Yes. Members get a full-length General MCQ mock (140 items, 160 minutes) and a full-length TPAO mock (98 items, 132 minutes), plus an OSCE circuit and shorter timed sets.

No. It's an independent study tool. Exam details are summarized from Touchstone's and FORAC's public pages; always confirm with the official sources.

Yes, in full, if you ask within 7 days of paying. After that, payments aren't refundable, except where the law requires.

See the contact details on our About page.

For the 2026–2027 cycle, registration closes on January 8, 2027. The virtual TPAO and General MCQ are on March 3–4, 2027, and the OSCE runs in Toronto from March 12, 2027 (short cases) to March 14 (long cases). Confirm the dates with Touchstone Institute.

The General MCQ (140 items in 160 minutes), the TPAO (98 items in 132 minutes), the short-case OSCE (10 stations of 17 minutes) and the long-case OSCE (3 stations of 32 minutes).

The Therapeutics Prescribing Assessment for Optometry: a case-based multiple-choice exam on diagnosis, drug selection, mechanisms, side effects, follow-up and the limits of an Ontario optometrist's prescribing scope.

Touchstone lists the fee as CAD $5,000 (Visa or Mastercard); $1,000 cancellation fee; refunds end 30 days before the exam.

Up to eight weeks; results go to FORAC, which notifies you.

Three attempts within five years. Exceptionally high scores allow a direct challenge of the OEBC exam.

Optometrists educated outside North America who want to practise in any Canadian province or territory except Quebec, sometimes called internationally educated or foreign-trained optometrists. The route depends on where you studied, not your citizenship, so it is the same for graduates from India, the Philippines, Iran, Nigeria, the UK or anywhere else. FORAC assesses your credentials before you can register.

The IGOEE is one step, not a licence on its own. FORAC's pathway (credential assessment, the IGOEE, Waterloo's ASOPP if required, then the OEBC exam) leads to registration in every province and territory except Quebec, including British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. Each regulator sets its final registration requirements, so check with the one where you plan to work.

No. It is the evaluating exam on FORAC's pathway. After it come Waterloo's ASOPP (if required), the OEBC entry-to-practice exam and registration with a provincial regulator.