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CAPR licensure exam · Last updated November 2026

Canadian Physiotherapy Examination (CPTE): free practice test

The single entry-to-practice licensure exam for physiotherapists in Canada since January 2026, replacing the two-step Physiotherapy Competency Examination. A five-hour virtual exam: an Oral Section of 10 structured cases and a Written Section of 100 multiple-choice questions. Musculoskeletal content is about half the exam, then neurological (20%), cardiovascular-respiratory (15%) and other systems (15%).

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About the CPTE exam

The single entry-to-practice licensure exam for physiotherapists in Canada since January 2026, replacing the two-step Physiotherapy Competency Examination. A five-hour virtual exam: an Oral Section of 10 structured cases and a Written Section of 100 multiple-choice questions. Musculoskeletal content is about half the exam, then neurological (20%), cardiovascular-respiratory (15%) and other systems (15%).

What's on the exam

CPTE
Musculoskeletal Assessment and Diagnosis
7 key facts
Musculoskeletal Care Planning and Intervention
7 key facts
Neurological Conditions
7 key facts
Cardiovascular-Respiratory Conditions
7 key facts
Other Systems: Integumentary, Metabolic, Oncology and Pelvic Health
7 key facts
Client Safety, Red Flags and Infection Control
7 key facts
Professional Responsibilities, Ethics and Consent
7 key facts
Collaboration, Communication and Practice Management
7 key facts

Each branch is a topic in the official outline. Members see every key fact on the full mind map. Read the free study guide →

How to pass the CPTE exam

  • The Written Section is 100 questions in 2.5 hours, about 90 seconds each. Vignette questions come in sets of 4, so read the vignette once carefully and reuse it.
  • Look for the capitalized qualifiers BEST, MOST and FIRST. When two options look right, the qualifier decides it, and the safest client-centred step usually comes first.
  • Musculoskeletal content is 50 ± 5% of the exam. Special tests, clinical prediction rules and post-operative precautions are reliable points.
  • The Oral Section is worth 60%. Practise answering cases aloud in 15 minutes: say what you would do and why, in the order the questions are asked.

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Create a free account after the test: your score by topic, a mistakes bank, the complete study notes for the first topic, flashcards and the Clinical Values & Red Flags Sheet.

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What's in the premium CPTE prep

Premium CPTE prep is studied one topic at a time. Each step starts with that topic's key notes and flashcard deck, then its own question sets of 25, so you master one topic before you move to the next. When every topic is strong, the 6 full mock exams show you're ready.

3,000practice questions, every answer explained
6full-length mock exams, 100 questions each, timed
800flashcards with spaced repetition, sorted by topic
60comprehensive key notes across 8 topics

Your step-by-step study path

  1. 1
    Musculoskeletal Assessment and Diagnosis8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Notes free with an account
  2. 2
    Musculoskeletal Care Planning and Intervention8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
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  3. 3
    Neurological Conditions8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
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  4. 4
    Cardiovascular-Respiratory Conditions8 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
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  5. 5
    Other Systems: Integumentary, Metabolic, Oncology and Pelvic Health7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
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  6. 6
    Client Safety, Red Flags and Infection Control7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
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  7. 7
    Professional Responsibilities, Ethics and Consent7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  8. 8
    Collaboration, Communication and Practice Management7 key notes, 100 flashcards, then 375 practice questions in 15 sets of 25
    Premium
  9. Final step: 6 full mock exams100 questions each, timed like test day. Pass them, then book your exam.
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Free with an account

Read the complete CPTE study notes for “Musculoskeletal Assessment and Diagnosis”

Our first full set of comprehensive notes, about 15 minutes of reading: Screen before you test · Clinical prediction rules for imaging · Special tests worth knowing cold · Neurological examination of the limbs · From findings to a physiotherapy diagnosis, a worked exam example, the traps examiners use and a one-minute recap. Create a free account to read it and see how premium notes work before you decide.

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Study tools included

3,000 practice questions

3,000 exam-style questions per exam, organized topic by topic in sets of 25. Every answer explained, with the rule it comes from.

6 full mock exams

6 full-length timed mock exams per exam, with real question counts and time limits, so test day feels like practice day.

Exam Readiness Score

One 0 to 100 number that tells you when you're ready to book. Reach 80 and you're covered by our Pass Guarantee.

800 flashcards + spaced repetition

800 flashcards per exam, in a deck for each topic, that come back right before you'd forget them. Five minutes a day keeps every number fresh.

60 comprehensive key notes

60 key notes per exam, split across its topics and each explained in full: the concepts, worked exam examples, the traps examiners use and a quick recap. Your first set is free with an account.

Mind maps

See the whole exam on one screen: every topic and the facts under it.

Sample questions with answers

These are the questions in the free test above, with answers. Try the test first. You'll learn more by getting some wrong.

1. A 24-year-old soccer player twisted her knee while pivoting and felt a pop. The knee swelled markedly within 2 hours. The Lachman test shows increased anterior translation with a soft end feel. Which structure is MOST likely injured?
Answer: Anterior cruciate ligament. A non-contact pivoting injury, an audible pop and a rapid haemarthrosis (swelling within a few hours) point to the ACL. The Lachman test is the most sensitive clinical test for an ACL tear, and a soft or absent end feel supports it. Meniscal swelling usually develops more slowly, over 24 hours.
2. A client is seen in an emergency department after a car crash with neck pain. He is alert and stable. Under the Canadian C-Spine Rule, which finding on its own means radiography is indicated?
Answer: Age 65 or older. The Canadian C-Spine Rule lists three high-risk factors that mandate imaging: age 65 or older, a dangerous mechanism, and paresthesias in the extremities. Sitting in the emergency department, being ambulatory at any time and delayed onset of neck pain are low-risk factors that allow safe assessment of active rotation.
3. Two days after a total hip arthroplasty through a posterior approach, a client asks which movement he must avoid. Which combination carries the GREATEST risk of dislocation?
Answer: Hip flexion past 90 degrees with adduction and internal rotation. A posterior approach weakens the posterior capsule and short external rotators, so flexion past 90 degrees combined with adduction and internal rotation pushes the femoral head out posteriorly. Extension with external rotation is the risky position after an anterior approach.
4. A 62-year-old with knee osteoarthritis and a BMI of 32 reports pain when walking and on stairs. Which plan is the BEST first-line approach?
Answer: Education, a structured exercise program and support for weight management. Clinical guidelines for knee osteoarthritis (and programs such as GLA:D Canada) put education, exercise and weight management first for everyone. Rest leads to deconditioning, ultrasound has little evidence of benefit, and arthroscopic debridement is not recommended for knee osteoarthritis.
5. Five days after a right hemisphere stroke, a client sitting on the edge of the bed pushes strongly with his right arm toward his left side and resists your attempts to bring him to midline. What does this MOST likely describe?
Answer: Contraversive pushing (pusher syndrome). Contraversive pushing is pushing with the non-paretic limbs toward the paretic side and resisting correction toward midline. It often occurs with right hemisphere lesions and can coexist with neglect, but neglect alone doesn't produce active pushing. Treatment uses visual feedback of vertical rather than forceful correction.
6. A 58-year-old has brief spinning vertigo when rolling over in bed. The right Dix-Hallpike test produces upbeating, torsional nystagmus after a short latency that stops within 30 seconds. What is the MOST appropriate intervention?
Answer: Right-sided canalith repositioning (Epley) manoeuvre. Short-latency, upbeating torsional nystagmus lasting under a minute on a right Dix-Hallpike indicates right posterior canal BPPV (canalithiasis). The right Epley manoeuvre is the treatment. The barbecue roll treats horizontal canal BPPV, and gaze stabilization is for vestibular hypofunction.
7. During aerobic training in a pulmonary rehabilitation program, what dyspnea rating on the modified Borg (0-10) scale is usually targeted for a client with COPD?
Answer: 3 to 4. Aerobic training for COPD is commonly prescribed at a dyspnea rating of about 3 to 4 (moderate to somewhat severe) on the modified Borg scale. That is enough to produce a training effect while staying tolerable. Ratings of 7 or more are very severe and not a training target.
8. A client is walking in the hallway on day 3 of inpatient cardiac rehabilitation after a myocardial infarction. Which finding is an indication to stop the exercise?
Answer: Systolic blood pressure falling more than 10 mmHg as the workload increases. A drop in systolic blood pressure of more than 10 mmHg despite an increase in workload suggests the heart can't meet demand and is a standard indication to stop exercise. A modest rise in heart rate and blood pressure and an RPE of 11 (light) are normal responses to walking.
9. A client with type 1 diabetes becomes shaky and sweaty during a clinic exercise session. He is alert, and his capillary blood glucose is 3.4 mmol/L. What should the physiotherapist do FIRST?
Answer: Stop the exercise, give 15 g of fast-acting carbohydrate and recheck in 15 minutes. A glucose below 4.0 mmol/L with symptoms is hypoglycemia. Diabetes Canada guidelines for a conscious person: stop activity, give 15 g of fast-acting carbohydrate (glucose tablets preferred), recheck after 15 minutes and repeat if still low. Protein and fat slow the rise in glucose. Emergency services are for a person who can't swallow safely or loses consciousness.
10. A client has deep partial-thickness burns across the anterior neck. In which position should the neck be maintained to prevent contracture?
Answer: Slight extension, with no pillow under the head. Burns contract toward the position of comfort, which for the anterior neck is flexion. Positioning in neutral to slight extension (no pillow, or a small roll under the shoulders) keeps the healing skin at length. Pillows under the head encourage a flexion contracture.
11. Four days after a total knee arthroplasty, a client reports new calf pain. The calf is warm and swollen compared with the other side. What is the MOST appropriate action?
Answer: Hold the session and arrange same-day medical assessment for a possible DVT. Unilateral calf pain, warmth and swelling after lower-limb joint replacement suggest a deep vein thrombosis until proven otherwise. Hold exercise and massage, inform the surgical team or physician and arrange urgent assessment (for example a Wells score and Doppler ultrasound). Massage and vigorous exercise are inappropriate until a DVT is ruled out or treated.
12. You have just treated a client on contact precautions for Clostridioides difficile infection and removed your gloves and gown. Which hand hygiene method is MOST appropriate?
Answer: Washing with soap and running water. C. difficile forms spores that alcohol doesn't kill. Canadian infection prevention guidance prefers washing with soap and running water after caring for these clients, because the friction and rinsing physically remove spores. Gloves never replace hand hygiene.
13. A client consented to an assessment and an exercise program for chronic neck pain. At the third visit, the physiotherapist, who is authorized to perform dry needling, thinks it would help. What must happen before needling begins?
Answer: Informed consent for dry needling itself, after explaining its nature, benefits, material risks and alternatives. Consent is ongoing and specific to the intervention. A new intervention with its own risks (for example pneumothorax when needling near the thorax) needs fresh informed consent from the client: what it involves, the expected benefits, material risks, alternatives and the right to refuse. A physician can't consent on a capable client's behalf.
14. A physiotherapist has assessed a client after a stable ankle fracture and set the goals and plan. A physiotherapist assistant who has been assessed as competent works on the unit. Which task is appropriate to assign to the assistant?
Answer: Carrying out the established progressive exercise program and reporting the client's response. Under CAPR's Model Standards of Practice and the provincial standards, physiotherapists stay accountable for assigned care. Assessment, interpretation, changes to the plan and discharge decisions stay with the physiotherapist. Assistants can deliver established interventions they are competent in and report back.
15. A client who speaks little English attends with her adult daughter, who offers to translate the explanation of a proposed treatment plan. What is the BEST approach?
Answer: Arrange a professional interpreter, in person or by phone or video. For informed consent and accurate information, a trained interpreter is best practice. Family members may filter or change information, and privacy can be compromised. Interpreters by phone or video are widely available in Canadian health settings, so treatment doesn't need to wait.

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  • The CPTE: every area of the blueprint, both sections
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Certification guide

CPTE exam guide (2026): Since January 2026 the Canadian Physiotherapy Examination (CPTE) has been the single licensure exam for physiotherapists in Canada outside Quebec, replacing the Written and Clinical Components of the Physiotherapy Competency Examination (PCE). It is run by the [Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators (CAPR)](https://alliancept.org/canadian-physiotherapy-examination/) as a five-hour virtual exam with an Oral Section and a Written Section. Here is how it works and how to prepare.

CPTE exam FAQ

How many questions are on the CPTE exam?

Written Section: 100 multiple-choice questions with 4 options (80 vignette-based in sets of 4, then 20 stand-alone; 20-25% media-enhanced). Oral Section: 10 structured cases answered aloud, with a time limit of 5 hours: oral section 2.5 hours (10 cases, 15 minutes each), a break of about 60 minutes, then written section 2.5 hours (about 90 seconds a question). Format: closed book, computer-based, remotely proctored.

What is the passing score for CPTE?

One overall pass/fail from the combined score (Oral 150 points = 60%, Written 100 points = 40%), set by criterion-referenced standard setting. CAPR does not publish the passing score as a percentage; practise to 70% or higher.

How much does the CPTE exam cost?

C$2,500 (2026 and 2027 dates); C$1,800 in 2026 for candidates who passed the PCE Written Component in 2025. CAPR sets the fee per exam date and charges for rescheduling, so confirm the current fee on the CAPR website before you apply.

Which languages is the CPTE exam offered in?

English or French (chosen when you apply).

Where do I take the CPTE exam?

Virtual and remotely proctored, from a private room in Canada or abroad.

Is this CPTE practice test free?

Yes. The 15-question practice test on this page is free, with an explanation for every answer and no signup. A free account also unlocks the complete study notes for the first topic. The full CPTE prep is Premium at C$207 a month for this exam.

What's in the premium CPTE prep?

3,000 practice questions organized topic by topic (Musculoskeletal Assessment and Diagnosis: 375; Musculoskeletal Care Planning and Intervention: 375; Neurological Conditions: 375; Cardiovascular-Respiratory Conditions: 375; Other Systems: Integumentary, Metabolic, Oncology and Pelvic Health: 375; Client Safety, Red Flags and Infection Control: 375; Professional Responsibilities, Ethics and Consent: 375; Collaboration, Communication and Practice Management: 375), 6 full-length timed mock exams of 100 questions, 800 flashcards and 60 comprehensive key notes split across all 8 topics, plus a mistakes bank and the Readiness Score.

Related practice tests

Exam details are summarized from the official candidate information available in November 2026. the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators changes formats and fees, so confirm with Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators (CAPR) before you book. CPTEExamPrep is not affiliated with the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators.

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