Certified Exams (Alberta)
Alberta Auto Insurance Certified Exams
Independent Certified Examiner assessments under Alberta’s Minor Injury Regulation, scheduled and delivered within the required timelines. RIDM has coordinated Alberta assessments since 1986.
What we deliver
A Certified Exam produces an independent opinion on whether a claimant’s injury falls within Alberta’s Minor Injury Regulation, and whether a serious impairment exists. The opinion is delivered on the Superintendent of Insurance prescribed form.
Our role is to get the right examiner in front of the claimant, on time, with a report that lands when you need it. The legal significance of the finding is for counsel. Our job is that the assessment itself is properly conducted, properly documented, and properly timed.
Booking timeline
The process runs on fixed deadlines, and most delays we see come from the scheduling step rather than the assessment itself.
No request can be made until 90 days after the accident. Once notice is served, the responding party has 14 days to accept the proposed examiner or name an alternative. If the parties cannot agree, either side can apply to the Superintendent of Insurance to select one, and the Superintendent does so within five business days. From referral, the examiner has 30 days to make reasonable efforts to schedule, and 30 days from the assessment to deliver the opinion.
Build in roughly four to six weeks from referral to report in the ordinary course, longer if a specialty or a remote location is involved. If your file has a deadline, tell us at intake and we will tell you honestly whether we can hit it.
One assessment per accident
Only one Certified Exam is permitted per claimant per accident. There is no second attempt if the report comes back thinner than you expected.
That makes the referral the most important document in the process. We will ask you what you want addressed before the file is assigned, and we will flag if what you have asked for sits outside what a Certified Examiner can properly opine on. If you want the pre existing history, the treatment compliance picture, or the contribution of other injuries discussed, say so in the referral. We cannot add it later.
If you are unsure what to ask for, your counsel should scope it. We will not draft the instruction for you, but we will tell you whether we can deliver against it.
Who conducts the assessment
Certified Examiners are physicians and dentists entered on the register maintained by the Alberta Superintendent of Insurance. Registration requires passing a college approved examination and demonstrating competence in independent assessment and third party opinion work, among other requirements.
An examiner cannot act if they have treated the claimant, or been consulted on their diagnosis or treatment, for any injury from the same accident. We screen for that at assignment.
Certified Examiners are a distinct role from Injury Management Consultants, who work under the Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols Regulation and include chiropractors and physical therapists. If you need an IMC rather than a Certified Exam, tell us and we will route it correctly.
Non attendance
If a claimant does not attend a properly noticed assessment, or will not answer relevant questions or authorise release of records, there are consequences under the regulation that run against the claimant. We document attendance, notice, and any obstruction carefully, because that documentation is what your counsel will need. We do not advise on what the consequences are.
Need an Alberta Certified Exam scheduled?
RIDM is an independent, Canadian owned, CARF accredited assessment provider operating since 1986. We provide assessment services, not legal advice. Requirements and published figures change, so confirm current details with the Alberta Superintendent of Insurance or your counsel.
Includes Everything You Need
The Certified Exam report includes all necessary and required information as outlined in Form M1-3.
Forms and official sources
Prescribed forms and the current register are published by the Alberta Superintendent of Insurance at alberta.ca/insurance-forms. The forms are MI-1 for the request, MI-2 for an application to the Superintendent to select an examiner, and MI-3 for the examiner’s opinion. Content on the prescribed forms cannot be altered.
The Minor Injury Regulation itself is published by the Alberta King’s Printer.
What changes on January 1 2027
Alberta’s new Care-First automobile insurance regime takes effect January 1 2027 and applies to accidents on or after that date. Accidents before that date remain under the current system.
The practical consequence for assessment planning is that two processes will run in parallel for years. Certified Exams continue on the pre 2027 book, and because a request cannot be made until 90 days after the accident, the last Certified Exams on late 2026 accidents will not even be requested until 2027. Litigation on those files runs well beyond that.
Care-First also creates new assessment demand, including independent medical assessments on questions of treatment and recovery, and determinations tied to a permanent impairment schedule. We are building capacity for both.
The single most important thing for your intake process: confirm the accident date before commissioning anything. That date decides which regime applies.
For what Care-First means legally, speak to your counsel. For what it means for assessment capacity on your Alberta book, speak to us.