# Get an Ontario health card \(OHIP\)

Apply in person at ServiceOntario with three original documents. There's no longer a waiting period: if you're eligible, coverage starts right away.

- Kind: Health
- Applies to: Ontario
- Your time: about 1½ hr
- Steps: 4
- Written by: @helg
- Version 1, updated 2026-10-24
- Source: https://helg.app/community/get-an-ontario-health-card-ohip

## Steps

1. **Check [Whose card] can get OHIP** (10 min)
   Ontario has to be the main home, with at least 153 days in Ontario in any 12 months and 153 of the first 183 days after moving here. Citizens, permanent residents and some work-permit holders qualify; the page lists the rest.
   - [Apply for OHIP \(ontario.ca\)](https://www.ontario.ca/page/apply-ohip-and-get-health-card)
2. **Gather three original documents for [Whose card]** (20 min)
   One for citizenship or immigration status \(PR card, for example\), one for living in Ontario \(a lease, or an Ontario driver's licence\), one for identity \(a passport\). Originals only: photocopies aren't accepted.
3. **Go to a ServiceOntario centre with [Whose card]** (45 min)
   OHIP applications are in person only.
   - [Find a ServiceOntario centre](https://www.ontario.ca/locations/serviceontario)
4. **Wait for the card in the mail**
   Coverage doesn't wait for the card: if you're eligible, it starts when you're approved.

## Details that depend on you

Words in [square brackets] are filled in when you add this to Helg:

- [Whose card]: Who is the health card for?

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Written by people who have done it, not by Helg or any government. Check the official sites before paying for anything.
Add it to Helg as a checklist: https://helg.app/community/get-an-ontario-health-card-ohip