Last reviewed and updated: August 2026 by a licensed Canadian physician
A licensed Canadian physician independently reviews your request. If documentation is clinically appropriate, a signed medical letter is sent by email. Available for short-term illness documentation in all 10 provinces.
A sick note in Canada is physician documentation that may confirm a person was medically unable to attend work, school, or another obligation for specified dates. MedLetter offers an online request path for short-term illness documentation. A licensed Canadian physician reviews the situation and decides whether documentation is clinically appropriate before anything is issued. We serve every province in Canada. Whether you are in downtown Toronto, rural Saskatchewan, northern Manitoba, or elsewhere, you can submit an online request for physician review without first finding a local walk-in clinic. Each request is assessed independently. Documentation is not issued automatically, and some requests require additional audio or video follow-up before a physician can make a decision.
For a work, school, or recent-absence request, start with the recipient's process rather than assuming a note is required. Report the absence promptly, save any relevant deadline or policy, and describe only the short-term illness and dates involved in the intake. MedLetter is designed for short-term acute illness documentation, generally one to five days, such as cold or flu symptoms, food poisoning, a stomach bug, or a minor acute illness. A licensed physician independently reviews each request. Documentation is issued only when clinically appropriate, and the review may require additional phone or video follow-up. This is a documentation service, not a substitute for emergency, urgent, primary, mental-health, disability, workplace-injury, surgical-recovery, or ongoing-care assessment. If symptoms are severe, new, worsening, or urgent, seek appropriate medical care.
Sick-note rules vary by jurisdiction, leave type, and the facts of the absence. For example, Ontario's statutory ESA sick leave does not allow an employer to require a medical certificate to establish entitlement, while British Columbia restricts health-professional note requests for the first two health-related absences of five consecutive days or fewer in a calendar year. Alberta's personal and family responsibility leave and long-term illness and injury leave are separate processes with different rules. The official sources in the legislation table above are the starting point for provincial employment-standards questions. A workplace policy, collective agreement, paid benefit, accommodation request, insurer, safety-sensitive role, or academic process can have separate requirements. A physician document does not guarantee pay, leave approval, benefit coverage, an employment outcome, or academic consideration.
An online documentation request can be practical when a short-term illness affects a work shift, class, or recent absence and remote physician review is appropriate. Before submitting, follow the employer's or school's reporting process and check whether it actually asks for documentation. Use a primary-care clinic, urgent-care service, emergency service, specialist, insurer, or workplace health process when the situation calls for diagnosis, treatment, medication, disability accommodation, a workplace-injury claim, return-to-work clearance, an extended absence, or another service outside short-term illness documentation. It is not appropriate to use an emergency department only to obtain routine paperwork.
Every sick note issued through MedLetter is reviewed by a physician registered with the appropriate provincial college. Our physicians hold active licences and follow all provincial telehealth guidelines, college standards of practice, and Canadian privacy legislation. No note is issued without a legitimate clinical assessment.
Your health information is protected by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial health privacy legislation (HIA in Alberta, PHIPA in Ontario, PIPA in BC, PHIA in Manitoba/NL, HIPA in Saskatchewan, PIIDPA in Nova Scotia, PHIPAA in New Brunswick, HIPMA in PEI). All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256). We never share your information with employers, schools, or third parties.
College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA). Sick leave: Personal and family responsibility leave may provide up to 5 unpaid days; eligibility and evidence rules depend on the leave type. Check current Alberta guidance and any workplace agreement; long-term illness and injury leave is separate.
Sick Note Calgary Sick Note Edmonton Sick Note Red Deer Sick Note Lethbridge Sick Note Medicine Hat Sick Note Grande Prairie Sick Note Fort McMurray Sick Note AirdrieCollege of Physicians & Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). Sick leave: Up to 3 unpaid ESA sick-leave days per calendar year for eligible employees. Employers cannot require a medical certificate to establish entitlement to statutory ESA sick leave; other processes may differ.
Sick Note Toronto Sick Note Ottawa Sick Note Mississauga Sick Note Brampton Sick Note Hamilton Sick Note London Sick Note Markham Sick Note VaughanCollege of Physicians & Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC). Sick leave: 5 paid and 3 unpaid illness or injury leave days per year for eligible employees. No health-professional note for the first 2 health-related absences of 5 days or fewer in a calendar year; later requests must still be reasonably sufficient.
Sick Note Vancouver Sick Note Surrey Sick Note Burnaby Sick Note Victoria Sick Note Kelowna Sick Note NanaimoCollege of Physicians & Surgeons of Saskatchewan (CPSS). Sick leave: 12 days (Saskatchewan Employment Act, unpaid, no note for short absences). Employer may request for absences over 3 consecutive days.
Sick Note Saskatoon Sick Note Regina Sick Note Prince Albert Sick Note Moose JawCollege of Physicians & Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM). Sick leave: 3 days (Manitoba Employment Standards, unpaid, no note for ≤3 days). Employer may request after 3+ consecutive days.
Sick Note Winnipeg Sick Note Brandon Sick Note Steinbach Sick Note Thompson Sick Note WinklerCollege of Physicians & Surgeons of Nova Scotia (CPSNS). Sick leave: 3 days (Nova Scotia Labour Standards, unpaid sick leave). Employer may request for absences exceeding 3 days.
Sick Note Halifax Sick Note Dartmouth Sick Note SydneyCollege of Physicians & Surgeons of New Brunswick (CPSNB). Sick leave: 5 days (NB Employment Standards Act, unpaid). Employer may request after reasonable absence period.
Sick Note Moncton Sick Note Saint John Sick Note FrederictonCollege of Physicians & Surgeons of PEI (CPSPEI). Sick leave: 3 days (PEI Employment Standards Act, unpaid). Employer may request for extended absences.
Sick Note Charlottetown Sick Note SummersideCollege of Physicians & Surgeons of Newfoundland & Labrador (CPSNL). Sick leave: 7 days (NL Labour Standards, unpaid sick leave). Employer may request after 3+ consecutive days.
Sick Note St. John's Sick Note Corner BrookYes. You can submit a request for short-term illness documentation online. A physician licensed for your location independently reviews the request and may need phone or video follow-up. Documentation is issued only when clinically appropriate.
Costs vary by provider and by the type of documentation requested. MedLetter's standard request fee is $49, and the optional completion of a supported university form is a $10 add-on shown at checkout. Walk-in clinic fees and provincial coverage vary, so confirm directly with the provider.
It depends on the province, the type and length of leave, and any workplace policy or collective agreement. Ontario employers cannot require a medical certificate to establish entitlement to statutory ESA sick leave. In BC, employers cannot request a health-professional note for the first two health-related absences of five days or fewer in a calendar year. Other processes can differ, so check the applicable official guidance and workplace policy.
After you submit a secure intake, a physician independently reviews the information and may request follow-up by phone or video. If documentation is clinically appropriate, a signed document is sent by email. Timing depends on the assessment, request volume, and any follow-up needed.
An employer applies its own lawful absence and documentation process. Physician-issued documentation may help support a request, but it does not guarantee a workplace, benefits, insurance, or academic outcome. Follow your employer's reporting process and ask what documentation is required.
If documentation is issued, it normally identifies the assessing physician, relevant assessment or absence dates, and the clinician's conclusion within the clinically appropriate scope. A diagnosis is not normally required for a routine work or school absence request.
You do not need an existing relationship with a family doctor to submit a request. A licensed physician still makes an independent clinical assessment and may decline or require follow-up when the request is outside the service's short-term illness scope.
MedLetter offers short-term illness documentation requests in all 10 provinces. Use the province directory to review local service information, and provide your current location accurately so an appropriately licensed physician can assess your request.
You may submit a request for a short-term illness affecting a school obligation. Check your faculty or registrar process first: some schools use self-declaration for brief absences, while others require a current form. Upload a clear blank copy at checkout if form completion is needed; if clinically appropriate, the completed form and any issued documentation are sent by email. Your school decides academic consideration.
Download the current form from your school, check the faculty deadline and required submission channel, and keep the original. At checkout, upload a clear blank PDF or image under University Form; the optional $10 form-completion add-on is shown automatically. A physician reviews the request and completes only clinically appropriate information. The school controls the academic decision.
MedLetter is for short-term illnesses, generally one to five days, such as a cold, flu, food poisoning, stomach bug, or minor acute illness. It does not provide documentation for chronic conditions, mental-health care, disability, workplace injuries or WSIB matters, surgical recovery, or ongoing treatment.
You can describe a recent short-term illness and the dates involved. The physician decides whether any retrospective documentation is clinically appropriate after reviewing the information; it is not automatic and may require follow-up.
You can submit an online request on a weekend. If a weekend illness affects a work shift, notify your employer using its usual absence-reporting process first. Physician review timing and whether documentation is issued depend on the clinical assessment.
MedLetter uses a secure online intake for the information needed to assess a request. Documentation, if issued, is sent to the patient; employers and schools should receive only the information required by their own process. Do not upload account passwords or unrelated records.
If the reviewing physician determines that a sick note is not clinically appropriate based on the information provided, you will receive a full refund. MedLetter physicians exercise independent clinical judgment, we never pressure physicians to issue documentation. Not all requests result in a note being issued, and all such cases receive a complete refund.
A MedLetter sick note is a legitimate medical document issued by a licensed Canadian physician after a clinical assessment. It includes the physician's real name, provincial college licence number, and verifiable credentials. Fake or forged sick notes are illegal in Canada and can result in termination and criminal fraud charges. MedLetter notes can be verified by contacting the issuing physician's provincial college.