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Chapter 6. RDSP Transfers

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

Disclaimer: RDSP issuers

The information contained on this page is technical in nature. The target audience are issuers of the:

  • Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP)
  • Canada Disability Savings Grant (CDSG)
  • Canada Disability Savings Bond (CDSB)

For general information, visit the RDSP page.

On this page

Alternate format

A PDF version of the Registered Disability Savings Plan provider user guide is available on the index page.

List of acronyms
CDSB
Canada Disability Savings Bond
CDSG
Canada Disability Savings Grant
CDSA
Canada Disability Savings Act
CDSP
Canada Disability Savings Program
CRA
Canada Revenue Agency
ESDC
Employment and Social Development Canada
FMV
Fair market value
ITA
Income Tax Act
ITS
Interface transaction standard
DAP
Disability assistance payment
LDAP
Lifetime disability assistance payment
PGAP
Primarily Government Assisted Plan
RDSP
Registered Disability Savings Plan
RT
Record type
SIN
Social insurance number
SIR
Social insurance registry

Introduction

This chapter outlines the roles and responsibilities of issuers, holders, and the transfer procedures. It also includes the transactions that must be sent to the Canada Disability Savings Program (CDSP) system for a transfer to be deemed complete and successful. Issuers must share information and work together to successfully complete the transfer.

The term "transfer" is used when the assets are moved from one Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) to another.

The term "transfer" refers to the transactions that take place when all the funds from one RDSP are moved to a new RDSP for a same beneficiary.

While the holder(s) authorizes the transfer to take place, the RDSP transfer process involves the participation of the following:

  • the holder(s) of the RDSPs (prior and new plan)
  • the issuers (for example, the relinquishing and receiving financial institutions)
  • Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)

Each plays a critical role in facilitating the RDSP transfer process and confirming that it meets the conditions required to ensure that there are no gaps in the payments of the Canada Disability Savings Grant (CDSG) (grant) and the Canada Disability Savings Bond (CDSB) (bond) for the beneficiary if they are eligible.

Note: The holder(s) of the new RDSP may be different from the holder(s) of the prior RDSP.

All the funds in the RDSP may be transferred if the following conditions are met:

  • same beneficiary
  • all funds must be transferred (no partial transfer is allowed)
  • the prior contract is closed
  • the new contract is registered with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
  • the relinquishing issuer must also transfer any relevant information that has not been provided by ESDC (for example, medical attestation, etc.)

The beneficiary does not have to be a resident in Canada at the time of the transfer. A transfer may occur regardless of the age of the beneficiary.

If the beneficiary turns 59 or older during the calendar year, the receiving issuer must continue to process any lifetime disability assistance payments (LDAPs) that started in the prior plan. If no LDAPs were processed, the receiving issuer must start the LDAPs that would have begun in the prior plan had the transfer not occurred.

6.1 RDSP transfer form

When transferring an RDSP, issuers may use the RDSP transfer (EMP5611) form and the holder consent to an RDSP transfer (EMP5612) form.

Note: The pro forma forms were designed to facilitate the collection and exchange of information between issuers in the event of a transfer.

Alternative forms of consent and authorization (for example, e-signatures, voice recordings of telephone conversations with clients, etc.) for CDSP application and transfer forms, can be accepted by RDSP issuers.

RDSP Transfer forms published in 2022 now include sections on:

  • definition
  • general information
  • transfer policies
  • transfer eligibility information

To download the RDSP transfer form or the holder consent to an RDSP transfer form, click on the following link, and then choose the "Forms" tab on the Resources for RDSP grant and bond issuers web page.

The RDSP transfer forms must be completed by the following:

  • plan holder of the new RDSP
  • receiving issuer (new RDSP)
  • relinquishing issuer (prior RDSP)

The holder consent form must be completed by the plan holder from the prior RDSP.

The relinquishing issuer must provide the receiving issuer with all the information in its possession concerning the prior plan to comply with the requirements set out in the:

  • Income Tax Act (ITA)
  • Canada Disability Savings Act (CDSA)
  • Canada Disability Savings Regulations (Regulations)

6.2 Responsibilities

6.2.1 Holder

The holder(s) of the new RDSP (who may be different from the holder[s] of the prior RDSP):

6.2.1.1 Section 1: Information about the Beneficiary

The holder of the new RDSP must provide the following information on the beneficiary:

  • last name
  • first name
  • middle name (if applicable)
  • social insurance number (SIN)

The information must be entered exactly as it appears on SIN documentation. Often, errors occur because name changes are not immediately reported to the social insurance registry (SIR) (for example, married names do not match maiden names on SIN).

6.2.1.2 Section 2: Information about the holder

If the holder is different from the beneficiary, the following information on the holder is required.

If the holder is an individual, they must provide:

  • last name, first name
  • middle name (if applicable)

If the holder is an agency, they must provide:

  • name of agency
  • name of agency representative

6.2.2 Receiving issuer (transfer-in)

The receiving issuer is the issuer who will receive the transferred assets.

  • Completes section 1, 2 and 3 of the RDSP transfer (EMP5611) form
  • Opens a new RDSP by submitting the registration package transactions to the CDSP system, making sure that the transfer indicator in position 175 is set to "Y"
  • Continues any LDAPs if they had started at the relinquishing issuer
  • Keeps a copy of the holder consent to an RDSP transfer (EMP5612) form
  • Keeps the signed original of the RDSP transfer form

6.2.1.3 Section 3: Information about the receiving issuer

This section is to be completed by the receiving issuers.

The receiving RDSP contract number is the number assigned by the receiving issuer. An RDSP contract number contains 15 alphanumeric characters.

The receiving specimen plan number is the number assigned to the receiving issuer by CRA.

The date contract opened is the signature date of the new contract. This date would be the same as reported on the record type (RT) 101 transaction.

6.2.2.2 Transaction to submit to ESDC

Table 1: Transaction to submit to ESDC
Transaction type Description Position Important fields
101-01 Contract information 36 to 42 Specimen plan number assigned by CRA for the new RDSP
101-01 Contract information 46 to 60 New contract number
101-01 Contract information 175 Input "Y" Yes
101-01 Contract information 184 to 198 Contract number of the prior RDSP (all contract digits must be provided including leading zeros)
101-01 Contract information 199 to 205 Specimen plan number of the prior RDSP
101-02 Beneficiary information 36 to 113 All the pertinent information on the beneficiary
101-03 Holder information 36 to 140 Information can be the same as the prior RDSP or different, if a new holder opens the new RDSP
401-05 Bond payment request 70 to 77 The date on which the bond was requested by the holder to the issuer

6.2.3 Relinquishing issuer (transfer-out)

The relinquishing issuer is the issuer who will send the transferred assets to the receiving issuer.

  • Verifies that all pending grant and bond applications have been received
  • Stops all pre‑authorized contributions or payments on the RDSP account
  • Completes sections 4 and 5 of the RDSP transfer form
  • Keeps a copy of the RDSP transfer form and returns the original to the receiving issuer
  • Keeps the signed original of the holder consent to an RDSP transfer form
  • Sends a stop bond payment request (RT 401‑06) to ESDC in accordance with the requirements of the Interface Transaction Standards (ITS)
  • Closes the prior RDSP and submits RT 102‑10 with closure reason "03" to ESDC in accordance with the requirements of the ITS
  • Sends all the funds to the receiving issuer
  • Sends RT 701-02 to ESDC in accordance with the requirements of the ITS, to report the fair market value (FMV) amount and earnings of the RDSP being transferred
  • Sends to the receiving issuer any relevant information that has not been provided by ESDC (for example, medical attestations, etc.)

6.2.3.1 Section 4: Information about the relinquishing issuer

This section is to be completed by the relinquishing issuer.

The relinquishing RDSP contract number is the number assigned by the relinquishing issuer. Make sure that the number is inscribed exactly as it was reported to the CDSP system (for example, including all leading zeros).

The relinquishing specimen plan number is the number assigned to the relinquishing issuer by CRA.

The date contract opened is the date the contract was first opened with the relinquishing issuer. This date would be the same as reported on the RT 101 transaction.

6.2.3.2 Section 5: Notional balances of the relinquishing RDSP

This section is to be completed by the relinquishing issuer. It identifies the amounts being transferred as well as the book value of the FMV of those amounts.

The balance as of this is the date that the money is sent by the relinquishing issuer to the receiving issuer.

The reports field is used to indicate all rollovers ever made to the RDSP, if any.

The other field is used to indicate all provincial incentives ever made to the RDSP, if any. The following information will be used by the receiving issuer to calculate new or continuing disability assistance payment (DAP) or LDAP.

The amounts represent the totals as of the close of business on December 31 of the previous calendar year.

The amounts provided in this section will be used to determine if an RDSP is a primarily government assisted plan (PGAP) or not. It will also be used to calculate the amount of any payments that must be made in the year of the transfer.

All monies paid under the CDSA includes all the grants and bonds that have ever been paid into any RDSP for that particular beneficiary, regardless of if they have been taken out at a later date as part of a repayment or a lump sum DAP.

Example: The beneficiary had initially received $70,000 in grant. Even though $7,000 in grant has since been repaid to the Government of Canada and $3,000 in grant has since been paid to the beneficiary, the amount reported will still be the original $70,000 in grant, not the current balance of $60,000.

All contributions made to the RDSP includes all the contributions, rollovers and provincial payments that have ever been paid into any RDSP for that particular beneficiary, regardless of any withdrawal.

Example: An RDSP had initially received $30,000 in contributions, rollovers, and provincial incentives. Even though $2,000 in rollovers and $5,000 in contributions have since been paid to the beneficiary, the amount reported will be the original $30,000 in contributions, rollovers, and provincial incentives, not the current balance of $23,000.

Non-taxable portion of all lump sum DAP/LDAP processed prior to the current calendar year means all the contribution amounts that were included in any lump sum DAP or LDAP paid to the beneficiary prior to the current calendar year.

Taxable portion of all lump sum DAP/LDAP processed prior to the current calendar year means all the grant, bond, rollover, earnings, and provincial payment amounts that were included in any lump sum DAP or LDAP paid to the beneficiary prior to the current calendar year.

Non-taxable portion of all lump sum DAP/LDAP processed this calendar year means all the contribution amounts that were included in any lump sum DAP or LDAP paid to the beneficiary this calendar year.

Taxable portion of all lump sum DAP/LDAP processed this calendar year means all the grant, bond, rollover, earnings, and provincial payment amounts that were included in any lump sum DAP or LDAP paid to the beneficiary this calendar year.

6.2.3.3 Transactions to be submitted to ESDC

Table 2: Transactions to be submitted to ESDC
Transaction type Description Position Important fields
401‑06 Stop bond request 70 to 77 Date the stop request was made by the holder
401‑06 Original issuer transaction number 93 to 107 Transaction number of the original bond request to be stopped
102-10 Contract updates: Close a contract 61 to 62 Reason "3" Transfer
102-10 Contract updates: Close a contract 71 to 78 Date of the contract was closed with the relinquishing issuer. It is the date the notional account balances, and the FMV were calculated on the transfer form
701‑02 Transfer reporting of FMV and earnings amounts 75 to 84 FMV of contract
701‑02 Transfer reporting of FMV and earnings amounts 85 to 94 Earnings are the difference between the total of the FMV and the notional account balance.

6.2.4 ESDC responsibilities

  • Administer the grant and the bond according to the CDSA and Regulations
  • Advises issuers of unresolved transfers
  • Sends the transfer information extract file

6.2.4.1 Transfer information extract file (RT 971)

For the "resolved" RDSP transfers, ESDC will provide to the receiving issuer all historical financial transactional information in its possession from all previous contracts for a particular beneficiary. This historical record will be sent in a transfer information extract file (RT 971) to the receiving issuer and include the following transaction types:

  • 971‑01 Contribution/contribution correction information
  • 971‑02 Bond request information
  • 971‑03 Retirement savings rollover/retirement savings rollover reversal information
  • 971‑04 Grant/bond repayment: Grant/bond repayment reversal information
  • 971‑05 DAP/DAP reversal information
  • 971‑06 LDAP/LDAP reversal information
  • 971‑07 Education savings rollover/education savings rollover reversal information

6.3 Transfer process

Here is an overview of the transfer process, outlining each player's responsibilities for a successful transfer.

The holder(s) of the new RDSP must:

The receiving issuer must:

  • complete section 3 (information about the receiving issuer) of the RDSP transfer form
  • send the RDSP transfer form to the relinquishing issuer

The relinquishing issuer must:

  • verify that all pending grant and bond have been received
  • stop all pre‑authorized contributions or payments on the RDSP account
  • send a stop bond payment request (RT 401‑06) to ESDC in accordance with the requirements of the ITS
  • complete section 4 (information about the relinquishing issuer) and 5 (notional balances of the relinquishing RDSP) of the RDSP transfer form and keeps a copy
  • send the signed original of the RDSP transfer form back to the receiving issuer

The holder(s) of the prior RDSP must:

The relinquishing issuer must:

  • keep the signed original of the holder consent to an RDSP transfer form
  • send a copy to the receiving issuer

The receiving issuer must:

  • keep a copy of the holder consent to an RDSP transfer form
  • keep the completed and signed original RDSP transfer form
  • send transactions related to the contract registration package (RT 101‑01, RT 101‑02, RT 101‑03) to the CDSP system to register the new RDSP
  • make sure that the transfer indicator is set to "Y" (refer to RT 101‑01, position 175 in the ITS)
  • make sure that the relinquishing contract and specimen plan numbers are accurately referenced with leading zeros (refer to RT 101‑01, positions 18 to 205 in the ITS)
  • continue any LDAPs, if they had started prior to the transfer

The relinquishing issuer must:

  • transfers all the assets to the receiving issuer
  • provide the receiving issuer with all information that is not available through the CDSP system (for example, medical certifications, elections, and forms for retirement savings or education saving rollovers)
  • close the prior RDSP and send the transaction RT 102‑10 close a contract to the CDSP system with closure reason "03" transfer
  • send the transaction RT 701‑02 transfer reporting of FMV and earnings amounts to the CDSP system to report the FMV and earnings of the RDSP being transferred

ESDC must:

  • provide the receiving issuer with RT 971 transfer extract file containing all successfully processed financial transactions for earlier contracts
  • advise issuer of unresolved transfers through monthly files

6.3.1 Determining if a transfer is complete

A transfer is considered complete when the following conditions are met.

  • The relinquishing issuer transfers all funds to the new RDSP at the receiving issuer and closes the prior RDSP
  • The new RDSP is registered with the receiving issuer
  • The CDSP system has processed all transactions (RT 101 and RT 102‑10) and no error has occurred (if error, refer to the section 6.4 Problem solving)
  • The relinquishing issuer sends any relevant information that ESDC does not have in its possession to the receiving issuer (for example, medical attestation, etc.)
  • ESDC sends the transfer extract file to the receiving issuer

The amount transferred from a prior RDSP to a new RDSP is not considered to be a contribution.

6.4 Problem solving

If the transfer is not successful, it could have a negative impact on the beneficiary (for example, the beneficiary may not receive any further grant and bond until the issue is resolved).

6.4.1 For the receiving issuer

Here are the most common errors related to transfers, along with resolutions to help issuers achieve a successful transfer.

6.4.1.1 Error file: Error code 8102

If in the monthly error file (RT 801), the receiving issuer gets an error code 8102 - is not identified in the CDSP system. This could mean that the prior RDSP was never registered and is simply a Disability Savings Plan.

If this is not the case, this error could also mean that the contract number has been mistyped (refer to RT 101‑01, positions 184 to 198, other contracts in the ITS), most likely it is missing leading zeros.

In this case, the receiving issuer must resubmit the entire registration package (RT 101‑01, RT 101‑02, RT 101‑03) making sure the relinquishing contract number is properly entered with leading zeros.

6.4.1.2 Error file: Error code 8104

If in the monthly error file (RT 801), the receiving issuer gets an error code 8104 - data is missing from the field, this could mean that the receiving issuer failed to indicate the relinquishing issuer's contract number in the other contracts field (refer to RT 101‑01, positions 184 to 198, other contracts in the ITS).

If this is the case, the receiving issuer must resubmit the entire registration package (RT 101‑01, RT 101‑02, RT 101‑03), including the relinquishing issuer's contract number to the CDSP system.

6.4.1.3 Error file: Error code 8231

If in the monthly error file (RT 801), the receiving issuer gets an error code 8231 - the beneficiary must not already have a pending, registered or de‑registered contract, this could mean the transfer indicator was not set to "Y" in the registration package (refer to RT 101‑01, position 175, transaction indicator in the ITS).

If this is the case, the receiving issuer must resubmit the entire registration package (RT 101‑01, RT 101‑02, RT 101‑03) with the transfer indicator set to "Y" (in the RT 101‑01, position 175) to the CDSP system.

6.4.1.4 Contract status file: Pending status

If in the monthly contract status file (RT 951), the receiving issuer gets a current contract status, "01" pending and a current transfer status, "1" awaiting transfer that could mean the relinquishing issuer has not yet sent the required close a contract transaction to the CDSP system.

If that is the case, contact the relinquishing issuer to confirm that they have successfully sent the RT 102‑10: close a contract transaction.

6.4.2 For the relinquishing issuer

To close an RDSP, the relinquishing issuer must submit an RT 102‑10 close a contract transaction to the CDSP system and indicate the closure reason "3" transfer. The relinquishing issuer cannot simply close the account internally, this action must be reported to ESDC.

If grant or bond is received after an RDSP has been transferred out to the receiving issuer, the relinquishing issuer must send the funds to the receiving issuer.

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2025-09-18