Do you qualify

The information below should be used as a guideline. We encourage you to apply for benefits as soon as possible and let us determine if you're eligible.

You need to demonstrate that:

• you're unable to work for medical reasons
• your regular weekly earnings from work have decreased by more than 40% for at least one week
• you accumulated 600 insured hours of work in the 52 weeks before the start of your claim or since the start of your last claim, whichever is shorter

While you’re receiving sickness benefits, you must remain otherwise available for work, if it weren’t for your medical condition.

If you had a recent claim

If you received Employment Insurance benefits in the past 52 weeks, you may not be eligible to receive the maximum number of weeks of sickness benefits.

However, if you've worked enough hours since your last claim, you may be able to start a new claim. Contact us to find out what's best for your situation.

Get a medical certificate

When you apply for sickness benefits, you need to get a medical certificate signed by the treating medical practitioner. You can ask them to complete and sign one of the following:

• Service Canada’s Medical certificate for Employment Insurance sickness benefits
• their own medical certificate form

If the treating medical practitioner is using their own form, the medical certificate must:

• be readable
• contain the treating medical practitioner’s letterhead or official stamp
• indicate your name
• contain the start date and expected duration (if known) of your incapacity due to illness, injury or quarantine
• contain the treating medical practitioner’s handwritten, electronic or stamped signature

Who can complete and sign your medical certificate

The following medical practitioners can complete and sign your medical certificate:

• medical doctor
• chiropractor
• podiatrist
• optometrist
• psychologist
• dentist
• midwife
• nurse practitioner
• registered nurse (in isolated areas when a doctor is unavailable)

They should be practising in Canada or the United States, and the illness or injury they’re treating must be in their field of expertise.

You may be asked to submit your medical certificate with your application. If not, keep it for 6 years in case we ask you to submit it later.