Ontario form
OCF-3 — Disability Certificate
OCF-3 is the Ontario auto-insurance Disability Certificate under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS). After a motor-vehicle accident, the insurer uses it to understand injuries, disabilities, and whether the person can work, go to school, or do caregiving and housekeeping. It is not WSIB Form 8, not an EI certificate, and not OCF-18 (the treatment plan).
What OCF-3 is asking
Part of the form is the applicant’s. Part is yours. The insurer is asking which impairments are accident-related, how they limit work, school, caregiving, and self-care, and for how long you expect that to last. “Sore after a fender-bender” without function will not support income-replacement or attendant-care discussions. Overstating a sprain as a complete disability will be compared with your clinical notes.
Use the current OCF-3 the insurer or FSRA / SABS forms process issued. Auto-insurance forms are revised. Do not complete a 2010 OCF-3 from a clinic drawer. The claimant’s insurer is the recipient — not WSIB, not OHIP.
You are not the adjuster
You certify clinical facts and functional limits. The insurer decides benefits under SABS. Fees for completing OCF-3 are billed as your college and the SABS / FSRA rules allow — not as a hidden OHIP visit.
Who may complete OCF-3
- A health practitioner listed on the current OCF-3 — typically a physician, nurse practitioner, dentist, chiropractor, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, psychologist, or other profession the form names.
- Stay inside the impairments you assessed. A chiropractor should not certify a primary traumatic-brain-injury disability they have not evaluated.
- Do not sign an OCF-3 for an accident you have no history of, using the patient’s memory of a walk-in visit elsewhere.
- If several professions are involved, do not contradict each other on work status without talking.
How to complete the clinical sections
- Accident date, first visit for these injuries, and your profession.
- Injuries and sequelae you are prepared to link to the accident — and conditions you are not linking, labelled as such.
- Subjective complaints and objective findings. Imaging only if you have it.
- Work: job title, whether they have returned, modified duties, or no work, and why in functional language.
- School, caregiving, housekeeping, and self-care if the form asks. Income-replacement is not the only SABS question.
- Expected duration and a review date. “Permanent” for a two-week neck strain is how insurers stop believing you.
- Prior claims or prior impairments that affect recovery, if you know them. Hiding a pre-existing fusion helps no one.
Match the chart. If your last note says “improving, returned to modified work” and OCF-3 says “completely disabled, all spheres,” the insurer will notice. So will a later arbitrator.
Worked example (fictional)
OCF-3 — rear-end collision, family practice
Fictional 45-year-old office worker. Do not copy into a real OCF-3.
Accident: 2026-08-10, rear-end, ER same day, no fracture on x-ray. Injuries I am treating: cervical strain, headache, sleep disruption. No loss of consciousness reported. Not certifying a concussion on this file — I have not seen cognitive testing. Work: accountant, desk job. Off 10 days; returned 2026-08-20 with no prolonged sitting >45 min without break, no overhead filing. Full duties expected by 2026-09-15 if recovery continues. Housekeeping: no heavy vacuuming this month; self-care independent. This is OCF-3, not OCF-18 and not WSIB Form 8. I assessed this person 2026-08-28.
Why insurers bounce OCF-3
- Every box ticked disabled with a normal exam.
- Missing accident date, practitioner credentials, or signature.
- Injuries that first appear months later with no explanation.
- Using OCF-3 as a treatment plan (that is OCF-18).
- A WSIB or EI form submitted to an auto insurer.
Complete OCF-3 from the visit, then read it against your note
In Scribeberry, open Forms, search for OCF-3 or Disability Certificate, or upload the official SABS PDF. Generate from the encounter and your notes, then review every field before you sign. The clinician still certifies the content. Scribeberry does not file with the insurer, FSRA, or the Government of Ontario.
Frequently asked questions
Is OCF-3 the same as OCF-18?
No. OCF-3 is a disability certificate (function, work, caregiving). OCF-18 is a treatment and assessment plan (proposed goods and services). Complete the form the insurer asked for.
What if this was also a work-related driving injury?
There may be both a WSIB file and an auto file. Do not use Form 8 as an OCF-3. Ask which payer requested which form and complete that form honestly. Entitlement is not yours to split.
Who is listed to sign OCF-3?
The professions printed on the current OCF-3. Stay inside your scope and inside the impairments you assessed.
Does Scribeberry submit OCF-3 to the insurer?
No. Scribeberry helps you complete the PDF from clinical context. You or the claimant submit it through the insurer’s process. You keep a copy in the chart.
Forms
