Ontario form
WSIB Form 8 — Health Professional’s Report
Form 8 is WSIB’s Health Professional’s Report — the first medical report of a work-related injury or illness in Ontario. It is not a progress report (Form 26), not a Functional Abilities Form, and not an EI certificate. WSIB uses it to open or support a claim: what happened, what you found, what you diagnosed, and whether the worker can return to work.
What Form 8 is asking
You saw a worker for a work-related injury or illness. Form 8 tells WSIB the area injured, the diagnosis, the mechanism as reported, treatment, and work capabilities. Occupational mental stress has a related Form CMS8 — use that when the injury is mental stress, not a musculoskeletal Form 8 with “anxiety” in the margin.
Download the current Form 8 from wsib.ca health-care provider forms. Submit through the channel WSIB currently requires. Reporting timelines are in WSIB’s reporting-requirements page, not in clinic memory. WSIB pays entitled Form 8 fees when the report is complete and on time.
Entitlement is WSIB’s decision
Record the history you were given and the findings you made. You do not have to prove the employer is at fault. If the story and the injury do not match, write both.
Who completes Form 8
- The health professional who first treats the work injury — physician, nurse practitioner, or other professional WSIB accepts for Form 8 in that situation.
- Chiropractors, physiotherapists, and others use the report types WSIB lists for their profession when they are the treating professional.
- Do not complete a Form 8 for an injury you have not assessed.
- If the worker already had a Form 8 from the ER, your next document may be Form 26 or a FAF, not a second Form 8 pretending to be first contact.
How to complete the sections
- Worker and employer identifiers. A misspelled name delays benefits more than a missing range-of-motion degree.
- Date of injury, date first treated by you, and whether the worker is still working.
- Injured area and diagnosis that match the exam. Bilateral “pain everywhere” with a unilateral mechanism needs an explanation.
- History of the accident in the worker’s words, then your objective findings for that area.
- Treatment today, imaging, referrals, medications. Do not list a full past medical history unless it changes the injury.
- Work: regular, modified with specific restrictions, or off work, and for how long until reassessment.
- Occupational disease and hearing loss have other entry points. Do not force them onto a Form 8 that does not fit.
Restrictions must be usable on a shop floor: weights, postures, hours, no ladder, sit/stand. “Light duties” is not a restriction. If they cannot work at all, say which functions are unsafe.
Worked example (fictional)
Form 8 — acute lumbar strain, family practice
Fictional 29-year-old personal support worker. Do not copy into a real Form 8.
DOI: 2026-08-25. First treated: 2026-08-26. History: worker reports catching a sliding patient during a transfer, sudden right lumbosacral pain. No leg weakness, no saddle anaesthesia, no bowel/bladder change. Exam: lumbar spasm, SLR negative, neuro intact in the legs, no red flags. Dx: acute lumbar strain. Tx: activity as tolerated, NSAID if suitable, PT, no imaging today. Work: no patient transfers, no lifting >10 kg, no repeated bending. Can do seated documentation. Reassess 7 days. Not a FAF and not Form 26. Form 8 only.
Why WSIB sends Form 8 back
- No work status, or “light duties” with no detail.
- Missing injury date, worker name, or practitioner identifiers.
- Diagnosis that ignores red flags you documented, or red flags you claimed without findings.
- Using Form 8 as a progress report months later.
- Submitting an Alberta WCB or EI form instead.
Complete Form 8 from the visit, then submit it to WSIB
In Scribeberry, open Forms, search for WSIB Form 8, or upload the current PDF from wsib.ca. 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 WSIB.
Frequently asked questions
When do I use Form 8 versus Form 26?
Form 8 is the first health professional’s report of the injury or illness. Form 26 is a progress report when treatment continues or WSIB asks for an update. Do not use Form 8 as a progress note.
When do I use the Functional Abilities Form instead?
The FAF describes what the worker can do for return to work. It is a different form (2647A). You may complete a FAF in addition to Form 8 when WSIB or the workplace needs functional abilities, not instead of the first report.
What about occupational mental stress?
WSIB publishes Form CMS8 for occupational mental stress. Use the form that matches the injury. Do not hide a mental-stress claim inside a musculoskeletal Form 8.
Does Scribeberry submit Form 8 to WSIB?
No. Scribeberry helps you complete the PDF from clinical context. You submit it through WSIB’s process. You keep a copy in the chart.
Forms
