Guide · Updated June 2026
Heading back after an illness or leave and your employer needs confirmation you're fit to return? A licensed Ontario physician can assess you by phone and, where appropriate, issue a fit-to-work note — including any temporary restrictions — often the same day. Flat $82, no OHIP or health card required.
The short version: A return-to-work (or fit-to-work) note confirms a physician has assessed you and considers you able to resume your job — sometimes with temporary modified duties or restrictions. It's different from a sick note: a sick note excuses an absence, while a return-to-work note clears you to come back. With Doctor Fran a licensed Ontario physician assesses you by phone — usually within an hour when you book during work hours — and the note is emailed to you. Flat $82, no OHIP or health card required.
A return-to-work note is a short medical document confirming that, in the physician's assessment, you're able to resume your duties — either fully or with temporary modifications. It's the counterpart to a sick note: where a sick note documents that you needed time off, a fit-to-work note documents that you're ready to come back, and on what terms. It gives your employer the medical confirmation they need without exposing your private clinical details.
Employers commonly ask for a return-to-work note when:
If you also need help recovering from a workplace accommodation standpoint, a fit-to-work note can support that conversation. Under Ontario's Human Rights Code, employers have a duty to accommodate an employee's disability-related needs up to the point of undue hardship, and a physician's note describing your functional restrictions can help shape appropriate modified duties.
It focuses on your functional abilities — what you can and can't safely do at work for now — not your diagnosis. That's the information your employer actually needs, and it keeps your private medical details private.
The physician decides what the note says. A fit-to-work note reflects a genuine assessment — the physician confirms you're ready to return, or may recommend modified duties or more recovery time. As with any note, the outcome isn't guaranteed by booking; that's what makes it credible to your employer.
See a licensed Ontario physician by phone — $82 flat, note included, no OHIP or health card needed.
Download Doctor FranIf your time off relates to a workplace injury or illness covered by WSIB, the return-to-work process is handled differently. WSIB has its own forms (such as the Functional Abilities Form) and a structured return-to-work process involving your employer and your treating provider. For a WSIB claim, follow the WSIB process and speak with the provider managing your claim — see the WSIB for details.
Like other notes in Ontario, a fit-to-work note is an uninsured service — OHIP doesn't pay for it. Through Doctor Fran it's a flat $82 with the note included — no separate document fee and no subscription. See our guide to what a doctor's note costs in Ontario.
Need clearance for tomorrow? When you book during work hours a physician usually calls within an hour — see our same-day notes guide. And you don't need OHIP or a health card: Doctor Fran serves patients with and without provincial coverage, and you pay by card in the app.
A sick note documents that you needed time off; a return-to-work (fit-to-work) note confirms a physician has assessed you as able to resume your duties, sometimes with temporary restrictions. They serve opposite ends of the same absence.
Yes. After assessing you, a physician can confirm you're fit to return and specify any temporary restrictions or modified duties, which can support a workplace accommodation under Ontario's Human Rights Code.
A note from an Ontario-licensed, CPSO-registered physician who assessed you is a legitimate medical document and is generally accepted the same as one from a clinic. Acceptance policies are set by each employer.
No. The physician assesses you and issues the note based on their judgment — confirming you're fit to return, or recommending modified duties or more recovery time. Paying doesn't determine the outcome.
WSIB claims follow a separate return-to-work process with their own forms. For a workplace injury claim, follow the WSIB process and work with the provider managing your claim rather than requesting a standard note.