Free for solo physicians
Validate an Ontario health card online
Type the health number and version code. Get the Ministry of Health's answer in about a second — valid or not, eligible or not, and the cardholder's registered details. In your browser, at the front desk, while the patient is still standing there.
- Nothing to install
- No phone line, no hold music
- Processed in Canada
- Cardholder
- JANE DOE
- Date of birth
- 1985-04-12
- Card expires
- 2029-04-12
- Response code
- 51 — passed validation
Ministry says: You will receive payment for billable services rendered on this day.
Illustrative. Sample data, real response shape.
Why check at the desk
A minute now, or the whole claim later
An expired card, a cancelled card, or a version code that no longer matches does not announce itself. It comes back weeks after the visit as a rejected claim, by which point the patient is long gone and the money is genuinely hard to recover.
Checked at the desk, the same problem costs a minute and a conversation the patient can actually act on. In most rejection files we read, card and eligibility problems are the single largest category — and they are the one category that is entirely preventable before the visit starts.
- Dial, wait, key in ten digits and two letters
- Minutes per patient, every patient
- One wrong digit and the answer is wrong
- Whatever got written down is the only record
- Type the card, press validate
- Typically under a second
- The ministry's exact wording, on screen
- Every check logged, with the ministry's audit id
How it works
Three steps, then it's just typing
- 1
Ask us for access
Tell us you want in and we will set the account up for you, using the Ministry of Health EBS credentials you already use for billing. There is no signup form to fill in — validation runs against your own ministry account.
- 2
Enter the card
Ten-digit health number, two-letter version code. That is the whole form. Several cards at once if you would rather do tomorrow's schedule in one pass.
- 3
Read the answer
Valid or not, eligible or not, the official response code, the ministry's recommended action, and the cardholder's registered name and date of birth.
You'll need your own ministry credentials
Validation runs against your own Ministry of Health EBS account, so you need those credentials before you can check a card. Getting them is a ministry process on your side and it can take time — our side activates immediately once you have them. Not sure whether you already have EBS credentials? Send us what you have at support@drtools.ca and we'll tell you.
What you see
More than valid or invalid
The ministry returns a good deal of detail. We show you all of it, in plain language.
The verdict
Whether the card is valid and whether the cardholder is eligible on that day — as two separate answers, because they are genuinely different things.
Valid card, ineligible patient — and the reverse
A card can fail while the person is still fully eligible: expired, damaged, cancelled, returned mail. Reading that as "not covered" turns a paperwork problem into a refused visit. We say which it is.
Who the card belongs to
Registered first name, last name, gender, date of birth and card expiry — which is how you catch a card that is perfectly valid but belongs to somebody else.
The ministry's own words
The official response code plus the ministry's own description and recommended action, passed through untouched. Not our paraphrase of it.
A record you can point at
Every check is logged with the ministry's own audit identifier for that transaction — which is exactly what you want on hand if a claim is later disputed.
What the codes mean
Every response code explained in plain English, in our free OHIP response code reference — no login, no account.
Pricing
Free if you're on your own
Solo physicians validating in the browser pay nothing. The paid side is clinics with several providers and anyone who wants validation inside their own software — that is what funds the free tier.
Free
Browser validation, on your own ministry credentials
- Validate in the browser, on any device
- Full ministry response, demographics included
- Your validation history, logged
- No payment method to start
Talk to us
Several providers, shared access, front-desk staff
- Everything in the free tier
- Multiple providers on one account
- Validate a whole schedule in one pass
- Per-user access for front-desk staff
API
Validation inside your EMR or billing software
- One HTTPS request, JSON in and out
- Batch validation and time-limited service codes
- Sandbox, logs and an OpenAPI schema
- 120 requests a minute per account
All three run against the same ministry connection, so starting in the browser and moving into your own software later changes nothing about how you are set up. You will need your own Ministry of Health EBS credentials either way.
FAQ
Common questions
Is it really free for solo physicians?
Yes. A solo physician validating health cards in the browser pays nothing — no card required to start, and no trial that expires into a bill. Clinics with several providers and anyone who wants validation inside their own software are the paid side of this, and that is what funds the free tier.
Do I need my own Ministry of Health credentials?
Yes. Validation runs against your own Ministry of Health EBS credentials, so you will need those before you can check a card. Obtaining them is a ministry process on your side and it can take time — our part activates immediately once you have them. If you are not sure whether you already have EBS credentials, send us what you have and we will tell you.
Do I have to install anything?
No. It runs in a browser on whatever you already use — desktop, tablet or phone at the front desk. There is nothing to install, no plug-in, and no software for your IT person to approve.
What does it tell me?
Whether the card is valid and whether the cardholder is eligible on that day, the ministry's official response code, the ministry's own recommended action in its own words, and the cardholder's registered first name, last name, gender, date of birth and card expiry — which is what catches a card that is valid but belongs to someone else.
How long does one check take?
Typically under a second, including the round trip to the ministry. It is quick enough to do while the patient is still at the desk, which is the entire point — a card problem found at check-in costs a minute, and the same problem found six weeks later as a rejected claim costs the whole claim.
Can I check several cards at once?
Yes. Tomorrow's schedule can be validated in one pass rather than one card at a time, which is how clinics and billing staff tend to use it.
What if I want this inside my EMR instead?
That is the OHIP Validation API — the same ministry connection, reached from your own software with one HTTPS request, at $49 CAD a month. The browser tool and the API run against the same service, so you can start in the browser and move into your software later without changing anything about how you are set up.
Where does the data go?
Processing happens in Canada, in a Toronto data centre. Health card numbers are HMAC-hashed in audit logs rather than stored in the clear, so the trail can prove a validation happened without retaining the number itself.
Does a successful check guarantee I get paid?
No. It reports what the ministry says about card validity and eligibility on that day. Claims remain subject to adjudication by the ministry. What it reliably prevents is the category of rejection caused by an expired, cancelled or mistyped card — which is usually the largest single category in a practice's rejection file.
Check your next card
in about a second
Free for solo physicians. Bring your ministry credentials and you can validate today.
Or email support@drtools.ca — a person reads it.