Mental Health First Aid - Bridge to Certification
The Bridge to Certification Course offers past learners a streamlined pathway to earn their official Mental Health First Aid certification, without repeating the full program.
If you’ve completed MHFA Basic or MHFA Standard you may be able to access a limited time opportunity to upskill to the newly launched certification through the Bridge to Certification course.
Who Is Eligible?
This course is available exclusively to those who completed:
- MHFA Basic or MHFA Standard Between January 1, 2023 and December 10, 2025
Cost
We’re committed to making certification accessible:
- Free for those who completed the course July 1, 2025 – December 10, 2025
- $50 for individuals who completed MHFA Basic or Standard January 1, 2023 – June 30, 2025
The Bridge to Certification Course will only be available until March 31, 2026 and Enrollment opens December 10th
Course Format
The Bridge to Certification Course is a self-paced online module, designed to:
- Build on your previous MHFA learning
- Close knowledge gaps between Basic/Standard and the full certification program
- Prepare you for the official certification assessment
Content includes key concepts, models, and approaches that were not covered in depth during earlier versions of MHFA training, ensuring alignment with the current national MHFA standard. Upon completion of the course, participants will automatically be enrolled in the official certification assessment. All participants will have 3 attempts to achieve a passing score and earn their MHFA certification, valid for three years from the date of completion.
Why Take This Course?
Becoming MHFA certified means:
- Increased confidence supporting mental health conversations
- Alignment with Canada’s evolving workplace standards
- Refresh and expand your learning with updated content, tools, and approaches
This bridge program ensures past learners can update their knowledge and continue making a difference without repeating training they’ve already completed
Frequently Asked Questions
The course is designed to take roughly 60 minutes. The following assessment should take an additional 15 minutes. To be safe, you should budget for an hour and a half to complete your full certification.
If you completed MHFA Basic or Standard prior to January 1st 2023 and are looking to get certified in MHFA, we encourage you to sign up for the full MHFA Certification course at your nearest convenience.
We recognize that some individuals may participate in Basic or Standard programs after December 10th 2025, to maintain the integrity of Certification, and honour the original intent of our bridge to certification course, those participants will not be eligible to complete this course.
Certification is more than just a title, it’s a quality assurance mechanism. When someone completes Mental Health First Aid Certification, they are assessed on their understanding and ability to apply core concepts. This testing ensures that participants don’t just passively absorb information, but can demonstrate competency in skills that directly affect people’s safety and well-being.
Unlike non-certified programs, MHFA’s certification provides confidence that a participant has been evaluated against consistent, evidence-informed standards. This means that when someone holds an MHFA certificate, you know they’ve proven they can recognize signs of mental health challenges, respond appropriately, and use the right resources to support others.
Equally important is the 3-year re-certification process. By re-certifying, MHFA participants demonstrate they’ve refreshed and sharpened their skills recently—not a decade ago. This ensures that their response strategies are up to date and that they’re prepared to act with confidence and relevance today.
In short, certification isn’t just about recognition by an external body—it’s about ensuring that people are truly prepared, tested, and current in their ability to support mental health. Without a structured certification and re-certification process, there’s no guarantee that skills learned are understood, retained, or still applicable years later.
If you are unable to achieve a passing grade (16/24) after three attempts you will not achieve certification. We encourage you to sign up for the full MHFA Certification course at your nearest convenience.
Check if you are eligible
Bridge to Certification is available to those who completed MHFA Basic or MHFA Standard between January 1, 2023 and December 10, 2025. Please have the email that you used to register for your initial course ready.
If you completed Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training as part of a workplace or organizational group and would like to take the Bridge course with that same group, please do not complete the individual eligibility form. Your organization’s account coordinator will receive instructions directly from Opening Minds on how to schedule group training