Renewing your CDCP coverage: what to do each year

The Canadian Dental Care Plan runs in benefit years that end on 30 June, and it does not roll over on its own. You have to renew, every year, and the plan re-checks that you still qualify when you do.

Does the CDCP renew automatically?

No. Service Canada asks you to renew each year to confirm you still meet the eligibility rules — income, tax filing, residency, and still having no access to private dental insurance. Nothing carries forward by default, and being approved once does not keep you approved.

When is the renewal window?

Renewals open in the spring for the benefit year starting that July. The window for the 2027–2028 benefit year opens in spring 2027; the window before it closed on 1 June 2026. If you are reading this between those two points and did not renew, you are in a gap — see below.

What do I need before I can renew?

• Your tax return filed — yours and your spouse or common-law partner’s, for the previous year. The plan reads your income from it.
• Your notice of assessment — the renewal cannot be assessed without it.
• Adjusted family net income under $90,000.
• Still no access to private dental coverage — through work, a pension, a professional or student plan, or a policy you bought. Access counts even if you never claim on it.

The tax return is the one that catches people out. If you have not filed, you cannot renew, and filing late means waiting for the assessment before the renewal can go through.

What happens if I miss the deadline?

You can submit a fresh application, but there will be a gap between your old coverage ending and the new one starting. Care you receive during that gap is not covered, and Service Canada does not reimburse it afterwards. That is the part worth planning around: an appointment two weeks too early can become an appointment you pay for in full.

How do I check where I stand?

Call the CDCP line at 1-833-537-4342 (TTY 1-833-677-6262), or sign in to My Service Canada Account. You can also bring your card to your next visit here and we will confirm your coverage with Sun Life before you book anything.

What we do at this end

We bill Sun Life directly for covered services, so you pay your share rather than the whole bill and wait. Before treatment starts you get a written estimate showing what the plan pays, your co-payment, and anything the plan will not cover. If your coverage has lapsed, we would rather find that out at the desk than after the appointment.

The full picture of who qualifies, what is covered, and how co-payments work is on our CDCP guide. Some treatments also need the plan’s approval before we can start — that is covered in what the CDCP has to approve first.

Source: Government of Canada — Renew your coverage. Plan rules change; we check this page against Service Canada each year.