Verification of Illness or Injury

The Verification of Illness or Injury form (also known as a “doctor’s note”) may be required for a missed academic obligation in some circumstances. It is the official University of Toronto form for all students who are requesting academic consideration based on illness or injury.

Download the VOI Form

To open and complete the VOI fillable form, you will need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Note: It is recommended that you first download or save the VOI form, then open it with Adobe Acrobat Reader to fill it out. We do not recommend using any web browser to fill out the VOI form as most have issues with PDF forms.

What is Academic Consideration?

Academic consideration is the process of granting a student an academically appropriate exception in a course for not having met an academic obligation. Academic obligations include but are not limited to assessments such as: quizzes, tests, papers, lab reports or an exam. Contact your faculty, college, or campus Registrar’s Office for more information. 

When to Use the VOI Form

You can use the VOI form to seek academic consideration for illness or injury if you have been:

  • Asked by your instructor for one in the academic consideration process or
  • Instructed by your your faculty, college, or campus to provide one in the petition process

Consult your faculty, college, or campus procedures for additional next steps for reporting absences and seeking academic consideration.

If you are a student with a chronic and ongoing health condition, or a disability, you can find more support at your campus accessibility services office:

How the VOI Form is Used

Each faculty, college, or campus has its own policies and processes for students seeking academic consideration due to illness or injury. The Verification of Illness or Injury (VOI) form provides documentation that helps support students seeking academic consideration for academic obligations (e.g., quizzes, tests, papers, lab reports or exams) missed due to illness or injury.

If you have been asked to provide the VOI form, follow the instructions outlined in your course syllabus, or by your home academic faculty, college, or campus procedures and make your academic consideration request with the appropriate contact(s). Reach out to your Registrar’s Office at any point if you need support with seeking academic consideration.

Guidelines for Completing the VOI Form

The VOI form is to be used for students seeking academic consideration due to an illness or injury. Contact your faculty, college, or campus Registrar’s Office if you are unsure if your situation qualifies.

The VOI form is divided into two sections, each section must be fully completed. An incomplete form will not be processed. 

This section is to be completed by the student.

Step 1: Enter your name and student number. 

Step 2: Read the consent and declaration statement. If you agree with the statement, sign where indicated and enter the date.

Important: The University verifies the information provided on the VOI form with licensed practitioners. Ensure that you are familiar with Academic Integrity at U of T.

This section is to be completed by a licensed practitioner from this list.

Step 1: Make an appointment with a licensed practitioner.

Tip 1: You are strongly encouraged to have the form completed by your own practitioner (e.g., your personal family physician).  

Tip 2: If you are seeking to complete your VOI form with U of T Health & Wellness staff, an appointment is required, and walk-ins will not be accepted. 

Step 2: As part of their assessment, the practitioner must indicate the severity of your illness or injury by selecting one of the ratings in the table.

Step 3: Provide all the dates you were seen by them for this particular illness or injury.

Step 4: The practitioner needs to read the declaration statement. If they agree with the statement, they need to sign where indicated and enter the date.  

Step 5: The practitioner needs to enter their full name, registration number, and the licensing body. As well as add their business stamp in the box provided. 

Before Submitting the VOI Form

  • Review and ensure all sections have been completed. An incomplete form will not be processed. 
  • The original version of the completed VOI form must be submitted. Please keep a copy of the completed VOI form and related documents for your records.  

Submitting the VOI Form

Present your completed VOI form to your instructor or course contact to seek academic consideration.

List of Licensed Practitioners

The VOI form can only be completed by the following practitioners in Ontario, or their equivalent in another Canadian Province or Territory:

  • Dentist registered with the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario  
  • Nurse or Nurse Practitioner registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario  
  • Physician or Surgeon registered with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario  
  • Pharmacist with the Discovery Pharmacy at U of T St. George  
  • Psychologist registered with the College of Psychologists of Ontario  
  • Psychotherapist registered with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario  
  • Social Worker registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers    

Remember, regardless of whom you choose to see, consideration for the purpose of this form will only be given for signatures of practitioners listed above. For information about letters of support from others, please consult with your faculty, college, or campus Registrar’s Office. 

Resources

Find your Faculty, College, or Campus Registrar’s Office

Reach out to your Faculty, College, or Campus Registrar’s Office at any point if you need support.

Faculty, College, or Campus Procedures for Declaring an Absence

Each faculty, college, or campus has its own policies and processes for students seeking academic consideration due to illness or injury. See faculty, college, or campus procedures for the full list.

Looking for Information About the ACORN Absence Declaration Tool?

See the ACORN Absence Declaration tool webpage or the help section in ACORN.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

While both are used in the academic consideration process, some faculty, college, or campus’ use the VOI form, some use the ACORN Absence Declaration tool, and some faculty, college, or campus’ use both. See Faculty, College, or Campus Procedures to learn which process your faculty, college, or campus uses.

If you are a student from a faculty, college, or campus that uses the ACORN Absence Declaration Tool to support the academic consideration process and you have already exceeded the maximum allowed absence for the term (i.e., one per term) and you are seeking to declare another absence, you may be asked to submit a Verification of Illness or Injury (VOI) form for the purposes of providing academic consideration in your course(s). Review your course syllabus or check your home faculty, college, or campus requirements for absence reporting and seeking academic consideration.

If your faculty, college, or campus does not use the ACORN Absence Declaration Tool, the VOI form may be necessary for seeking academic consideration. Review your course syllabus or check your home academic faculty, college, or campus’ requirements for their academic consideration process.

If you need more assistance, contact your faculty, college, or campus registrar’s office.

If you are going to use the form and submit it to more than one professor or instructor, it may be best to show your original form and then provide them with a copy.

The University respects your privacy. The most important information is whether or how your illness or injury affects your ability to fulfill your academic obligations and the time involved. 

It is important that you see a licensed health care practitioner as soon as possible. The form can only be signed if you were seen at the time of your illness or injury, not after the fact. The University also reserves the right to confirm all details on the form, including dates.

Take your practitioner’s advice. Your practitioner’s record will have the date when you were first seen, and the practitioner can include this information on the form.

If you are a student registered with accessibility services for accommodations related to your disability or long-term illness, you may not need to submit the VOI form. Contact your disability advisor as soon as you experience a new occurrence that interferes with your academic obligations and discuss whether you need the VOI form.

You will need to submit the VOI form if:

  • Your current illness or injury is not related to your accessibility services registration.  
  • You are not registered with the accessibility services office at your home campus, and you are requesting academic consideration based on an illness or injury.

For more information about the accessibility services office on your home campus, please see:  

Due to many factors as well as each student’s own personal circumstances, academic consideration requests cannot be guaranteed and are considered on a case-by-case basis. Please contact your faculty, college, or campus Registrar’s Office for more information.

You are advised to make every effort to see a practitioner who is licensed and practicing in Ontario. However, if you experience illness or injury while outside of Ontario, your VOI form can be completed by a healthcare practitioner from another province or territory with the equivalent licensing.