How to become a nurse in Ontario when you trained outside Canada.

Step 1: How do I get my nursing credentials assessed?

CNO no longer requires everyone to go through NNAS. Since 1 April 2025 it accepts educational credential assessments from three approved providers: World Education Services (WES), the International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS) and the International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES) at BCIT. If you already used one of them for immigration, you can ask that provider to send your report to CNO. Educated in India? See the documents nurses from India need.

CNO also says it will continue to accept NNAS Expedited reports prepared by TruMerit (formerly CGFNS). NNAS uses a second processor as well, so if your NNAS file was handled by someone else, confirm with CNO before relying on it. The NNAS Expedited Service costs $750 CAD and issues its report within 5 business days of receiving your last document. Compare NNAS and a credential assessment.

Step 2: What does the College of Nurses of Ontario need from me?

You apply online through CNO's Maintain Your Membership portal. The application fee is $433 plus 13% HST in 2026 ($454 in 2027), and CNO will not start your file until it has the fee and your credential assessment. From the day CNO confirms your application, you have two years to meet every requirement, or it closes and you reapply.

Documents such as employment verification must come to CNO directly from your employer, school or regulator, and anything not in English or French needs a certified translation. CNO also warns applicants never to share their portal login with anyone, including exam preparation services. We never ask for it.

Step 3: Which registration exam do I write, and when?

Registered Nurses write the NCLEX-RN. Registered Practical Nurses write the REx-PN exam. If you already passed the NCLEX-RN for a US licence, CNO says you may not need to write it again: see what US-licensed nurses need for Ontario. You can only book once CNO messages you in the portal that your education is substantially equivalent. Your education is what makes you eligible, so English, recent practice and Transition to Practice can all be met after you write. Then you register with Pearson Professional Assessments, receive an Authorization to Test (on average valid for 90 days) and schedule your seat. You can write in Ontario, elsewhere in Canada, or abroad for an extra $150 scheduling fee.

CNO posts your result in the portal, in most cases within a week: see NCLEX results in Canada. The exam is the step where most applicants get stuck: in 2025, 39.6% of internationally educated nurses passed the NCLEX-RN on their first attempt for Canadian licensure, according to NCSBN. See the full pass-rate figures.

Step 4: What is the jurisprudence exam?

An online exam on the laws, regulations and CNO standards that govern nursing in Ontario. You work through a five-chapter module, then answer 50 multiple-choice questions. It is open book and untimed. The fee is $40 plus tax ($42 in 2027), you get unlimited attempts within 30 days of paying, and a pass stays valid for 5 years. Read our guide to both final steps.

Step 5: What is the Transition to Practice requirement?

Since 1 April 2025, every applicant must meet CNO's Transition to Practice requirement. Internationally educated nurses meet it with a CNO-approved online course, usually 7 to 14 weeks long with no clinical placement, which stays valid for 5 years. Eight providers are approved, including Centennial, Conestoga and Georgian colleges, Seneca Polytechnic, Toronto Metropolitan University and the University of Toronto. Each sets its own fee.

Step 6: How do I finish my registration?

With every requirement met, you pay the initial registration fee ($69 plus HST in 2026, $72 in 2027) and CNO registers you in the General Class. You also need professional liability protection of at least $1 million per claim, which many employers provide. After that, the annual fee is $368 plus HST in 2026 ($386 in 2027).