Nurses registered to practice in other Canadian jurisdictions

Nurses currently registered to practice in another Canadian jurisdiction who wish to practice in Ontario are not required to write a registration examination to register with the CNO. Please refer to this section of the registration guide for more detail.

Recent graduates of Canadian programs outside Ontario who are not currently registered to practice elsewhere in Canada

If you are applying to practice as an RN, you will write the NCLEX-RN.

If you are applying to practice as an RPN, you will write the REx-PN.

Both exams consist of a series of questions designed to measure the competencies of nurses at the start of their practice. The examinations are written at testing centres across Canada.

Jurisprudence examination

All applicants, regardless of their registration status, must successfully complete a separate jurisprudence exam. This online exam is designed to evaluate your knowledge and understanding of the laws, regulations and CNO by-laws, practice standards and guidelines that govern the nursing profession in Ontario.

The RN/RPN Jurisprudence Exam can be completed at any time, and from any location. Once you have submitted your application form and fees, you will receive information about how to access the secure testing site.

You must provide an email address to the CNO to receive information about your jurisprudence exam. This email address must be unique to you (it cannot be an address that is shared with other applicants to CNO).

Visit our Examinations section for more about the registration and jurisprudence exams, including fees, refund policies and special accommodation requests.