August 29, 2019
December 2020

Answers to your annual renewal questions

It’s time to renew your membership for 2021. If you haven’t done so already, you can quickly and easily renew online by logging in to Maintain Your Membership.

 

CNO’s sole mandate is to protect the public by promoting safe nursing practice — but we don’t do it alone. We rely on you — our partners in safety — to engage in the process of public safety with us. All nurses take part in the process of regulating their profession. 

It’s time to renew your membership for 2021. If you haven’t done so already, you can quickly and easily renew online by logging in to Maintain Your Membership.

Why do I have to pay CNO an annual fee?

CNO’s sole mandate is to protect the public by promoting safe nursing practice — but we don’t do it alone. We rely on you — our partners in safety — to engage in the process of public safety with us. All nurses take part in the process of regulating their profession. When you give us feedback during a consultation on a new practice standard or a regulation change, vote for a new member of our board or apply to serve on a committee, submit your annual Quality Assurance Action Plan and pay your fees to be registered, you are participating in the process of regulation and public protection.

By actively participating in these processes, you help ensure the public continues to place their trust in the competent and safe care nurses provide.

What does CNO do with the money?

We protect the public by ensuring the following:

  • those wanting to become nurses in Ontario meet requirements

  • nurses have standards that inform them of their accountabilities to provide safe, competent and ethical care

  • nurses engage in continuous improvement of their practice

  • we take appropriate steps when there are concerns about nurses' conduct, competence and health

  • we amend standards and regulations whenever government updates laws or passes new ones

We also develop new programs and approaches to continually improve nursing regulation in Ontario, such as regulations to expand nurses’ scope of practice, and updating RPN competencies and examination with the goal of improving the mobility of RPN labour across the country.

Is the online payment process safe and secure?

When you pay your membership fees, the transaction is securely handled by a third-party vendor. Your financial information is not processed or stored within our systems; we do not have access to and do not retain or share your credit card details or social insurance number.

When is the deadline to renew?

The deadline to renew is midnight on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020. After Dec. 31, you can still renew, but there will be an additional $100 late fee.

What if I have a question about renewal?

Check our frequently asked questions about renewal. If you don’t see the answer to your question, give us a call. We’re available Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Call 1 866 573-5405 (in North America) and 416 849-6135 (outside of North America). You can also email us.

About CNO

The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) is the regulator of the nursing profession in Ontario. It is not a school or a nursing association. CNO acts in the public interest by:

  • assessing qualifications and registering individuals who want to practice nursing in Ontario.
  • setting the practice standards of the profession that nurses in Ontario are expected to meet.
  • promoting nurses' continuing competence through a quality assurance program.
  • holding nurses accountable to those standards by addressing complaints or reports about nursing care.

The College was founded in 1963. By establishing the College, the Ontario government was acknowledging that the nursing profession had the ability to govern itself and put the public's well-being ahead of professional interests.

For the latest information, please see our Nursing Statistics page.

Anyone who wants to use a nursing-related title — Registered Nurse (RN), Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) or Nurse Practitioner (NP) must become a member of CNO.

Frequently Asked Questions

Go to the public Register, Find a Nurse, to conduct a search for the nurse. Contact us if you can't find the person you are looking for.

All public information available about nurses is posted in the public Register, Find a Nurse, which contains profiles of every nurse in Ontario. Publicly available information about nurses include their registration history, business address, and information related to pending disciplinary hearings or past findings.

Unregistered practitioners are people who are seeking employment in nursing or holding themselves out as being able to practice nursing in Ontario, but who are not qualified to do so. They are not registered members of CNO. Only people registered with CNO can use nursing-related titles or perform certain procedures that could cause harm if carried out by a non-registered health professional. CNO takes the issue of unregistered practitioners seriously. See Unregistered Practitioners for more information.

To ensure procedural fairness for both the patient (or client) and the nurse, the Regulated Health Professions Act requires that information gathered during an investigation remain confidential until the matter is referred to the Discipline Committee or Fitness to Practise Committee. CNO will not disclose any information that could identify patients (or clients) or compromise an investigation. See Investigations: A Process Guide for more information.

Information obtained during an investigation will become public if the matter is referred to a disciplinary hearing. If a complaint is not referred to a hearing, no information will be available publicly.

See CNO's hearings schedule, which is updated as hearing dates are confirmed. Hearings at CNO are open to the public and the media. For details on how to attend a hearing, contact the Hearings Administration Team.

A summary of allegations and the disciplinary panel outcomes can be found on the public Register, Find a Nurse. Full decisions and reasons are also available.

Where a disciplinary panel makes a finding of professional misconduct, they have the authority to reprimand a nurse, and suspend or revoke a nurse's registration. Terms, conditions and limitations can also be imposed on a nurse's registration, which restricts their practice for a set period. Nurses can also be required to complete remedial activities, such as reviewing CNO documents and meeting with an expert, before returning to practice.

For detailed information see the Sexual Abuse Prevention section.

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