March 07, 2022

CNO’s new Language Proficiency Policy takes effect

As of March 7, 2022, applicants can demonstrate language proficiency, in English or French, through education, formal testing or practice experience in a health care related setting in Canada.

Applicants registering to practice nursing in Ontario now have better options to demonstrate language proficiency under the College of Nurses of Ontario’s (CNO’s) new Language Proficiency Policy.

As of March 7, 2022, applicants can demonstrate language proficiency, in English or French, through education, formal testing or practice experience in a health care related setting in Canada. Applicants can also demonstrate language proficiency if they hold or previously held a certificate of registration with a nursing regulatory body in Canada. Learn more on our Proficiency in English or French page.

“It’s critically important for nurses to have the language skills to provide safe patient care,” says Carol Timmings, Chief Quality Officer at CNO. “The new policy improves efficiencies in assessing language proficiency and ensures public protection by focusing on evidence that specifically demonstrates an applicant’s ability to communicate within a health care environment.”

Language proficiency is one of eight registration requirements applicants must meet to become a nurse in Ontario. All applicants, including those reinstating their registration in the profession, must meet this requirement.

Updating the language proficiency requirement is one of several ways CNO is modernizing its applicant assessment process. “Changes to language proficiency modernizes the applicant process and streamlines outcomes for applicants, keeping the process fair and inclusive for them, while also keeping patient safety at the forefront,” Timmings adds.

In addition to updating the language proficiency policy, CNO recently launched the Supervised Practice Experience Partnership program — a new opportunity for applicants to demonstrate evidence of practice.

For ongoing updates on CNO’s modernization efforts, visit CNO’s trending topic on Modernizing Applicant Assessments.

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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