All registered nurses and registered practical nurses practising in Ontario have one thing in common: they must all be registered with the College of Nurses.

Only those nurses with a valid Certificate of Registration from the College are permitted to practise in Ontario, are authorized to perform the procedures in the Controlled Acts that are authorized to nursing, and are allowed to refer to themselves as nurses.

Applicants can be divided into three groups, based on where they obtained their nursing education or are currently registered to practise nursing: Ontario (for graduates of an Ontario nursing school), Canada (for graduates of Canadian nursing schools outside Ontario or nurses registered in another province or territory) or International (for nurses educated outside Canada and have never practised within Canada).