Once you have met the seven requirements for registration, you will then be eligible to receive your Certificate of Registration and become a member of the College of Nurses of Ontario.

To begin the registration process, you must first request an application package from the College, which will send you all the forms and instructions required to complete the process. 

Please follow the instructions in the package carefully. We will update you about the status of your application as we receive information.

When you have met all registration requirements, the College will then send you an Initial Registration application form and a request for fee payment. You must return the completed form and payment to the College in order to receive your Certificate of Registration.

Request an application package

All applications for registration are confidential. Information about your application will be given only to you unless you provide written permission to release the information to a third party (i.e., an employer, spouse, agency or attorney). To release information to a third party, you must send us a written and signed letter of permission or complete the Authorization to Release Information form.

The length of time it will take to complete registration depends on how quickly the College receives all the information it requires to complete the assessment process. During the assessment stage, it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure all proper documentation is sent directly to the College, and to respond to College requests for information in a timely manner.

Once your application for registration is accepted as complete by the College, the initial registration process will be completed within 15 business days.

Inside the package

The application package will contain a set of application forms and a verification form. Please complete and sign the application forms and return them to CNO with the appropriate non-refundable application fee in Canadian funds.

The verification form requests official verification of your nursing credentials. You complete and sign Section 1 of the verification form. Your official source (i.e., nursing school) must then complete Section 2 and return the form directly to the College. 

You may receive additional verification forms depending on the outcome of the College’s initial assessment. Please note that the number of verification forms you receive with your application will depend on the information you provide the College.

Do not send completed verification forms back to the College. Verification forms that are sent to the College by the applicant will be returned. The College will only accept documents that come directly from an official source. The verification forms must include the official seal or stamp from the institution and the signature of the official who completed the form, and they must be mailed directly to the College in an envelope with the letterhead, seal or stamp of the institution. Incomplete forms will be returned to the official source for further verification.

Correspondence and completed forms may be faxed to the College; however, we require original documents before we can complete your evaluation. Documents will be returned upon written request.

Application and Registration fees

There are three fees to complete the registration process: an application fee that begins the process, an examination fee that covers the costs of administering the exam, and a registration fee that confirms your entry into the College as a member in good standing.  

A complete list of all registration-related fees can be found in the College’s Fees directory.

Remember:

• Each fee should be accompanied by the appropriate application or registration forms. Do not send all fees at once or without the appropriate form.
• Payment can be made by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, personal cheque or money order. Please make cheque or money order payable to College of Nurses of Ontario. The College does not accept cash payments..
• There is a $25.00 administrative fee for bank-returned items, such as Not Sufficient Funds (NSF) cheques.

Aside from the fees mentioned above, there may be other fees involved in your application:

• Transcript fees, payable to an official source (such as your nursing school or registration authority), to process your request for a nursing transcript or verification of registration.
• A translation fee, payable to the College, for documents sent to the College in languages other than English or French. You can avoid this fee by asking your official sources to send documents in English or French. All translations must be accompanied by the document in the original language and mailed directly from the official source to the College.
• Fees and costs related to language proficiency testing, payable to the testing agency. The cost of these tests will vary, depending on the service provider.