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January 02, 2026

Streamlining how Canada’s nurses register with CNO

CNO has a new, innovative process that allows nurses to bring their nursing expertise to Ontario quickly and seamlessly.

Two nurses smiling.

CNO has a new, innovative process that allows nurses to bring their nursing expertise to Ontario quickly and seamlessly. Launched on Jan. 1, 2026, automatic recognition is a groundbreaking initiative that allows nurses already registered in another Canadian jurisdiction to become registered with CNO in just two business days — contributing to the health human resources in Ontario without compromising the registration requirements that support safe nursing practices.

This advancement is a response to legislative changes supporting nurse mobility and the need to strengthen Ontario’s health care workforce. Through discussions with the Ministry of Health, CNO is offering nurses the agility to move seamlessly into practice.

“We collaborated with the Ministry of Health to address workforce needs and strengthen labour mobility for nurses,” explains Silvie Crawford, CNO’s Registrar & CEO. “For those nurses who choose to practice in Ontario, automatic recognition will allow us to register new nurses efficiently while adhering to the registration requirements.”

How does it work?

The pathway is simple. Apply by creating your profile, sign an attestation form for automatic recognition, confirm your good standing and character, and pay the relevant fees. In just two business days, you’re registered and able to start working in Ontario.

Good standing

“Good standing” means:

  • you are not the subject of any discipline or fitness to practice orders, ongoing investigations, interim orders or agreements resulting from complaints or proceedings
  • you are complying with the continuing competency and quality assurance requirements where you are currently registered to practice in Canada.

Once you are registered with CNO, you will have terms, conditions and limitations (TCLs) placed on your certificate of registration and posted on CNO’s public register, Find a Nurse. These TCLs will be removed once you send CNO proof of having requested the following within seven days of being registered:

  • a verification of registration from each Canadian nursing regulatory body where you hold an equivalent certificate of registration. This documentation confirms your good standing as a nurse and your entitlement to practice in that jurisdiction
  • a Police Criminal Record Check

“This new process finds the balance between efficiency and safety,” says Crawford. “Automatic recognition brings seamless mobility to the workforce.”

For further details on this opportunity for nurses registered outside Ontario, consult the Canada (registered outside Ontario) registration guide.

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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