Applicants must meet all requirements to register, including paying the registration fee(s), within two years of submitting their application and their application fee.

This approach meets CNO’s legislative requirements under Ontario Regulation 275/94 made under the Nursing Act, 1991. 

If you don’t meet all the requirements by your closure date, which can be found in your application in the Applicant Portal, your application will be closed. You can apply again by submitting a new application and application fee. You may also be required to submit new supporting documents, though we may use the information we have on record, if available, for your new application.

It depends on when you and your friend submitted your application and application fee. If you submitted on different days, your closure dates will be on different days.

Also note: If you submitted your application and fee on or before Oct. 31, 2024, your application will be closed on Nov. 1, 2026, unless you complete all the registration requirements including paying the registration fee(s), by this date.

If you submitted your application and fee between Nov. 1, 2024, and Oct. 31, 2025, your application will be closed on Nov. 1, 2027, unless you complete all registration requirements, including paying the registration fee(s), by this date.

Once your application is closed, you can apply again by submitting a new application and application fee. You may also be required to submit new supporting documents, though we may use the information we have on record, if available, for your new application.

You have two different closure deadlines because you applied on different dates. If you submitted one of your applications and fees on or before Oct. 31, 2024, that application will be closed on Nov. 1, 2026, unless you complete all the registration requirements, including paying the registration fee(s), by this date.

If you submitted your other application and fee between Nov. 1, 2024, and Oct. 31, 2025, that application will be closed on Nov. 1, 2027, unless you complete the registration requirements, including paying the registration fee(s), by this date.

Once you submit your application and pay your fee, CNO will send you a message via the Portal confirming receipt and letting you know that your application will close in two years if you don't complete all registration requirements, including paying registration fees, by the closure date.

Yes. We send reminder messages to all applicants at the one-year, six-month and three-month marks notifying them of an upcoming closure. These will be sent through the Message Centre in the Applicant Portal.

CNO may adjust your closure date for a number of reasons, such as needing time to complete an administrative process or completing the review of documents. If this happens, we will notify you of any changes to your closure date via a message in the Applicant Portal, and your closure date will be updated there as well.

CNO is committed to reviewing all submitted documents and information before closing an application. Should your application remain open past the closure date to allow for a review of documents and information, and if you meet all requirements following our review, you will have seven days to pay and register. If you don’t, your application will be closed, and you will be required to submit a new application and fee if you want to continue your journey to register as a nurse in Ontario.

CNO is committed to ensuring that any Registration Committee-related processes are completed before closing your application.

We will contact you once you have opened a new application. 

No, we will not reopen your application if you have not met all requirements for registration, including paying the required registration fee(s). You must open a new application. 

Once you open a new application, we will review your EOP following the current applicable legislation, policies, processes and validity timeframes to determine if you meet the EOP requirement. 

CNO requires applicants to satisfy this requirement by gaining nursing experience through paid nursing employment or other paid roles. Volunteer or unpaid nursing activities or practice are no longer an acceptable demonstration for the EOP requirement for initial applicants to CNO. CNO will inform you about how you can fulfill your EOP requirements when you submit your new application.

For more information, see this section of the Evidence of Practice (RN & RPN): Frequently Asked Questions page on our website.

If you have been issued an authorization to test (ATT) and have applied for an exam date that occurs after your application closes, once you complete the exam, the results will be forwarded to CNO. If you wish to continue your application journey, open a new application after your application closes to ensure that you can obtain the results of your exam.

If you have not yet registered for the exam when your application closes, open a new application and ensure that you remain eligible to attempt the exam. CNO will review your new application under the current legislation, policies, processes and validity timeframes and advise you of required next steps, including whether you are eligible to attempt the registration exam.

If you are registered in the Temporary Class in a specific category, when your General Class application in the same category comes up for closure, your application will remain open until your Temporary Class registration expires. If you have not met all the requirements for registration in the General Class at that time, your General Class application will be closed. 

Note: This would also apply if you are registered as an RPN in the Temporary Class, where your application for registration as an RPN in the General Class will remain open until your RPN Temporary Class registration expires. 

No, there is no waiting period. You can immediately start your new application. To apply, go to Maintain Your Membership and select “Login to my account." Login using your email address and password and then select "create a new application."

You can request to register with terms, conditions and limitations if this is your last requirement. You are required to sign an undertaking, which enables you to be registered, but you are not entitled to practice as a nurse in Ontario until you provide proper immigration documents authorizing you to practice as a nurse in Ontario. There will also be a notation that you are not entitled to practice on CNO’s public register, Find A Nurse. Learn more. 

Once you open a new application, CNO will review your information and documents to determine if you meet the registration requirements in accordance with legislation, policies, processes and validity periods applicable to the new application. 

CNO will also let you know if you need to obtain updated documents or information as part of your new application. Depending on when you open a new application, some of your documents from your closed application may still be valid toward your new application. However, if any of your documents have expired (such as an authorization to work document or language proficiency test results), then you will need to submit updated documents.

CNO will provide a status update to let you know which requirements are met and what the next steps are in relation to other requirements. Depending on when you open a new application, here are some things to keep in mind: 

• If you’ve written the jurisprudence exam in the last five years, it may still be valid.
• If you previously passed a registration exam, it will still be valid.
• If your police criminal record check was issued within the last six months, it may still be valid.
• If you passed an approved language proficiency test in the last two years, it may still be valid.

If you wish to continue with the application journey, open a new application after your application closes. In each of these scenarios, once you are done, please ensure that the confirmation of completion or results are submitted directly to CNO as required. We will review the results and then provide you with an update.

We remind you that once you open a new application, CNO will review your submitted documents and other information following the current applicable legislation, policies, processes and validity timeframes. If you have questions about your specific circumstances not covered in this FAQ, please contact CNO’s customer service team.

You do not need to apply again to one of the approved ECA service providers if you have already done so as part of your application to CNO. You must apply to an approved ECA if you have never had your education documents validated by an approved ECA or have new education documents that must be reviewed once you reapply. If there are no changes to the documents required for your application at the time you reapply, we may use any information we have on record, if available, for your new application. We will advise you if updated information is needed.

Please note: If you are an Internationally Educated Nurse who was previously registered elsewhere in Canada when you originally applied to CNO and your application was closed, you will have to apply to one of the approved ECA service providers if you are no longer registered in another Canadian jurisdiction when you reapply to CNO.