Becoming a Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) in Ontario is a clear, step-by-step process — but nobody hands you the map. I walked this exact path: I arrived in Canada in 2021, graduated from the Practical Nursing program at Sault College in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in 2024, worked under a Temporary Class licence, passed the REx-PN, and now work as a fully registered RPN in long-term care. Here is the roadmap I wish someone had given me.
Everything starts with education. You must graduate from a Practical Nursing program approved by the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). These are typically two-year diploma programs offered at Ontario colleges, combining classroom theory, lab practice, and clinical placements in real healthcare settings.
After (or near) graduation, you apply to the College of Nurses of Ontario for registration. The CNO will verify that you meet all requirements, which generally include:
Ontario requires nurses to pass a jurisprudence exam covering the laws, ethics, and professional standards that govern nursing practice — things like consent, privacy (PHIPA), mandatory reporting, and professional misconduct. It is typically an open-book, multiple-choice exam you complete online within a set window after registering for it. Because the format and fees can change, confirm the current details on cno.org before you book.
The REx-PN (Regulatory Exam – Practical Nurse) is the entry-to-practice exam for practical nurses in Ontario. It uses computerized adaptive testing (CAT): the computer adjusts question difficulty to your ability level and stops when it can confidently determine a pass or fail.
Temporary Class licence: new graduates who meet certain conditions may be eligible for a Temporary Class registration, which lets you start working as a nurse while you complete remaining registration steps. That is exactly what I did — I worked a full year under Temporary Class before passing the REx-PN and becoming fully registered. Ask the CNO about current eligibility when you apply.
Once registered, the jobs are out there — Ontario needs practical nurses. The most common first roles for new RPNs:
Tips from my own job hunt: apply before you feel “ready,” tailor your resume to each posting, and treat every clinical placement contact as a future reference. New-graduate hiring programs exist at many employers — ask about them explicitly.
If you completed your nursing education in another country — Brazil, the Philippines, India, Nigeria, anywhere — the path runs through NNAS (National Nursing Assessment Service) first. NNAS evaluates your international credentials and reports to the CNO, which then tells you what additional education or steps you need before you can register.
This is a longer road with its own paperwork, costs, and timelines, and it deserves its own guide. If you are a Brazilian nurse aiming for Ontario, I wrote one specifically for you — covering both the NNAS validation path and the alternative of studying Practical Nursing in Canada the way I did:
Do Brasil ao RPN — the complete guide for Brazilian nurses: NNAS validation, CNO registration, costs, timelines, and the study-in-Canada alternative. In Portuguese.
Get the Guide – CA$47The PN program itself is typically two years of full-time study. After graduation, CNO processing, the jurisprudence exam, and the REx-PN add several more months. From first day of college to fully registered RPN, plan for roughly two and a half to three years — faster if you use a Temporary Class licence to start working sooner.
Possibly, under a Temporary Class registration — that is how I worked my first year. Eligibility has conditions and the class is time-limited, so confirm the current rules with the CNO when you apply.
It is open-book, which makes people underestimate it. The questions test applied understanding of Ontario nursing law — consent, privacy, reporting duties — not memorization. Prepare with Ontario-specific materials, not generic ethics notes.
Start with NNAS (nnas.ca) for the credential assessment, then follow the CNO’s direction. And if you are Brazilian, my guide Do Brasil ao RPN walks through the entire journey in Portuguese, including realistic costs and timelines.