Internationally educated nurses: where to start

Start with the country you want to practice in

This guide is for nurses who trained outside Canada or the United States. The first step depends on where you want to be licensed. The two countries use different systems, so don't follow the other country's steps.

If you want to practice in Canada

The National Nursing Assessment Service (NNAS) is the first step for internationally educated nurses. NNAS checks your credentials and gives verified information to the regulators, who make the licensing decisions. NNAS does not license you.

• Check your eligibility on nnas.ca. The site asks you to find out whether you're eligible before you start.
• Create an account and choose your pathway. NNAS offers Expedited Service for RN or LPN credentialing. Applicants who don't qualify for Expedited Service use the Registered Psychiatric Nurse pathway.
• Submit your documents to NNAS. Its process and timeline page explains what is needed and how long it takes.
• Apply to your provincial or territorial regulator once you have your NNAS results. Then follow that regulator's steps, including the NCLEX registration steps in the guide How NCLEX registration works in Canada.

If you want to practice in the United States

There is no single national route. Each state board of nursing sets its own rules for internationally educated applicants. The NCSBN's resource manual for internationally educated nurses describes the uniform requirements that boards commonly use. Those requirements include:

• Graduation from a nursing program comparable to a board-approved U.S. RN program. Most boards use a credentials evaluation agency to confirm this.
• Self-disclosure of any nursing license you hold or have held in your home country.
• Passing an English proficiency exam, unless the manual's exemption applies to you. Read the exemption wording carefully.
• A criminal background check, with self-disclosure of misdemeanors, felonies and plea agreements.
• Passing the NCLEX-RN.

Check current rules before you pay anything

The NCSBN manual is a good guide, but each board decides which credential evaluation agencies it accepts and what it requires. Check your board's own page before you apply, and check current fees and timelines directly with the agency or board.

For Canada, use nnas.ca. For the U.S., start with your state board of nursing, which you can find through NCSBN's directory.