How to Become a Bailiff in Quebec
The Quebec route to a court bailiff permit: diploma or equivalence, Chambre training course, professional examination, and six-month training period.
How to Become a Licensed Practical Nurse in Quebec
Become a licensed practical nurse in Quebec through the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers auxiliaires du Québec: the DEP in Santé, assistance et soins infirmiers, the OIIAQ professional exam, and the French-language requirement.
Applies in: Quebec
The short answer
To become a licensed practical nurse in Quebec, complete the DEP in Santé, assistance et soins infirmiers, meet the French-language requirement, and pass the OIIAQ professional exam. The regulator is the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers auxiliaires du Québec (OIIAQ), and the title is infirmière auxiliaire or infirmier auxiliaire. Quebec does not use the CPNRE — its LPNs write the OIIAQ's own professional exam — and this is a separate order from the OIIQ, which regulates registered nurses, so no RN Quebec steps apply here.
Step 1: Complete the DEP in Santé, assistance et soins infirmiers
The education step is the diplôme d'études professionnelles (DEP) in Santé, assistance et soins infirmiers: 1,800 hours over 18 months, offered in person at vocational training centres across Quebec. Graduates of the program meet the training conditions to become a member of the OIIAQ, and to obtain the licence they must hold the DEP (or have their diploma or training recognized) and pass the OIIAQ professional exam. Apply to a training centre directly for a seat; this guide does not re-walk program admissions.
Step 2: Meet the French-language requirement
Under article 35 of the Charter of the French Language, a professional order may only issue a permit to a person with appropriate knowledge of French for the profession. The OIIAQ rules are that you meet the requirement if you have completed at least three years of full-time secondary or post-secondary education taught in French, passed the fourth- or fifth-year secondary school French mother-tongue exam, or obtained a secondary school diploma in Quebec after the 1985-1986 school year. Holders of a secondary school equivalence certificate (AENS) do not meet the requirement on that certificate alone, unless they also completed at least three years of full-time education taught in French. Candidates who meet none of these conditions must pass an exam from the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) and obtain a certificate before applying for a permit from the Order. Sort this out before you apply — the permit cannot be issued without it.
Step 3: Be convoked to the professional exam and pass it
The OIIAQ holds four professional exam sessions a year. You are eligible for the exam as soon as you successfully complete the study program or meet the requirements imposed through an equivalence of diploma or training, and the OIIAQ convokes you to the session tied to the period when you became eligible:
- Eligible October 1 to December 31 — March session
- Eligible January 1 to March 31 — June session
- Eligible April 1 to June 30 — September session
- Eligible July 1 to September 30 — December session
The published calendar lists December 12, 2026, then March 20, June 12, and September 25, 2027, with a note that dates can change and notice will be sent within the regulatory time limit. Sessions run at authorized exam centres across Quebec, including Rimouski, Chicoutimi, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Montreal, Gatineau, Amos, and the Magdalen Islands. You have three attempts to pass the exam.
Step 4: Obtain your permit and register on the Tableau
Once you pass the professional exam, the OIIAQ issues your permit and you register on the Tableau — the Order's roll — to practise as an infirmière auxiliaire or infirmier auxiliaire. The permit alone is not the whole step: registration on the Tableau is what authorizes you to practise, and it must be renewed each year.
If you trained outside Quebec
If you do not hold a diploma that opens access to the OIIAQ permit, apply for recognition of equivalence of a diploma issued outside Quebec, or of training — including professional experience — acquired in Quebec or outside Quebec. The steps are:
- Open your file online. The file opening takes under an hour. The fees follow the tariff in force and are non-refundable.
- Send your supporting documents. The time this takes varies with how long the institutions take to send them.
- Wait for the analysis. Analysis usually takes three months from receipt of all supporting documents, and the cost is included in the file opening.
- Wait for the decision. The decision usually follows within one month of the analysis, depending on the decision committee's meeting calendar.
- Take the professional exam and register. Permit issuance and Tableau registration take at least a few months depending on the decision and on the exam session — four sessions a year — and cost at minimum the professional exam registration fee and the annual dues.
Two special cases: if you are a licensed practical nurse in another Canadian province and a member in good standing of your professional order or organization, you can obtain your OIIAQ permit under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. And if you are applying for equivalence as part of an immigration process under Quebec's skilled worker selection program (PSTQ), the OIIAQ strongly recommends waiting for the immigration ministry's invitation to submit your permanent selection application before sending your admission application to the Order.
If you need the OQLF French exam
If you meet none of the French-language exemptions in Step 2, you must pass the exam from the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) and obtain a certificate before applying for a permit. The exam is free and lasts about three hours, assessing your oral and written French — not your professional or technical skills. It is held at the OQLF's Montreal offices, and twice a year at its Quebec City offices; there is no remote option, so you must travel there to take it. You must pass all parts in the same session to obtain the certificate, and no other French exam is accepted. Register through the OIIAQ: contact the Order, which will tell you whether you need the exam and how to register. If you are still studying, your school can guide you through the registration process.
What the opened pages do not state
The opened OIIAQ pages refer all fees to the tariff in force and do not publish the professional exam fee, the permit fee, or the annual dues as amounts, so this guide states no fee — check the OIIAQ tariff before you pay. Do not carry the $638.11 professional exam fee published by the OIIQ for registered nurses into this guide; that figure belongs to a different order and a different exam. The opened pages also do not state the December 2027 exam date, which was still to be determined at the time of writing, or the processing time for a Quebec-trained DEP graduate's permit application. This guide gives no advice on whether you qualify — that is the OIIAQ's decision when it assesses your application or equivalence file.
Related guides:
- How to Become a Registered Nurse in Quebec — the RN route in Quebec, through the OIIQ, a separate order with its own professional exam.
- How to Become a Licensed Practical Nurse in British Columbia — the BC LPN route, which uses the REx-PN instead of a provincial exam.
- How to Become a Licensed Practical Nurse in Manitoba — another CPNRE province, for comparison with Quebec's own exam.
- How to Become a Licensed Practical Nurse in Saskatchewan — another CPNRE province with its own regulator and program route.
- How to Start Getting Your Foreign Nursing Credentials Recognized in Canada (NNAS + Provincial Regulator) — the NNAS process, which Quebec does not use: Quebec runs its own equivalence review through the OIIAQ.
Becoming a licensed practical nurse in Quebec, in five steps
- Complete the DEP in Santé, assistance et soins infirmiersA diploma of vocational studies of 1,800 hours over 18 months. Graduates meet the training conditions to join the OIIAQ.
- Meet the French-language requirementShow appropriate knowledge of French under the Charter of the French Language, or pass the OQLF exam and obtain a certificate before applying for a permit.
- Be convoked to the professional examThe OIIAQ holds four exam sessions a year and convokes you to the session tied to the period when you became eligible.
- Pass the OIIAQ professional examQuebec's own exam — not the CPNRE. You have three attempts to pass it.
- Obtain your permit and register on the TableauOnce you pass, the OIIAQ issues your permit and you register on the Tableau to practise as an infirmière auxiliaire or infirmier auxiliaire.
Questions people ask
Who regulates licensed practical nurses in Quebec?
The Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers auxiliaires du Québec (OIIAQ) regulates the profession in Quebec. The title is infirmière auxiliaire or infirmier auxiliaire. This is a separate order from the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ), which regulates registered nurses — do not follow OIIQ steps for this profession.
What education do I need to become an LPN in Quebec?
Complete the diplôme d'études professionnelles (DEP) in Santé, assistance et soins infirmiers — 1,800 hours over 18 months. Graduates of the program meet the training conditions to become a member of the OIIAQ. If you hold a diploma or training from outside Quebec, you can instead apply to the OIIAQ for recognition of equivalence.
Do Quebec LPNs write the CPNRE?
No. Quebec does not use the Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Examination (CPNRE). Quebec LPNs write the OIIAQ professional exam — the Order's own exam. You have three attempts to pass it.
When is the OIIAQ professional exam held?
The OIIAQ holds four exam sessions a year. The 2027 sessions are March 20, June 12, and September 25, and the last 2026 session is December 12, 2026. You are convoked by the OIIAQ to the session tied to the period when you became eligible: eligible October 1 to December 31 for the March session, January 1 to March 31 for June, April 1 to June 30 for September, and July 1 to September 30 for December.
Do I need to speak French to become an LPN in Quebec?
Yes. To obtain a permit, you must show appropriate knowledge of French under article 35 of the Charter of the French Language. You meet the requirement if you completed at least three years of full-time secondary or post-secondary education taught in French, passed the fourth- or fifth-year secondary school French mother-tongue exam, or obtained a Quebec secondary school diploma after the 1985-1986 school year. If you meet none of these, you must pass an exam from the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) and obtain a certificate before applying for a permit.
I trained as a nurse outside Quebec. How do I become an LPN in Quebec?
Apply to the OIIAQ for recognition of equivalence of your diploma or training. Open your file online, submit your supporting documents, and the Order analyses the file — usually within three months of receiving all documents — then decides, usually within one month of the analysis. If the decision is in your favour, you are convoked to the professional exam. If you are already licensed as an LPN in another Canadian province and are a member in good standing, you can obtain your OIIAQ permit under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement instead.
Sources
- Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers auxiliaires du Québec, Calendrier des séances et convocation — four professional exam sessions a year, the convocation table by eligibility period, the 2026 and 2027 session dates, and the authorized exam centres.
- Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers auxiliaires du Québec, Demande de reconnaissance d'équivalence — the equivalence route for diplomas and training from outside Quebec, the online file opening, the usual three-month analysis and one-month decision, and the Canadian Free Trade Agreement route for LPNs licensed in another province.
- Centre de formation professionnelle Pont-Viau, Santé, assistance et soins infirmiers — the DEP in Santé, assistance et soins infirmiers at 1,800 hours over 18 months, the OIIAQ training and exam conditions, the three attempts for the OIIAQ exam, and the French-language requirement with the OQLF exam.
- Government of Quebec, Assessment of French by the Office québécois de la langue française — the OQLF exam is free, lasts about three hours, tests oral and written French, is held in Montreal and twice a year in Quebec City with no remote option, requires passing all parts in the same session, and registration runs through the professional order.