How to Become a Medical Laboratory Technologist in New Brunswick

The short answer

To work as a medical laboratory technologist in New Brunswick you must be registered with the New Brunswick Society of Medical Laboratory Technologists (NBSMLT). The route, in order, is: complete an accredited medical laboratory technology program, write the Canadian Alliance of Medical Laboratory Professionals Regulators (CAMLPR) field-of-practice exams, and register with the Society. New graduates can start work on an MLT-1 temporary licence while they wait for exam results.

The Society regulates the profession under the Medical Laboratory Technology Act of 1991. No one may hold themselves out as a medical laboratory technologist in New Brunswick unless registered in good standing with the Society.

Step 1 — Complete an accredited medical laboratory technology program

Complete a medical laboratory technology program accredited by an approved accreditation body. The New Brunswick Community College in Saint John runs the Medical Laboratory Technology program, which takes 2.5 years and includes a course that prepares students for the CAMLPR national certification examination. The University of New Brunswick offers a Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science in partnership with the college: the four-year degree combines 84 credit hours at the university with the college program, and admission is limited by seats in the college program. Students who already hold medical laboratory technologist certification from an accredited Canadian program can be admitted to the degree with no enrolment limit.

Step 2 — Write the CAMLPR field-of-practice exams

For New Brunswick applicants the entry-to-practice exam is the CAMLPR field-of-practice exam. CAMLPR lists New Brunswick as a jurisdiction where its exams are required and where registration with the regulator is required, and CAMLPR shares your case file, including the prior learning assessment file and the exam report, directly with the NBSMLT when you apply for exam registration.

CAMLPR organizes the exams by field of practice: clinical chemistry, hematology, transfusion medicine, clinical microbiology, histology, clinical genetics, and diagnostic cytology. You write the exam in each field in which you plan to work. Exams are computer-based and run in person at Prometric test centres in Canada. Remotely proctored delivery was suspended starting with the October 2026 session, so plan travel to a centre. You get up to three attempts per field of practice, and all attempts must fall within 12 months of becoming exam-eligible.

The 2027 exam sessions are January 25 to February 5 (registration opens November 16, 2026, deadline December 28, 2026), March 15 to 26 (registration opens January 4, 2027, deadline February 15, 2027), June 21 to July 2 (registration opens April 12, 2027, deadline May 24, 2027), and October 25 to November 5 (registration opens August 16, 2027, deadline September 27, 2027). Fees must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the Sunday two weeks before your session begins.

What the CAMLPR exam costs

CAMLPR publishes its fees in Canadian dollars, excluding taxes. The account creation fee is $175, charged to all applicants. A single field exam costs $505, except cytology at $685. Bundles cost less than the same fields bought separately, but only when all exams in the bundle are written in the same appointment: the MLT Core Lab bundle (clinical chemistry, hematology, and transfusion medicine) is $860, and the MLT General bundle (those three plus clinical microbiology and histology) is $1,145. The prior learning assessment fee is $900, charged to internationally educated applicants, applicants with non-traditional education, and Canadian-educated applicants who did not attempt a first national exam within 24 months of program completion. These fees cover CAMLPR services only and do not include document costs, language assessments, or Society dues.

Step 3 — Apply for an MLT-1 temporary licence to start work

Graduates of accredited Canadian programs may be issued a temporary licence to practise as soon as they are eligible to write the entry-to-practice exam and submit the application to the Registrar. The temporary licence, called MLT-1, lets you practise as a medical laboratory technologist with conditions and restrictions until you obtain your exam results. You cannot start work until you have received your temporary licence. The temporary licence expires upon receipt of the exam results. If you pass, you must apply for full registration as a certified medical laboratory technologist.

The conditions include: you must only perform tasks in the disciplines for which you received training, and you must only perform tasks when you are not the only person responsible for the work performed. Work must be overseen by a technologist, manager, or supervisor. To get the temporary licence you need a completed application and provincial registration forms declaring good conduct, proof of liability insurance, a letter of successful completion of required competencies from an accredited post-secondary institution, confirmation of registration for the national entry-to-practice exam, a letter of hire from your employer, and payment of all applicable fees.

Step 4 — Get liability insurance and complete the application

New registrants must obtain and provide proof of professional liability insurance, complete the initial application and licence application form, and pay annual dues to the NBSMLT. For a general medical laboratory technologist, the minimum liability insurance is $2 million. For members working outside their competency profile, $5 million coverage is suggested and extra documentation is needed at renewal. The 2027 dues are $315.

CSMLS membership is no longer a condition of initial or ongoing registration with the NBSMLT. The bylaw amendments that removed the requirement were passed by membership at the October 2025 annual general meeting and received official approval by government. Existing practising members keep CSMLS membership, including liability insurance, until December 31, 2026. When renewal for 2027 opens in the fall of 2026, members must provide proof of liability insurance coverage from their chosen provider. The CSMLS offers independent liability insurance as an option with membership.

First registration also requires that you have completed an accredited medical laboratory technology program and are eligible to obtain qualification at the RT General or RT Subject levels, or that you were licensed by a regulatory body in another Canadian jurisdiction immediately before applying and are in good standing there. Registration applications are not processed until the Registrar receives all required documents. Students enrolled in any accredited medical laboratory technology program in New Brunswick must be student members.

Step 5 — Pass the exam, register fully, and renew each year

Once you pass the entry-to-practice exam, apply for full registration as a certified medical laboratory technologist. Licences must be renewed annually, with reporting of practice hours and submission of completed approved professional continuing education activities. Your professional development plan status must be renewed every three years. New members must comply three years from the date of their initial registration.

If you are already registered in another Canadian province, the Society grants licences to interprovincial transfers who have been practising as a medical laboratory technologist in another province immediately before seeking registration in New Brunswick. You must submit a letter of standing from your provincial regulatory body. Labour mobility applicants who are new graduates and have not practised their profession within a regulated jurisdiction for at least one year must meet the Canadian entry-to-practice exam requirement as a condition of registration.

What the opened pages do not state

The opened NBSMLT pages publish no initial application fee amount, so this guide gives none; the 315 dollar figure is the 2027 annual dues, not an application fee. The opened pages publish no processing time for an initial registration decision, so this guide gives none. The opened pages publish no wage figure for New Brunswick medical laboratory technologists, so this guide gives none. The NBCC program page states no tuition figure in the opened text, so this guide gives none. This guide gives no advice on whether you qualify — that is the Society decision when it assesses your application.

Related guides:

• How to Become a Medical Laboratory Technologist in Ontario — the Ontario route, through an EQual-accredited program and the same CAMLPR field exams, with the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario.
• How to Become a Medical Laboratory Technologist in Alberta — the Alberta route, through an accredited program and the CAMLPR field exams under a different regulator.
• How to Become a Medical Laboratory Technologist in Manitoba — the Manitoba route, through an accredited program and the CAMLPR field exams under a different regulator.
• How to Become a Medical Laboratory Technologist in Quebec — the Quebec route, where medical laboratory technologists follow a different registration pathway through their own order.
• How to Become a Dental Assistant in Nova Scotia — the Nova Scotia dental assistant route, also through an accredited program and a national exam but under the dentistry regulator.

Scheduling your exam appointment and getting your results

Registering with CAMLPR and booking your exam sitting are two separate steps. If you do not already have a CAMLPR account, create one at least six weeks before exam registration processing opens, because you must have an approved account before you can register for an exam. After CAMLPR confirms your eligibility and reviews your fee payment, you book your specific date, time and test centre with Prometric. Paying your exam fee does not reserve a seat, and Prometric appointments are limited, so schedule as soon as CAMLPR tells you that you can. Exam results are expected to be released 30 days after the exam session ends, and you get an email notification when your exam report is available in your portal.

Sources

• New Brunswick Society of Medical Laboratory Technologists, Bylaw Announcement May 2026 — the removal of CSMLS membership as a registration condition, the 315 dollar 2027 dues, the 2 million dollar minimum liability insurance, and the 5 million dollar suggested coverage outside the competency profile.
• New Brunswick Society of Medical Laboratory Technologists, Rules September 2026 — the MLT-1 temporary licence, the initial registration requirements, the professional development plan renewal every three years, and that applications are not processed until all documents arrive.
• New Brunswick Society of Medical Laboratory Technologists, Bylaws November 2025 — the first registration requirements, the certified and non-certified member categories, and the approved entry-to-practice examination requirement.
• New Brunswick Society of Medical Laboratory Technologists, MLT-1 Temporary License Employer Agreement Form — the temporary licence conditions, that work must be overseen and the licence expires on receipt of exam results, and that you cannot start work until you have the licence.
• New Brunswick Society of Medical Laboratory Technologists, The Beaker May 2026 — the labour mobility policy for new graduates and the 315 dollar 2027 dues.
• New Brunswick Community College, Medical Laboratory Technology Program Details — the Saint John program courses and the course that prepares students for the CAMLPR national certification examination.
• University of New Brunswick, Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science — the four-year degree, the 84 credit hours at the university, the 2.5 years of the college program at NBCC Saint John, and the limited admission based on college seats.
• CAMLPR, Eligibility — that New Brunswick applicants write the CAMLPR exams and apply for registration, and the three attempts per field rule.
• CAMLPR, Dates, registration, and scheduling — the 2027 exam sessions, registration openings and deadlines, the payment deadline, and the suspension of remotely proctored delivery from October 2026.
• CAMLPR, Fees — the 175 dollar account creation fee, the 505 dollar single field fee, the 685 dollar cytology fee, the 860 dollar Core Lab bundle, the 1,145 dollar General bundle, and the 900 dollar prior learning assessment fee.
• CAMLPR, Registration and Employment — that CAMLPR shares the case file directly with the New Brunswick regulator.
• Job Bank, Medical Laboratory Technologist in New Brunswick — the two- or three-year college program requirement and that registration with a regulatory body is required in New Brunswick.