Become a nurse practitioner in Quebec through the OIIQ: the specialist's certificate, the five classes of specialization, the graduate program, the specialty examination, and the French-language requirement.
Applies in: Quebec
To practise as a nurse practitioner in Quebec you must be a registered nurse, complete a graduate-level nurse practitioner program, pass the OIIQ specialty examination for one of five classes of specialization, and receive a specialist's certificate from the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ). In Quebec, a nurse practitioner is called an infirmière praticienne spécialisée (IPS). The nurse practitioner role is a specialist's certificate added to registered nurse registration under the OIIQ, not a separate college and not a separate registration. Quebec runs its own specialty examination for each class. It does not use the Canadian Nurse Practitioner Examination (CNPE), and it does not take part in the single national Canadian Nurse Practitioner Licensure Examination (CNPLE).
Quebec regulates nurse practitioners through the Regulation respecting the classes of specialization of specialized nurse practitioners (chapter I-8, r. 8). The regulation sets the classes of specialization to which members of the OIIQ must belong to perform the activities in section 36.1 of the Nurses Act, and it sets the terms for the issue of specialist's certificates by the OIIQ board of directors.
A specialist's certificate is issued to a nurse who meets three conditions: you hold a diploma recognized by government regulation that grants access to a specialist's certificate, or you have been recognized as possessing equivalence; you hold a training certificate in neonatal resuscitation issued by the Canadian Paediatric Society, if you are specializing in neonatology; and you pass the specialty examination for the class of specialization concerned. There is no other issuing body. If someone offers you a Quebec nurse practitioner credential from any organization other than the OIIQ, it is not the certificate this guide describes.
The nurse practitioner route starts from registered nurse registration. The regulation defines a specialized nurse practitioner candidate as a nurse who holds the diplomas giving access to a specialist's certificate, or who has obtained equivalence for one, and who is eligible to sit the specialty examination. This guide does not re-walk the registered nurse route. If you are not yet a registered nurse in Quebec, the steps are in our How to Become a Registered Nurse in Quebec guide: a Quebec nursing program, the status of candidate for the profession of nursing (CEPI), the OIIQ professional examination, the permit, and registration on the OIIQ Roll.
While you are a student in a graduate-level nurse practitioner program, the OIIQ issues a training card. The card names you, the class of specialization, and the educational institution where you are enrolled. It is valid for 12 months and is renewable, and it expires when you are no longer enrolled in the program or have completed the clinical training period required for equivalence.
The five classes of specialization are:
The class matters because everything after it follows the class: the program stream, the examination, and the certificate. A nurse practitioner specializing in neonatology performs the section 36.1 activities for neonatal clients who need specialized or highly specialized care. A nurse practitioner specializing in mental health performs them in the field of mental health for clients of all ages who need community-based, specialized, or highly specialized care. A nurse practitioner specializing in adult care performs them for adult clients who need specialized or highly specialized care, including clients with mental health problems. Pick the class that matches the population you intend to practise with, because the certificate is issued for that class.
You must complete a graduate-level training program leading to a diploma that grants access to a specialist's certificate. McGill University's Master of Science (Applied) Nurse Practitioner program offers all five NP concentrations: Primary Care, Adult Care, Mental Health, Pediatrics, and Neonatal. Other Quebec universities offer nurse practitioner programs as well. Confirm on the program's own pages that it is a graduate-level program leading to a diploma that gives access to an OIIQ specialist's certificate, and confirm its admission requirements, format, and application deadline there. This guide states no admission requirements for any specific program, because none were verified on a university page opened for this draft beyond McGill's five concentrations.
If you are specializing in neonatology, you also need a training certificate in neonatal resuscitation issued by the Canadian Paediatric Society before the certificate can be issued.
Once you hold the diploma that gives access to a specialist's certificate, you become a specialized nurse practitioner candidate. If you have an employer, you can ask the OIIQ for an attestation of practice. The attestation is issued to a candidate who holds the qualifying diploma or equivalence, holds the neonatal resuscitation certificate if specializing in neonatology, provides an attestation from an institution that it has retained your services, and pays the fee. It is valid for 12 months and is renewable. It expires when you are no longer eligible to sit the specialty examination.
McGill is not the only route. The Université du Québec network runs nurse practitioner programs that lead to the same OIIQ specialist's certificate:
Confirm the current structure, deadline, and admission requirements on the university's own program page before you apply — the caps are small and the deadlines are hard.
The specialty examination is Quebec's own examination, set for each class of specialization. It covers the theoretical and clinical aspects of the class. In clinical situations, it assesses the knowledge and skills the candidate has acquired, to decide whether the candidate can practise independently as a specialized nurse practitioner in that class. The OIIQ board of directors forms an examination committee for the classes, and the committee draws up and approves the examination content, administers the examination, and decides whether a candidate has passed.
The timing rules in the regulation are:
Do not book the CNPE or the CNPLE for a Quebec certificate. Neither is the Quebec examination, and neither replaces it.
A specialist's certificate in one of the classes of specialization is issued by the OIIQ board of directors to a specialized nurse practitioner candidate who passes the specialty examination. The certificate is what authorizes you to perform the section 36.1 activities in your class.
Holding the certificate brings a filing duty. Within 30 days of obtaining a specialist's certificate, and not later than April 1 of each subsequent year, you must file a statement with the secretary of the OIIQ on the prescribed form, giving your class of specialization, the name, address, and telephone number of the institution, clinic, dispensary, or other place where you perform professional activities, and the area of care in which you perform them, where applicable. You must also report any change in that information to the secretary in writing within 30 days of its occurrence. If the change concerns your area of care, you must report the new area at least 30 days before performing professional activities in it, and show that you have updated your knowledge to perform those activities.
French is a real gate, not a formality. The OIIQ states that the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) requires a professional to have an appropriate knowledge of French to practise in that language. Your French is considered sufficient if you meet one of these conditions: you studied at least three years full time in French at the secondary or postsecondary level; you passed the French mother-tongue examinations of secondary year 4 or 5; or you obtained a Quebec secondary school certificate from the 1985-86 school year onward. If you meet none of these, your knowledge of French is assessed through a French examination administered by the OQLF.
If you meet the French requirement, the OIIQ issues a regular permit. If you do not yet meet it, the OIIQ issues a temporary permit while you work toward it. Sort out your French evidence early, because it sits alongside the examination and the certificate, not after them.
If your nursing or nurse practitioner education was completed outside Quebec, the OIIQ assesses diploma or training equivalence under the regulation on equivalence standards for the issue of a specialist's certificate (chapter I-8, r. 15.2). You may be required to complete a clinical placement at a site on the list drawn up by the program review subcommittee. Once equivalence is granted, you become a specialized nurse practitioner candidate and may sit the specialty examination under the same timing rules as a Quebec graduate. This guide does not walk the equivalence application, because no NP-specific equivalence checklist was published on the pages opened for this draft. Confirm the current equivalence steps, documents, and fees with the OIIQ before you apply.
OIIQ applications are made online through the OIIQ's secure section. The OIIQ states that files received by post are not accepted and are returned to the sender. Create your online account, keep your username and password at hand, and submit scanned originals as PDFs, not photocopies.
No nurse practitioner examination fee, examination session date, program tuition, or processing time was published on the pages opened for this draft, so this guide states none. No NP-specific application form name or fee was published on the pages opened either. The OIIQ's NP-specific application checklist was not among the pages opened, so confirm the current form, fee, and examination session dates with the OIIQ before you apply. This guide also states no salary figure and no admission requirements for any specific university program beyond McGill's five concentrations, because none was verified on a university page opened for this draft.
Yes. A nurse practitioner in Quebec is a nurse who holds a specialist's certificate on top of registered nurse registration. The regulation defines a specialized nurse practitioner candidate as a nurse who holds the diplomas giving access to a specialist's certificate, or who has obtained equivalence for one. If you are not yet a registered nurse, start with our [How to Become a Registered Nurse in Quebec](/guides/how-to-become-a-registered-nurse-in-quebec/) guide.
No. There is no separate nurse practitioner college in Quebec. The Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ) issues the specialist's certificate, sets the examination, and regulates the practice. A nurse practitioner in Quebec is a registered nurse with an OIIQ specialist's certificate, not a member of a second regulator.
Quebec graduates write the OIIQ specialty examination for the class of specialization concerned, not the Canadian Nurse Practitioner Examination (CNPE). Quebec does not take part in the single national Canadian Nurse Practitioner Licensure Examination (CNPLE) either. The specialty examination covers the theoretical and clinical aspects of the class, and it tests whether the candidate can practise independently as a specialized nurse practitioner in that class.
The five classes are nurse practitioner specializing in neonatology, in adult care, in pediatric care, in primary care, and in mental health. Neonatology covers neonatal clients who need specialized or highly specialized care. Mental health covers clients of all ages who need community-based, specialized, or highly specialized care. Adult care covers adult clients who need specialized or highly specialized care, including clients with mental health problems.
Yes. The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) requires a professional to have an appropriate knowledge of French to practise in that language. Your French is considered sufficient if you studied at least three years full time in French at the secondary or postsecondary level, passed the French mother-tongue examinations of secondary year 4 or 5, or obtained a Quebec secondary school certificate from the 1985-86 school year onward. Otherwise you take the OQLF French examination. If you meet the French requirement you receive a regular permit; if not, you receive a temporary permit.
Yes. Quebec assesses diploma or training equivalence under the regulation on equivalence standards for the issue of a specialist's certificate (chapter I-8, r. 15.2). You may be required to complete a clinical placement at a site on the list drawn up by the program review subcommittee. Once equivalence is granted, you become a specialized nurse practitioner candidate and may sit the specialty examination. Confirm the current equivalence steps with the OIIQ before you apply.