Become a Registered Nurse in New Brunswick through the College of Nurses of New Brunswick: approved nursing education, the CNNB profile and application, the jurisprudence module, the NCLEX-RN, and the temporary or active registration.
Applies in: New Brunswick
Finish a recognized nursing program, create a College of Nurses of New Brunswick (CNNB) profile, apply, submit an enhanced criminal record check, complete the jurisprudence module, write the NCLEX-RN, and pay the registration fee. CNNB — formerly the Nurses Association of New Brunswick (NANB) — is the regulator. It is illegal to practise as a registered nurse in New Brunswick without a valid CNNB registration, and registration must be renewed before November 30 each year.
This guide covers the New Brunswick graduate route in full, then the routes for Canadian RNs moving from another province and for nurses trained outside Canada. The New Brunswick process has its own shape: a CNNB online profile, an enhanced criminal record check through CSI Screening, a two-part jurisprudence module with an 80% pass score, and a temporary registration permit that lets new graduates work as graduate nurses while they wait to write the exam.
RN registration in New Brunswick starts with a recognized Canadian nursing education program. The in-province route is the University of New Brunswick's Bachelor of Nursing (BN): a four-year program offered at the Fredericton and Saint John campuses. UNB also runs a two-year accelerated Bachelor of Nursing program in Moncton for applicants who already hold a degree, and a Licensed Practical Nurse bridge that lets practising LPNs enter year three of the BN. On completion of the program, graduates are eligible to write the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN).
New graduates applying to CNNB must have graduated from a recognized Canadian nursing education program within the last three years and have never been registered as an RN in Canada. Graduates of schools of nursing from Quebec, and applicants of the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ), are not eligible to write the NCLEX-RN through CNNB: you must first exhaust your attempts at the OIIQ exam before applying to CNNB to write the NCLEX-RN.
Create your CNNB profile online and follow the steps it sets out. This requires proof of your legal name — submit valid Canadian ID. If you are submitting documents under different legal names (for example, transcripts or verifications from other regulatory bodies), you must provide documentation to support the name change, such as a marriage certificate or a name change certificate. Documents from outside Canada must be certified and translated into English or French.
Then complete the New Graduate application form from your CNNB profile and pay the applicable fee. The application processing fee for new graduate applications is $100 plus taxes, and it is non-refundable.
Submit an enhanced criminal record check through CSI Screening. Go to the CSI Screening website, complete the Canadian enhanced Criminal Record Check application, and indicate "CNNB" as the company. CSI must send the results directly to CNNB at reg-imm@cnnb-opinb.ca.
For criminal record checks from other sources, such as the local police or the RCMP, CNNB requires the original stamped copy to be sent by mail to 590 Brunswick Street, Fredericton NB, E3B 1H5. Criminal record checks are valid for six months from the date of issue.
Completion of the jurisprudence module is a mandatory registration requirement for initial applicants and for reinstatement of registration. Its purpose is to develop and measure awareness and understanding of the key legislation and the regulatory framework that govern nursing practice in New Brunswick.
The module has two components:
There is no time limit to completing the test, and the pass score is 80%. Applicants who do not reach the pass score must retake the test until they succeed, and there is no limit on the number of attempts. New graduates must complete the module before they are eligible to receive a temporary registration permit and work as a graduate nurse. Once you have completed the module, email reg-imm@cnnb-opinb.ca to confirm.
Arrange for your nursing school to send the following documents directly to reg-imm@cnnb-opinb.ca:
Documents not received directly from your nursing school will not be accepted.
If you obtained your nursing education in Quebec, or if you have applied for registration in any province or territory outside New Brunswick, request a Verification of Registration Form from the regulator in the province where you obtained your nursing education or applied for registration. That regulator must send it directly to CNNB.
Once CNNB has received confirmation that you have completed an approved nursing education program and you have submitted all required documents, you will be deemed eligible to write the registration examination (NCLEX-RN). CNNB sends you an email confirming your eligibility. Do not create a profile with Pearson VUE until you are instructed to do so by CNNB; you will be granted eligibility to write the NCLEX-RN and instructed to create your Pearson VUE profile at that time.
To be eligible for initial registration, a candidate must write and pass the NCLEX-RN within three years of completing their nursing program.
Once your application is approved for registration, pay the applicable registration fee. RN registration is $375 plus taxes for December 1 to November 30, or $225 plus taxes for June 1 to November 30. All fees are non-refundable.
Registration must be renewed before November 30 each year. If you do not renew by that date, you cannot continue practising or using the RN title, and a late or lapsed registration adds $100 plus taxes.
New graduates who have completed the jurisprudence module can receive a temporary registration permit (TRP) and work as a graduate nurse (GN) while waiting to write the NCLEX-RN, or while awaiting results. Graduate nurses are entry-level practitioners who have not yet received confirmation of having passed the entry-to-practice examination. While holding a TRP, a graduate nurse must not perform functions identified as delegated medical functions by the employer, supervise the provision of nursing care by registered nurses or other graduate nurses, be in charge of a nursing unit or facility, or practise without access to a registered nurse within the facility for direct assistance.
The initial TRP fee is $100 plus taxes, and a TRP renewal is $50 plus taxes. Reinstatement of a lapsed TRP is $100 plus taxes.
CNNB's published fee schedule sets out the registration categories a new RN needs to know:
Nurse practitioner registration follows the same fee pattern as RN registration ($375 or $225 plus taxes), and NP applicants must also complete the NP-specific jurisprudence testing component.
To be eligible for registration or registration renewal in New Brunswick, registered nurses must have practised a minimum of 1,125 hours in a recognized field of nursing in the previous five years. Nurse practitioners must have practised a minimum of 900 NP hours within the previous three years. New graduates meet this through their recent education: CNNB's new-graduate route requires graduation from a recognized Canadian nursing education program within the last three years.
Canadian RNs who are currently registered in another province or territory apply through a different CNNB route. Create your CNNB profile, complete the Out of Province application form on your profile, and pay the applicable fees. Submit proof of your legal name, complete the jurisprudence e-learning found on your CNNB profile and notify CNNB by email once complete, and submit an enhanced criminal record check through CSI Screening. List everywhere you are currently registered in the Confirmation of Active Registration section of your online application, so the application is processed without delay. CNNB may still request verification of registration documents at the Registrar's discretion.
Canadian RNs who are not currently registered anywhere in Canada follow the non-active route instead: the same profile and application, plus verification of registration documents or letters of good standing from the jurisdiction of your first initial RN registration and, if different, the jurisdiction of your most recent RN registration. All verifications of registration are valid for six months from the date of issue, and CNNB may require updated verifications if your application process exceeds six months. You must also provide evidence of at least 1,125 hours of practice in the previous five years, by having an employer complete the Confirmation of RN Hours form and return it to CNNB.
Internationally educated nurses follow a separate CNNB pathway that starts with an application to the National Nursing Assessment Service (NNAS) and an application to CNNB, with language proficiency evidence and a currency-of-practice check. That route is not re-explained here: our foreign nursing credentials guide walks through credential recognition step by step, and CNNB's international applicant pages set out the zone-by-zone requirements, including mandatory learning and a six-month renewable TRP for candidates completing additional education.
The CNNB pages do not state the current NCLEX-RN exam fee charged through Pearson VUE, so this guide gives no exam fee figure. They also do not state a fixed processing time for a new graduate's application, so this guide gives none — the regulator's pages note that verification requests from other jurisdictions can take a few weeks, and that verifications are valid for six months.
The College of Nurses of New Brunswick (CNNB), formerly the Nurses Association of New Brunswick (NANB). It is illegal to practise as a registered nurse in New Brunswick without a valid CNNB registration, and you must renew your registration before November 30 each year to keep practising and using the RN title.
A recognized Canadian nursing education program. In New Brunswick, the University of New Brunswick offers a four-year Bachelor of Nursing (BN) at its Fredericton and Saint John campuses, plus a two-year accelerated Bachelor of Nursing program in Moncton and a Licensed Practical Nurse bridge into the BN. On completion of the BN, graduates are eligible to write the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN).
The jurisprudence module is a mandatory registration requirement for initial applicants and for reinstatement. It has two parts: a self-guided learning component, where you review the Jurisprudence Study Guide and its listed resources, and an open-book online testing component of multiple choice, true/false, matching, and drag-and-drop questions. The RN/NP General testing component is required for all RN and NP applicants. The pass score is 80%, there is no time limit, and there is no limit on the number of attempts. New graduates must complete the module before they can receive a temporary registration permit and work as a graduate nurse.
Once CNNB has received confirmation that you have completed an approved nursing education program and you have submitted all required documents, it confirms your eligibility to write the NCLEX-RN by email. Do not create a profile with Pearson VUE until CNNB instructs you to do so. Graduates of schools of nursing from Quebec, and applicants of the OIIQ, are not eligible to write the NCLEX-RN through CNNB: you must first exhaust your attempts at the OIIQ exam.
Yes, as a graduate nurse holding a temporary registration permit (TRP). You must first complete the jurisprudence module, and your school must have sent CNNB its confirmation of your nursing education. A graduate nurse practises within defined limits: you may not perform delegated medical functions, supervise registered nurses or other graduate nurses, be in charge of a nursing unit or facility, or practise without access to a registered nurse in the facility for direct assistance. The initial TRP fee is $100 plus taxes, and a TRP renewal is $50 plus taxes.
The application processing fee for out-of-province, NP, and new graduate applications is $100 plus taxes. Once your application is approved, RN registration is $375 plus taxes for December 1 to November 30, or $225 plus taxes for June 1 to November 30. Non-practising registration is $40 plus taxes. A late or lapsed registration adds $100 plus taxes. Registration fees are reduced by 25% for holders of interjurisdictional licensure where CNNB is the host jurisdiction. All fees are non-refundable.