How to Become a Registered Nurse in Prince Edward Island

The short answer

You need to be registered by the Prince Edward Island College of Nursing and Midwifery (PEICNM) to work as a registered nurse in Prince Edward Island. The route is: complete the Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Prince Edward Island, apply to PEICNM, meet its English language and practice-hour requirements, pass the NCLEX-RN, and take out your registration. If you have not yet passed the exam, PEICNM's provisional registration lets you work under supervision while you attempt it. Note the regulator's name: the College was formerly the College of Registered Nurses and Midwives of Prince Edward Island (CRNMPEI), and before that the College of Registered Nurses of Prince Edward Island (CRNPEI) — its current name is the Prince Edward Island College of Nursing and Midwifery, and its website is now peicnm.ca.

Step 1: Complete the UPEI BScN

The in-province education path is the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) Faculty of Nursing. Graduates of the BScN programs at UPEI are eligible to write the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) — the entry-to-practice examination required for nursing registration in Prince Edward Island and across Canada. NCLEX preparation is embedded throughout the UPEI curriculum, including NCLEX-style testing, comprehensive practice examinations near program completion, simulation-based learning, and targeted remediation. UPEI's programs are designed to meet the requirements of PEICNM, ensuring graduates are eligible for licensure upon successful completion of the exam.

Step 2: Apply to PEICNM

Apply to the Prince Edward Island College of Nursing and Midwifery. PEICNM regulates all nurses — registered nurses, nurse practitioners, registered psychiatric nurses, and licensed practical nurses — and midwives practising in Prince Edward Island, under the Regulated Health Professions Act, and all nurses and midwives in the province must be registered by PEICNM in order to practise.

One caution about the application itself: the College's former step-by-step application pages under its old name no longer load — the internationally educated nurse requirements page at the old crnmpei.ca address returns a 404 — and the current peicnm.ca pages publish the College's requirements as policies rather than as a single application checklist. This guide therefore walks the requirements the College has published — English language proficiency, currency of practice, provisional registration, and the exam — and the application fee last published in the College's annual report. Contact PEICNM directly for the current application form and fee before you apply; the College's office is at Unit 1, 45 Paramount Drive, Charlottetown, PE C1E 0C6, phone 902-367-4005, toll-free 1-844-843-3933.

Step 3: Meet the English language requirement

PEICNM's English Language Proficiency policy, revised April 1, 2026, sets out what evidence it accepts. The Regulated Health Professions Act requires an applicant to be reasonably proficient in written and spoken English to be eligible for registration.

• Canadian applicants must have completed a nursing or midwifery program where English was the language of instruction for both theory and clinical. A written statement from the educational program may be required. Online or distance education programs are not accepted as proof of proficiency. Registration in another Canadian jurisdiction where the applicant has met that jurisdiction's English language requirement does fulfil PEICNM's requirement.
• Internationally educated nurses whose nursing education was not in English must complete one of the following tests and achieve the minimum scores in all four areas — reading, writing, listening, and speaking:

Scores can be achieved across two sittings of the same test if the sittings are within six months of each other, all four sections were tested at the same time (except for tests offering a one-skill retake), no score in either sitting is more than one band below the required cut score, and both sittings were completed within the last two years. Language test results expire two years from the date of testing; if results expire before registration, the application is placed on hold until an updated test is received or another criterion is met. In place of a test, an applicant can provide proof of at least 24 months of employment in a practice setting where English was the primary language used, with a written statement from the employer.

Step 4: Write and pass the NCLEX-RN

The NCLEX-RN is the entry-to-practice examination for registered nurses in Prince Edward Island. UPEI states that its BScN graduates are eligible to write it, and the exam is a computerized adaptive exam that evaluates a candidate's ability to apply knowledge in clinical situations and make safe, effective decisions in patient care.

The fee to write the exam is $360 CAD, and you may write the NCLEX-RN only once every 45 days, a Pearson VUE rule. The $360 fee and the 45-day rule are stated on the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba NCLEX-RN page, which publishes the national exam fee; the PEICNM pages do not state the exam fee themselves. Register with Pearson VUE once PEICNM has confirmed your eligibility, and schedule your exam from the Authorization to Test email Pearson VUE sends you.

Step 5: Hold provisional registration while you wait, if needed

You do not have to wait for exam day to start working. PEICNM's Provisional Registration Policy, revised April 2026, provides a provisional class of registration for registered nurses who have not yet passed the entrance-to-practice examination — recent graduates from an approved education program and internationally educated nurses — and for applicants who do not meet the currency of professional knowledge and skill requirement.

• A provisional registration is a registration with conditions. The condition of supervision in practice applies to all provisional registrations.
• A recent graduate from an approved education program holds a provisional registration until they successfully pass the entrance-to-practice exam or have failed the examination three times, and must write the exam at least once every six months.
• An internationally educated nurse may hold a provisional registration for up to 12 months while attempting the entrance-to-practice exam. If after 12 months the registrant is unable to pass the exam, the provisional registration is cancelled and remedial education must be completed.
• Once the conditions of the provisional registration are met, the registrant's registration status is changed to Registered Nurse.

The provisional registration fee set out in the bylaws must be paid. The fee amount itself was not stated on the policy pages — see the fee figures in Step 6, which come from the College's 2024 annual report.

Step 6: Take out your RN registration

Once you have passed the NCLEX-RN and met all requirements, your registration status becomes Registered Nurse. All nurses must maintain professional liability protection through the Canadian Nurses Protective Society (CNPS).

The fee figures last published by the College are in its 2024 annual report, approved by Council on April 4, 2025: a registration fee of $465.02 plus $78.20 for CNPS liability protection including HST, $543.22 in total, for an RN or provisional registrant; and $265.02 plus $78.20, $343.22 in total, for a partial-year registration after May 1. Those are 2024 figures — the annual report notes that CNPS fees for the 2024–2025 registration year remained the same as the previous year and that a decision for the 2025–2026 year would be communicated to registrants — so confirm the current fee with PEICNM before you apply.

Registration renewal opens on September 1 each year. Submitting your renewal by October 1 pays the lowest renewal fee.

Currency of practice

PEICNM requires currency of professional knowledge and skill. Once an application has been received and it is determined that the applicant has less than 450 practice hours in the three years preceding an application for registration as a registered nurse, the applicant is deemed not to meet the currency requirement. To meet it, the applicant must successfully complete a refresher program as defined in the Regulations — a formalized curriculum, assignments, a practicum experience, or any combination of these. The Director of Registration Services determines which portion of a refresher program will best remediate the currency gaps; if only a practicum is required, the applicant is issued a provisional registration once the provisional fee is paid, an employer willing to support the practicum is identified, and a supervising registered nurse is named. A provisional registration to meet currency requirements is valid for a 12-month period from the date of issue.

The College launched a new refresher program in 2024 for Canadian-educated RNs who no longer meet currency requirements. The program is 12 weeks in duration and includes online theory, laboratory instruction, and supervised clinical practice.

If you trained as a nurse outside Canada

Internationally educated nurses start with the National Nursing Assessment Service (NNAS). The NNAS is the credentialing service for internationally educated nurses and the first step towards becoming a nurse in Canada; it verifies your nursing documents and compares your education to Canadian standards, then sends an advisory report to the regulators you choose. PEICNM requires that advisory report before it decides your eligibility for RN registration.

Once you apply to PEICNM, the requirements are the same ones in the steps above: demonstrate English language proficiency with one of the approved tests (or 24 months of employment in an English-language practice setting), show at least 450 hours of nursing practice within the last three years, and pass the NCLEX-RN. You must also maintain professional liability protection through the CNPS.

If the College finds gaps in your competencies, it can refer you to one of two programs delivered with Saskatchewan Polytechnic:

• Transition to Registered Nursing in Canada (TRNC). A 14 to 16 week program that helps internationally educated nurses transition into a Canadian nursing landscape, covering the Canadian health-care system, health assessment, pharmacology, and nursing care for special populations, with in-person skills labs and supervised clinical practice. To be considered, a decision from PEICNM regarding eligibility for RN registration is needed, and you must be a resident of Prince Edward Island. Program fees are currently covered by provincial funding. A stipend of $200 a week for single or married participants, or $300 a week for parents, is available through SkillsPEI for Canadian citizens or permanent residents who have lived in Prince Edward Island for at least six months before the program start date.
• Registered Nurses Bridging Program (RNBP). A 32-week hybrid program — nine theory courses over three semesters online, with in-person skills labs and clinical practicum — to update your credentials to meet the competencies set out by PEICNM and prepare you to write the NCLEX. You must be referred by PEICNM, be legally entitled to work in Canada, and be a resident of Prince Edward Island. Program fees are currently covered by provincial funding, and the same SkillsPEI stipend is available for those who qualify.

Before entering either program you must provide proof of a vulnerable sector check that includes a criminal record check, valid for one year; up-to-date immunizations; CPR–C AED for health-care professionals or equivalent, valid for one year; and WHMIS certification, valid for one year.

If you are already an RN in another Canadian province

If you are registered in another Canadian jurisdiction and met that jurisdiction's English language requirement, that registration fulfils PEICNM's English language proficiency requirement. The College's current application steps for a Canadian-educated RN transferring from another province were not published on the official pages, so no step list is stated here — contact PEICNM directly for the current application form, fee, and verification requirements before you apply.

What this guide could not verify

PEICNM's current step-by-step application checklist and current application fee were not published on the official pages: the College's former internationally educated nurse requirements page at the old crnmpei.ca address returns a 404, and no current fee schedule is published on peicnm.ca. The fee figures in this guide are therefore the ones last published by the College, in its 2024 annual report, and must be confirmed with PEICNM before you apply. The NCLEX-RN exam fee of $360 CAD is published by the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba, not on the PEICNM pages, so confirm it with the NCSBN or Pearson VUE when you register. No criminal record check requirement specific to a new graduate's PEICNM application was published on the official pages — the vulnerable sector check stated in this guide is the entry requirement for the TRNC and RNBP bridging programs, not a registration requirement. No processing or decision timeline for a PEICNM application was published on the official pages, so none is stated.

Related guides:

• How to Become a Registered Nurse in Ontario — the Ontario RN path through the College of Nurses of Ontario, for comparison with Prince Edward Island's PEICNM process.
• How to Become a Registered Nurse in Manitoba — the Manitoba RN path, including the NCLEX-RN fee and graduate nurse registration.
• How to Become a Registered Nurse in Saskatchewan — the Saskatchewan RN path, where internationally educated nurses also start with a credential assessment before applying.
• How to Become a Registered Nurse in Alberta — the Alberta RN path through the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta.
• How to Become a Nurse Practitioner in Ontario — the next step after RN registration for nurses who want extended-class practice.
• Foreign-Credential Recognition Roadmap — the Order to Follow, From First Check to Provincial Registration — the Canada-wide overview of getting foreign credentials recognized, the companion read for internationally educated nurses.

Sources

• Prince Edward Island College of Nursing and Midwifery, Home — PEICNM regulates registered nurses, nurse practitioners, registered psychiatric nurses, licensed practical nurses, and midwives under the Regulated Health Professions Act; registration renewal opens September 1 and the lowest fee applies to renewals submitted by October 1; office at Unit 1, 45 Paramount Drive, Charlottetown, phone 902-367-4005, toll-free 1-844-843-3933.
• Prince Edward Island College of Nursing and Midwifery, English Language Proficiency Policy — Canadian applicants meet proficiency through a program taught in English; internationally educated nurses' minimum scores for IELTS Academic, CELBAN, OET, PTE Academic, and TEF Canada; two-sitting rules; two-year expiry; 24-month employment alternative.
• Prince Edward Island College of Nursing and Midwifery, Provisional Registration Policy — provisional class for RNs who have not yet passed the entrance-to-practice exam or do not meet currency; 450 practice hours in three years as the currency threshold; 12-month validity for currency provisional registration; recent graduates hold provisional registration until passing or three failures, writing at least once every six months; internationally educated nurses hold it up to 12 months; supervision in practice condition.
• Prince Edward Island College of Nursing and Midwifery, Annual Report 2024 — registration fee of $465.02 plus $78.20 CNPS, $543.22 in total, for RN or provisional registrants, and $265.02 plus $78.20, $343.22 in total, for partial-year registration after May 1; CNPS provides liability protection to RN, NP, and RPN members; TRNC as a 14-week program and the Registered Nurse Internationally Educated Bridging Program as a 9-month program; 12-week refresher program for Canadian-educated RNs not meeting currency; College approves registered nursing and nurse practitioner programs in PEI.
• University of Prince Edward Island, NCLEX-RN Preparation — UPEI BScN graduates are eligible to write the NCLEX-RN, the entry-to-practice examination required for nursing registration in Prince Edward Island and across Canada; UPEI programs are designed to meet PEICNM requirements.
• Government of Prince Edward Island, Transition to Registered Nursing in Canada Program — 14 to 16 week TRNC program with Saskatchewan Polytechnic; PEICNM eligibility decision and PEI residency required; program fees covered by provincial funding; $200 or $300 a week SkillsPEI stipend; vulnerable sector check, immunizations, CPR–C AED, and WHMIS required before entry.
• Government of Prince Edward Island, Registered Nurses Bridging Program — 32-week hybrid RNBP with Saskatchewan Polytechnic; nine theory courses over three semesters plus in-person skills labs and clinical; referral by PEICNM required; PEI residency and legal entitlement to work in Canada required; program fees covered by provincial funding.
• National Nursing Assessment Service, Home — NNAS is the credentialing service for internationally educated nurses and the first step towards becoming a nurse in Canada.
• College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba, NCLEX-RN Exam — the $360 CAD fee to write the NCLEX-RN; once every 45 days under the Pearson VUE rule; registration with Pearson VUE and Authorization to Test.