License Registration

Where are you? Each province manages their own registrations. They all have their own registration "year" that expires at different times across the country. Depending on how many registrations they have to process will depend on how close it is to the "new" registration year. In Alberta, with the end of the registration year being September 30, anyone who applied for initial in the last half of August or any part of September will have to wait until all the renewals have been processed, and that is weeks of time.

Each province assesses every applicant's credentials and their criminal records checks. That takes time because of the need for someone to physically read the paperwork and to obtain any supporting documents. Once your credentials have been verified and your fees are paid it takes another two weeks or so to have the paper in your hand. When I moved from one province to another, back in the days when there were few off-season applications, it took me 8 weeks and several hundred dollars. Now, three to four months might not be out of the question.

Ontario's registration year ends December 31, so the CNO is right in the thick of processing renewals for more than 106,000 nurses. I would guess there will be a several week wait.