CNO registration timeline

Apply for jobs. State that the exam has been passed and you are waiting for your permit to be issued.

So I got a letter in the mail today asking me to sign up online at the CNO website. I didn't find any registration number mentioned in the letter though and I am wondering if it is the same number I had on my application forms??? I wanna sign up with RPNAO and I need the registration number

So here is my sad tale of trying to get registered with the CNO in Ontario...

I wrote the CPNRE on June 7th, received an email from the CNO on July 13th saying that "due to a major upgrade of our systems, we are unable to process applications or documents until July 19th", and finally received my notification from the CNO that I had passed on July 18th (6 weeks later, by mail).

My exam results letter stated that the only thing outstanding from my application was the Jurisprudence exam. I wrote it the next day, July 19th, and immediately received an email saying that I had passed and that I didn't need to do anything else because my results would be automatically forwarded to my application file with the CNO. When I checked the CNO website, it said pretty much the same thing and that I would be sent my initial registration form in the mail.

And so I waited, and waited, and waited for it to come. After about three weeks and a lost job opportunity for a great position where the organization waited patiently for six weeks for me to be able to tell them that I had passed my exam and was registered, and where they finally gave up on me and hired someone else, I began calling and emailing the CNO to inquire about the status of my application. In the second week of August I finally got through (beyond the busy signal) to customer service and was put on hold for 70 minutes. When someone finally came on, they said the CNO did not yet have my Jurisprudence exam results in their system and that until that happened, I would not receive the elusive initial registration form. The CSR I spoke to told me that in the meantime, I should send in an updated police check as that was now required for registration. Please note here that she did NOT say I needed to send it before I would get the initial registration form and that the letter from the CNO I had previously received said that the only outstanding requirement I had was the Jurisprudence exam.

Being unemployed and having nothing better to do, I decided to go and get the police check done. I was going to wait for the initial registration form to come and then send it back to the CNO with that, but on a whim I decided to just send it in by itself on August 21st. Fast forward now to today, August 29th. After two emails to the CNO in the last month elicited no response whatsoever, I began trying to get through on the phone again. After no success last week or yesterday, I finally got through today with a mere 60 minutes on hold. I was told that they had processed my Jurisprudence exam results (finally!) and that they had received my police check and were now processing it. The woman I spoke to said I should receive my initial application form in the mail within a week, so that would mean by September 5th if she's being accurate. Apparently even though my letter said I only had the Jurisprudence exam outstanding, the new rule at the CNO is that they don't send you out the initial registration form until they have processed a new up to date police check from you. If I hadn't have sent mine in when I did, I'd still be waiting for that registration form to come next Christmas!

If anyone else is in the same boat, i.e., wrote their Jurisprudence exam during the time the CNO was upgrading their system, and is still waiting for that initial registration form to come, make sure you send in a newer police check (don't forget to include your application number) to the CNO immediately if you haven't already. Apparently their plan is to send out letters to everyone telling them that they must now provide the police check but meanwhile you're left sitting there all summer thinking you have done everything and checking the mail everyday for your registration form.

Honestly, I am so angry I can hardly breathe. I was also told that it can take up to 15 days after I return the form to the CNO with my payment, to be issued a registration number, so I'm looking it possibly taking up until September 20th before I am able to tell potential employers that I am registered or legally call myself an RPN. From when I wrote the CPNRE on June 7th, until I'm registered - mid September? - will be more than 3 months!

To the CNO's credit, they did eventually post notices on their home webpage explaining that they were experiencing delays in processing applications and that they are experiencing higher than normal call volumes, thanking us for our patience (like we have a choice), and saying that these processing delays are due to their system upgrades and will be dealt with "immediately". That notice was originally posted August 2nd and remained up until today, August 29th, when it disappeared (although the one about "Busy Phone Lines" is still up), so I guess things are finally rolling again, but it's now been six weeks since the date (July 19th) they originally said the upgrade would be completed so I guess their definition of "immediately" is different than mine.

The CNO really needs to be brought into this century and:

1) process exam results quicker than the current 4-6 weeks time frame

2) email out exam results when available, rather sending them by snail mail

3) be more transparent as to how the process of getting registered works and what is required

4) answer emails to them

5) have a customer service response team in place that is adequate to meet the needs of people attempting to get through on the phone

6) allow you to create an applicant account online with them where you can see the current status of your application and what is outstanding, and where

you can complete and submit your initial registration form and pay your registration fees, rather than waiting for it to come in the mail and then either

mailing or faxing it back (I thought faxing went out in the late 90s!), and/or

7) email you the initial registration form and accept it back by email, allowing you to make your payment through online banking like everyone else - the CAA, the Ontario gov't (driver's licences, parking tickets, etc.), Costco memberships, etc., to name just a few.

As for the CSR I spoke to weeks ago about the need for a police check, who did not tell me I needed to send it in before they would send me my initial registration form, I have no words.

The 3 months it takes to become registered is, simply put, unacceptable. If I had known back in the spring that this was the case, I would have looked for a summer job to tide me over, and/or applied for Ontario Works (welfare) to help me make it through. With school/consolidation completed back in March, I'm no longer eligible for OSAP, not eligible for EI, and not able to get an RPN position with the organization I completed my consolidation with because it's their policy not to hire anyone until their exam is passed and they are registered (lucky you if you consolidated at a place where they are okay with filling out an application for you to get a temporary registration number to start working with them right away!). With not being able to even apply online for many jobs because they want you to say yes or no to being registered in good standing with the CNO, or to input your registration number, that leaves you rethinking your career choice and considering applying for non-nursing jobs out of desperation, but afraid to in case your registration form arrives tomorrow and you then have to quit a job you may have just committed to.

Going into nursing was a midlife career change for me and this whole process of becoming registered with the CNO has really soured me on the whole thing. I figure by the time my registration is complete, I get an interview, I get hired, and I start an orientation program with the hospital (many only start on the first of the month), it may well be November. This is breaking me financially - sooo far in debt now - and I feel as though I'm gradually forgetting everything I learned.

I know this was a long boring rant and I apologize for that, but thanks for letting me get this off my chest. I really appreciate this awesome site and all the great nurses on here.

Hi Canadiand,

Yes, I'm going through the same thing. See my rant below if you're interested. If you are still waiting, make sure you have sent in an up to date police check as they have a new policy of not registering you until they have received this.

Contact the Office of the Fairness Commissioner (OFC)

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 416-325-9380

Toll-free: 1-877-727-5365

Fax: 416-326-6081

TTY: 416-326-6080

Hello, sorry I am new to this site. I myself am an RN with a masters degree but I am enquiring about my step daughter. She passed her RPN program but did not pass her 3 exam attempts with an average of 79, 81 and 83%.

She appealed it and was denied. Now next step is to meet in person. Has anyone heard of how this works?

I appreciate any info.

Thank you!

Diane