As of 2026, all Canadian nurse practitioners (NPs) – except Quebec and neonatal NPs – will be educated and licensed to practice across all client ages and practice settings. A new regulatory exam, the Canadian NP Licensure Exam (CNPLE), is under development to support this new regulatory model.
Background
The new CNPLE builds on work that began in 2020 when the Canadian Council of Registered Nurse Regulators (CCRNR) commissioned the Nurse Practitioner Regulation Framework Implementation Plan Project (NPR-FIPP) with a priority that the NP entry-level education programs in Canada would prepare NPs for practice across the life span and practice settings. Components of the project included revising the NP Entry-level Competencies and completing an NP practice analysis. Learn more about this work.
Exam Blueprint
The exam blueprint for the new Canadian Nurse Practitioner (NP) Licensure Exam is now available. The blueprint was developed with exam vendor, Meazure Learning, in consultation with NPs from jurisdictions across Canada from a variety of practice settings. It describes how the new exam should be developed and provides instructions and guidelines on how competencies and practice statements are to be expressed within the exam to ensure they accurately measure a candidate's readiness to practice safely, effectively, and ethically.
The blueprint includes structural elements for the exam, including:
- Examination length – number of questions of the exam to ensure reliability and validity of content.
- Question format and presentation – the types of questions to be included.
- Questions by domains – the number of questions to be included for each domain or practice statement section.
- Cognitive level of questions – including comprehension, application, and crucial thinking
- Contextual variables to include in question development – variables that reflect the full client lifespan, health focus, population diversity, and health care setting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Exams currently recognized by NSCN reflect the streams of NP practice: adult, family, and pediatric. In the future, NPs are going to be educated and licensed to practice with all client ages and practice settings, so a new exam is required to reflect all streams of care.
The exam is under development and is estimated to be available in 2026.
The CNPLE will cover all client ages and practice settings, reflecting the new national regulatory model where NPs will be educated and licensed to practice across the client life span and practice settings. The exception will be neonatal NPs, who will continue to be educated and licensed as they are today.
The CNPLE will use a linear-on-the-fly (LOFT) format. This means each test-taker will receive the same number of questions at the same level of difficulty, but they each will receive a unique batch of questions.
NSCN will continue to accept recognized nurse practitioner written exams for a short period of time for graduates in the family/all ages, adult/gerontology, and pediatric primary care streams of practice. After the new exam has been developed, the CNPLE will be the only available exam by NSCN.
- Exam developers and item writers will use the exam blueprint for direction on content for the exam and to ensure the content has adequate representation of questions from each domain or practice statement.
- Subject matter experts will use it to review and judge the appropriateness and difficulty of exam questions.
- Educators will use the blueprint to help prepare students for the exam.
