The NNAS process — your starting point
Lesson 1 of 4 in NCAS & Credential Assessment for IENs · 20 minutes
The National Nursing Assessment Service (NNAS) is the document-review body that most — but not all — Canadian nursing regulators use for internationally educated nurses. This lesson walks through what NNAS does, the two service streams, documents, timelines, and the crucial first question: does YOUR regulator actually require it?
What you'll learn
- Understand what NNAS does, what it doesn't do, and which regulators use it — and which don't
- Distinguish the Expedited Service and the RPN Pathway (NNAS's two service streams) and verify current fees at nnas.ca
- List the documents required and why they must come directly from source institutions
- Plan a realistic 6-12 month timeline with an honest budget
From the lesson
If you trained as a nurse outside Canada, your path to Canadian licensure very likely begins with NNAS — the National Nursing Assessment Service. NNAS doesn't license you; it verifies your education, registration, and identity, then forwards a comparison report to the provincial regulator you choose. The regulator makes the licensing decision.
Notice the word 'likely.' For years, every guide said NNAS was the mandatory first step everywhere. That is no longer true, and following outdated advice here costs real money and months of waiting. British Columbia dropped the NNAS requirement in 2023, Ontario and Alberta now accept more than one credential-review route, and Quebec never used NNAS at…