Listening CLB 9 Now Accepted by All Nursing Regulatory Authorities

18 November 2022

The Canadian Nurse Regulators Collaborative (CNRC) conducted a review of the language proficiency requirements originally established in 2011 to ensure alignment with the language demands required for safe, ethical, and effective nursing practice at the entry-level. A Steering Committee consisting of subject matter experts from regulatory authorities across Canada conducted research and provided recommendations to the CNRC. Based on the research, CNRC approved the updated cut scores for CELBAN:

• Listening: CLB 9 (previously CLB 10)  
• Reading: CLB 8 (no change)  
• Writing: CLB 7 (no change)  
• Speaking: CLB 8 (no change)

Effective immediately, these are the language proficiency requirements approved by all nursing regulatory authorities across Canada. Each regulator will put in place the necessary policies for implementation within their jurisdiction.

Examinees looking to share previous CELBAN test results with regulators can submit a request using the Additional Test Results Request Form.

For further information about CNRC’s review of the language test scores, please visit https://ccpnr.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CCPNR-LP-project-annoucment-ENG14-Nov-2022-1.pdf