The Exam Blueprint for the new Canadian Nurse Practitioner Licensure Exam (CNPLE) is now available.
The Exam Blueprint describes how the new exam should be developed to ensure it accurately measures a candidate's readiness to practice safely, effectively, and ethically. It is an important step in the development of the new exam, which is required to implement a new model to consistently regulate NPs across Canada.
In 2026, Canadian nurse practitioners (NPs) – except Quebec and neonatal NPs – will be educated and licensed to practice across all client ages and practice settings, rather than by adult, family, and pediatric streams. The CNPLE is being developed to support this new regulatory approach.
Questions and Answers
- What does the Blueprint include?
- The Blueprint includes structural elements for the exam, including:
- The total number of questions required to ensure reliability and validity of results.
- The number of questions for each competency being evaluated.
- Question format (e.g. multiple choice or case base) and how they will be presented.
- The cognitive level of questions (i.e. comprehension, application, or critical thinking).
- Variables to include in question development to reflect the full client lifespan, health focus, population diversity, healthcare settings.
- Who uses the Exam Blueprint?
- Exam developers and item writers will use the Exam Blueprint to guide the development of content for the exam
- 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.
- Why is a new exam needed?
- Exams currently recognized by BCCNM 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 in all health settings, so a new exam was required to reflect all streams of care.
- Who is developing the exam?
- The Canadian Council of Registered Nurse Regulators has partnered with exam vendor, Meazure Learning, to develop the CNPLE.
- When will the new exam be available?
- The exam is under development and is estimated to be available in 2026.