All Nursing Exams

This week from the regulators: November 17, 2026

No NCLEX rule or fee changed this week; an outage hit NMC virtual hearings, and Ahpra plans to widen a fee deferral pilot for new graduates.

Checked November 15, 2026
Newspapers on display at a street kiosk
Photo: Pexels

Short answer: No regulator changed an NCLEX rule or fee this week, and the NCLEX registration fee still rises to US$350 in the United States and Australia and CA$570 in Canada for registrations from February 1, 2027. The main notices were a Microsoft outage that disrupted the Nursing and Midwifery Council's virtual hearings on November 13 and an Ahpra plan to widen a registration fee deferral pilot, now for new medical graduates, to other early career health professionals.

Two-week calendar from November 9 to 22, 2026: CRNA nurse practitioner week from November 9, Ahpra fee deferral speech November 10, NMC outage November 13, BCCNM consultation closes November 16, CNO renewal opens November 18.

Every item below comes from the regulator's own website, read on November 15, 2026, and covers notices dated November 9 to 15. Each item says who it affects and links to the notice.

United Kingdom

NMC: Microsoft outage disrupted virtual hearings

Who it affects: nurses, midwives and nursing associates who are a party to a virtual Fitness to Practise hearing with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

On Friday, November 13, 2026, a global Microsoft outage affected the NMC's work, including virtual Fitness to Practise hearings. The NMC said it was testing other solutions and would keep everyone due at a virtual hearing on the following Monday informed. In-person hearings at the NMC's hearing centers went ahead as normal. If you have a hearing, check the notice for updates.

Notice: Update on FtP hearings and Microsoft outage (NMC, November 13, 2026)

Australia

Ahpra: fee deferral pilot may reach more new graduates

Who it affects: for now, new medical graduates only. Nursing and midwifery graduates should watch for a later announcement. No action is needed.

In a speech on Tuesday, November 10, Ahpra's chief executive described a pilot that lets new medical graduates defer their registration fees, because upfront costs can be hard when moving from study into practice. He said Ahpra will "look to expand" it "to support other early career health professionals". He gave no date and named no profession. The speech also says Ahpra expects more than 30,000 new graduate registrations this year, across all professions.

Notice: CEO update to the RACS Surgical Leaders Forum (Ahpra, November 10, 2026)

Canada

Alberta: nurse practitioner week and the new NP permit

Who it affects: nurse practitioners in Alberta. Background only.

The College of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CRNA) marked National Nurse Practitioner Week, from November 8 to November 14. Its notice says that this year CRNA introduced an updated scope of practice for NPs and moved to a new NP practice permit for all ages and all settings, with a separate neonatal NP permit.

Notice: National Nurse Practitioner Week 2026 (CRNA, November 9, 2026)

Ontario and British Columbia: nothing new, two dates this week

The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) and the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) posted no new notices. Two dates from last week fall now: BCCNM's consultation on liability protection for licensed practical nurses closes on November 16, and CNO renewal for 2027 opens on November 18 (CA$386 plus HST for the General and Extended classes). Details are in last week's edition.

United States

NCSBN: no exam change; the compact stays at 43

Who it affects: nobody needs to act.

Since the compact notice of November 9, reported last week, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) has posted only a Tri-Council for Nursing statement on November 10 about nurses who ran for Congress. It changes nothing for candidates. On November 15, NCSBN's fee page still showed the February 1, 2027 increase, and the Nurse Licensure Compact site still listed 43 jurisdictions.

The state board pages we read (California, Texas and Florida) showed no dated notice in the window.

Notices: Tri-Council for Nursing statement (NCSBN, November 10, 2026); NCLEX fees and payment (NCSBN, checked November 15, 2026)

Dates to act on

Date What Who
November 16, 2026 BCCNM consultation on LPN liability protection closes LPNs in British Columbia
November 18, 2026 CNO renewal opens Ontario nurses
December 31, 2026 CNO renewal closes Ontario nurses
February 1, 2027 NCLEX registration fee rises to US$350 and CA$570 Every NCLEX candidate
March 1, 2027 CNO Scope of Practice and Medication standards change Ontario nurses

The NCLEX fee change is explained in How much does the NCLEX cost?. Every fee, exam and rule change from the last 12 months is in the What changed log.

How we put this page together

Once a week we read the news pages of the regulators on our list: NCSBN, the Nurse Licensure Compact, CNO, BCCNM, CRNA, the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba, the Nova Scotia Nursing and Midwifery Regulator, Ahpra, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, the NMC, the nurse practitioner certification boards (NPCB and ANCC) and three large state boards. We write each item in our own words and link to the notice. We do not use news media or social media as a source. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia's news page could be read this week; its newest item was dated October 14, 2026. We read every page on November 15, so a notice posted on November 16 is not included.

Sources