Being allowed to do the work is a separate decision
Many occupations in Canada are regulated by a provincial body, not by the immigration system. These pages hold what those bodies publish: who they are, what they issue, the route to it for somebody who qualified abroad, which steps can be started before you leave, and what each step costs where the body itself publishes a figure.
Latest check of the licensing pages: October 22, 2026.
Being allowed to work in an occupation and being allowed to come to Canada are two separate decisions, made by two different bodies. Nothing on this page is part of your immigration assessment, no rule in that assessment reads it, and meeting everything here does not make you eligible for any immigration program. The reverse is also true: an immigration approval gives nobody permission to practise a regulated occupation.
A qualification earned outside Canada is not recognized automatically. Each regulator decides for itself what it will accept from your own education, examinations and experience, and it decides that about you individually. What follows is the published route, not a decision about your case.
Find your occupation and the place you are going
Choose a place as well as an occupation: regulation is provincial, so the same work can need a licence in one province and nothing in the next. Where we have not checked a pair, the page says so and sends you to the official lookup and to the regulator.
Search the 516 occupation groups of the National Occupational Classification.
6 occupation and province pairs with a checked pathway
Each pair here names at least one licence category, and a category reaches this site only when one of our lawyers publishes it after reading the regulator’s own pages: publishing records their name and the day they did it, and the database refuses a published category without them.
Software developers and programmers in British Columbia
Covered, and the answer is that no licence is needed: the occupation is not regulated in Canada. What is covered here is the reserved titles and the reserved practice under British Columbia's Professional Governance Act and the Engineers and Geoscientists Regulation, read on 2026-10-22. Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia's own registration requirements are not covered: its site would not answer an automated request. The page reaches a reader only once a lawyer has published it.
NOC 21232checked October 22, 2026Software developers and programmers in Ontario
Covered, and the answer is that no licence is needed: the occupation is not regulated in Canada. What is covered here is the title restriction in Ontario's Professional Engineers Act and the test the Act uses for the practice it reserves, read from the consolidated legislation on 2026-10-22. Professional Engineers Ontario's own registration requirements are not covered: its site would not answer an automated request. The page reaches a reader only once a lawyer has published it.
NOC 21232checked October 22, 2026Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in British Columbia
Covered: the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives' own route for an internationally educated nurse, read from the College's pages and from Inspire Global Assessments on 2026-10-22, including the simulation lab assessment that has to be done in person in Canada. The route reaches a reader only once a lawyer has published it.
NOC 31301checked October 22, 2026Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in Ontario
Covered: the College of Nurses of Ontario's own route for a nurse educated outside Canada, read from the College's pages on 2026-10-22, with the fees it publishes and the three assessment services it approves. The route reaches a reader only once a lawyer has published it.
NOC 31301checked October 22, 2026Electricians (except industrial and power system) in British Columbia
Covered: SkilledTradesBC's own trade qualifier route for Construction Electrician, read from its pages on 2026-10-22. Note that the national profile still lists British Columbia as a place where this certification is voluntary; SkilledTradesBC says it is compulsory, and its pages are what this route rests on. The route reaches a reader only once a lawyer has published it.
NOC 72200checked October 22, 2026Electricians (except industrial and power system) in Ontario
Covered: Skilled Trades Ontario's own route for an experienced worker who has not served an Ontario apprenticeship, read from its pages on 2026-10-22, with the Red Seal endorsement held as an endorsement on the provincial certificate and not as permission to work. The route reaches a reader only once a lawyer has published it.
NOC 72200checked October 22, 2026Pairs we have checked where there is no pathway to publish
Either nothing regulates the work there, which is a statement with a source behind it, or we have the regulator’s address and nothing more.
- Software developers and programmers in Alberta: Directory only. The occupation is not regulated in Canada, so no licence is needed to write software in Alberta either. Engineering titles are reserved province by province and we have not read Alberta's rules, so ask the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta before using the word engineer to describe your work there.
- Software developers and programmers in Manitoba: Directory only. The occupation is not regulated in Canada. Engineering titles are reserved province by province and we have not read Manitoba's rules, so ask Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba before using the word engineer to describe your work there.
- Software developers and programmers in New Brunswick: Directory only. The occupation is not regulated in Canada. We have not read New Brunswick's rules on engineering titles, so ask Engineers and Geoscientists New Brunswick before using the word engineer to describe your work there.
- Software developers and programmers in Newfoundland and Labrador: Directory only. The occupation is not regulated in Canada. We have not read Newfoundland and Labrador's rules on engineering titles, so ask Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador before using the word engineer to describe your work there.
- Software developers and programmers in Northwest Territories: Directory only. The occupation is not regulated in Canada. We have not read the rules on engineering titles in the Northwest Territories, so ask the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists before using the word engineer to describe your work there.
- Software developers and programmers in Nova Scotia: Directory only. The occupation is not regulated in Canada. We have not read Nova Scotia's rules on engineering titles, so ask Engineers Nova Scotia before using the word engineer to describe your work there.
- Software developers and programmers in Nunavut: Directory only. The occupation is not regulated in Canada. We have not read the rules on engineering titles in Nunavut, so ask the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists before using the word engineer to describe your work there.
- Software developers and programmers in Prince Edward Island: Directory only. The occupation is not regulated in Canada. We have not read Prince Edward Island's rules on engineering titles, so ask Engineers PEI before using the word engineer to describe your work there.
- Software developers and programmers in Quebec: Directory only. The occupation is not regulated in Canada. Quebec's rules on engineering titles and practice are its own and we have not read them, so ask the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec before using the word engineer to describe your work there.
- Software developers and programmers in Saskatchewan: Directory only. The occupation is not regulated in Canada. Engineering titles are reserved province by province and we have not read Saskatchewan's rules, so ask the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan before using the word engineer to describe your work there.
- Software developers and programmers in Yukon: Directory only. The occupation is not regulated in Canada. We have not read Yukon's rules on engineering titles, so ask Engineers Yukon before using the word engineer to describe your work there.
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in Alberta: Directory only: registration with a nursing regulator is required in every province and territory, and Alberta's is the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta. We have not read its requirements, so ask the College, and treat nothing on the Ontario or British Columbia pages as applying here.
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in Manitoba: Directory only: registration with a nursing regulator is required in every province and territory, and Manitoba's is the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba. We have not read its requirements, so ask the College.
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in New Brunswick: Directory only: registration with a nursing regulator is required in every province and territory, and New Brunswick's is the College of Nursing of New Brunswick, formerly the Nurses Association of New Brunswick. We have not read its requirements, so ask the College.
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador: Directory only: registration with a nursing regulator is required in every province and territory, and Newfoundland and Labrador's is the Newfoundland and Labrador College of Nurses. We have not read its requirements, so ask the College.
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in Northwest Territories: Directory only: registration with a nursing regulator is required in every province and territory, and the Northwest Territories are covered by the College of Nurses of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, which took over regulation from the former College and Association of Nurses of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The address held here is the former body's site, because the new College's own address was not confirmed when this was written. The national profile says the process differs there, so ask the College directly.
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in Nova Scotia: Directory only: registration with a nursing regulator is required in every province and territory, and Nova Scotia's is now the Nova Scotia Nursing and Midwifery Regulator, which replaced the Nova Scotia College of Nursing. We have not read its requirements, so ask the regulator.
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in Nunavut: Directory only: registration with a nursing regulator is required in every province and territory, and Nunavut is covered by the College of Nurses of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, which took over regulation from the former College and Association of Nurses of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The address held here is the former body's site, because the new College's own address was not confirmed when this was written. The national profile says the process differs there, so ask the College directly.
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in Prince Edward Island: Directory only: registration with a nursing regulator is required in every province and territory, and Prince Edward Island's is the Prince Edward Island College of Nursing and Midwifery. We have not read its requirements, so ask the College.
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in Quebec: Directory only: registration with a nursing regulator is required in every province and territory, and Quebec's is the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec. Quebec's process differs from the rest of the country, including its registration examination, so nothing from the other routes carries over. Ask the Ordre.
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in Saskatchewan: Directory only: registration with a nursing regulator is required in every province and territory, and Saskatchewan's is the College of Registered Nurses of Saskatchewan. We have not read its requirements, so ask the College.
- Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses in Yukon: Directory only: registration with a nursing regulator is required in every province and territory, and Yukon's is the Yukon Registered Nurses Association. The national profile says the process in Yukon differs from the rest of the country, so ask the Association directly.
- Electricians (except industrial and power system) in Alberta: Directory only: the national profile says construction electrician certification is compulsory in Alberta, and the authority is Apprenticeship and Industry Training. We have not read its requirements, so ask it, and treat nothing on the Ontario or British Columbia pages as applying here.
- Electricians (except industrial and power system) in Manitoba: Directory only: the national profile says construction electrician certification is compulsory in Manitoba, and the authority is Apprenticeship Manitoba. We have not read its requirements, so ask it.
- Electricians (except industrial and power system) in New Brunswick: Directory only: the national profile says construction electrician certification is compulsory in New Brunswick, and the authority is the Apprenticeship and Occupational Certification Branch. We have not read its requirements, so ask it.
- Electricians (except industrial and power system) in Newfoundland and Labrador: Directory only: the national profile says construction electrician certification is compulsory in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the authority is the Apprenticeship and Trades Certification Division. Its site returned a server error on 2026-10-22, so we have read nothing of its requirements; ask it directly.
- Electricians (except industrial and power system) in Northwest Territories: Directory only: the national profile says construction electrician certification is available but voluntary in the Northwest Territories. Confirm that with Apprenticeship, Trades and Occupations before relying on it, and remember that voluntary certification is still what most employers ask for.
- Electricians (except industrial and power system) in Nova Scotia: Directory only: the national profile says construction electrician certification is compulsory in Nova Scotia, and the authority is the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency. Its site did not answer an automated request on 2026-10-22, so we have read nothing of its requirements; ask it directly.
- Electricians (except industrial and power system) in Nunavut: Directory only: the national profile says construction electrician certification is available but voluntary in Nunavut. Confirm that with Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupations Certification before relying on it.
- Electricians (except industrial and power system) in Prince Edward Island: Directory only: the national profile says construction electrician certification is compulsory in Prince Edward Island, and the authority is the Apprenticeship Section of Education and Lifelong Learning. The province's site refuses automated requests, so we have read nothing of its requirements; ask it directly.
- Electricians (except industrial and power system) in Quebec: Directory only: the national profile says construction electrician certification is compulsory in Quebec, where qualification is administered by the Centre administratif de la qualification professionnelle and construction work has its own rules besides. Ask the Quebec authority; nothing from the other routes carries over.
- Electricians (except industrial and power system) in Saskatchewan: Directory only: the national profile says construction electrician certification is compulsory in Saskatchewan, and the authority is the Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission. We have not read its requirements, so ask it.
- Electricians (except industrial and power system) in Yukon: Directory only: the national profile says construction electrician certification is available but voluntary in Yukon, which is a claim about Yukon's own rules and worth confirming with Apprenticeship Training at Yukon Education before relying on it, because this is exactly the kind of statement that goes out of date.
Not a national directory, and said so rather than implied
This is not a complete directory of regulated occupations in Canada. A pathway becomes public only when one of our lawyers publishes it, which they may do only where every mandatory requirement on it rests on an excerpt from the regulator’s own page: publishing records the lawyer’s name and the day, so there are occupations and provinces we simply have not reached. Where we have not, we say so and send you to the official lookup and to the regulator itself, which are the places that can answer for your case in any event.
The regulator directory·Compare provinces for one occupation·The settlement guides·Your immigration assessment, which is a separate thing
Ask us to research an occupation we have not covered
You can ask us to research this occupation and province. Somebody here reads it and writes back what they find, or that we could not verify it: the answer appears with your request on this page when you are signed in, and we email it to you as well. Nothing is added to these pages until a lawyer has published it. Where your professional history is unusual enough that no published route fits it, ask for a specialist to look at it instead.