Part of our Nursing Councils of the World series. Last checked: October 2026.
In the Philippines, nurses are licensed by the Professional Regulatory Board of Nursing, which works under the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). The legal basis is the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 (Republic Act 9173). Filipino nurses form one of the largest groups of internationally educated nurses in the US, the UK, the Gulf and beyond, so a clean PRC record matters for an entire career.
The Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination (PNLE)
| Part | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Part 1 | Community Health Nursing |
| Part 2A | Maternal and Child Nursing; Fundamentals of Nursing |
| Part 2B | Medical-Surgical Nursing; Pharmacology |
| Part 2C | Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing |
- Schedule: held twice a year. The latest exam took place on 29–30 August 2026, with some centres moved to 11–12 September because of bad weather.
- Latest results (released 18 September 2026): 28,652 of 37,359 examinees passed, a 76.69% passing rate. The topnotcher, from the University of Northern Philippines–Vigan, scored 92.20%.
- How to apply: through PRC’s online system (LERIS) at online.prc.gov.ph. Book an appointment, submit your transcript with the Special Order or graduation details, your birth certificate and other documents, and pay the exam fee.
After passing: registration and oath
Successful examinees register online for their Certificate of Registration and Professional Identification Card (PRC ID), then take the professional oath. For the August 2026 passers, online registration opened on 13 October 2026. You cannot practise until you have registered and taken the oath.
Renewing your PRC ID and CPD
- The PRC ID is valid for three years and is renewed in your birth month through LERIS.
- Fee: about ₱450 for baccalaureate professions, plus a small surcharge (about ₱30) if you renew more than 20 days after your birth month. Confirm the category for nursing in LERIS.
- CPD: under the CPD Act (RA 10912) and PRC transition rules, the general target is 15 CPD units per three-year cycle. Nurses who are short of units can renew by signing a CPD undertaking until 31 December 2026. This defers the units but does not cancel them. Fuller CPD enforcement is expected from January 2027.
Documents for work abroad
- Board certification or verification: requested from PRC for foreign regulators such as the NMC, NMBI, Ahpra and TruMerit, and for DataFlow in the Gulf.
- Certificate of Good Standing: often required from the PRC and, for some destinations, from your accredited professional organisation (the Philippine Nurses Association).
- Authenticated transcripts and the Related Learning Experience (RLE) record: NMBI in Ireland and other regulators look closely at clinical hours.
- Overseas employment: deployment usually goes through the Department of Migrant Workers. Check any annual deployment caps for nurses before you sign.
Discipline
Under RA 9173, the Board of Nursing can suspend or revoke a nurse’s Certificate of Registration after an administrative investigation. Grounds include unprofessional or unethical conduct, gross incompetence or negligence, fraud in obtaining the licence, or a conviction involving moral turpitude. Practising without a valid licence, or using someone else’s, is a criminal offence. The nurse can appeal a Board decision to the PRC and then to the courts. Disciplinary findings appear in verifications sent to foreign regulators.
Going abroad? See our guides for the US (NCLEX), UK (NMC), Australia and Saudi Arabia.
Sources: Astig.ph, August–September 2026 nurse licensure exam results; LisensyaPrep, PNLE coverage 2026 (July 2026); Respicio, CPD units for PRC renewal in 2026 (July 2026); Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 (RA 9173). Confirm details on the PRC website and LERIS.