Nurse and midwife registers compared: UK, US, Ireland, Australia and India

Registers at a glance

United Kingdom: the NMC register

The Nursing and Midwifery Council says its register shows who can practise as a nurse or midwife in the UK, or as a nursing associate in England ¹. It describes itself as the regulator of more than 867,000 nursing and midwifery professionals ¹.

The search page lists three groups it shows. These are people with effective registration and no restrictions, people on the register with restrictions or a caution order, and people suspended or removed since 1 January 2008 who may not practise now ¹. The NMC asks users to search by PIN where possible and says a first name alone cannot be used ¹. On 7 November 2026 the page said results were accurate to 6 November 2026 ¹.

United States: Nursys and the compact

NCSBN says Nursys is the only national database for verification of nurse licensure, discipline and practice privileges for RNs, LPN/VNs and APRNs licensed in participating jurisdictions ². Three services run on it ².

• Licensure QuickConfirm: free, for employers and recruiters, returns licensure and any discipline documents ².
• Nurse License Verification: used by nurses applying for endorsement in another state, at US$30 per licence type, per board of nursing ².
• e-Notify for Institutions: free alerts on nurses an employer has on file, as boards enter data ².

Multistate licences

A nurse in the US may hold a multistate licence under the Nurse Licensure Compact. The compact website says 43 jurisdictions take part and that nurses who live in a compact state may apply for a multistate licence if they meet the requirements ³. NCSBN says Nursys covers all states in the compact ². A check can look at both the home state licence and the privilege to practise in other compact states.

Ireland, Australia and India

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland keeps two registers under the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011 ⁴. The Register of Nurses and Midwives updates in real time and shows status, expiry date, divisions and any conditions ⁴. The Candidate Register lists nursing and midwifery students and applicants doing an adaptation placement ⁴. NMBI says the register was first published this way in 2020, and that a search needs a registration number or last name ⁴.

In Australia, Ahpra keeps one list of registered practitioners across professions that include nursing and midwifery ⁶. Ahpra says a name on the list means the person may practise, and that conditions limiting practice are published ⁶. It keeps separate lists of practitioners who agreed not to practise and of cancelled or prohibited practitioners, who may not provide any services ⁶.

The Indian Nursing Council was set up under section 3(1) of the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947 ⁵. Its home page describes the NRTS as a live register of nurses and links state nursing council lists and recognised institutions ⁵.