NOC 32101: Licensed practical nurses

NOC 32101 is the NOC 2021 unit group for licensed practical nurses, with job titles such as licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.), operating room technician and graduate nursing assistant. It is a TEER 2 occupation in broad category 3, health occupations. Also searched as: LPN NOC code, RPN NOC code.

TEER 2Broad category 3NOC 2021

Decode the code

Pick a level to see what each digit means.

32101

Unit group 32101: licensed practical nurses. This is the code you put on your application.

NOC 32101 job description: licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.) duties and responsibilities

  • Provide nursing services, within defined scope of practice, to patients based on patient assessment and care planning procedures
  • Perform nursing interventions such as taking vital signs, applying aseptic techniques including sterile dressing, ensuring infection control, monitoring nutritional intake and conducting specimen collection
  • Administer medication and observe and document therapeutic effects
  • Provide pre-operative and post-operative personal and comfort care
  • Monitor established respiratory therapy and intravenous therapy
  • Monitor patients' progress, evaluate and document effectiveness of nursing interventions and collaborate with appropriate members of health care team
  • Provide safety and health education to individuals and their families.
  • Prepare patients for surgery by washing, shaving and sterilizing the patients' operative areas
  • Assist in surgery by laying out instruments, setting up equipment, assisting surgical teams with gowns and gloves and passing instruments to surgeons
  • Monitor patients' status during surgery, such as intake, output and loss of blood, and communicate and document any changes
  • Clean and sterilize the operating room and instruments.

Job titles under NOC 32101

See every job title and its code in the A–Z job title index, or all TEER 2 jobs.

Is NOC 32101 eligible for Express Entry?

By TEER, yes. TEER 2 is inside the TEER 0 to 3 range that the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class accept. You still need qualifying work experience, language test results and enough CRS points to get an invitation. Category-based draws and provincial nominee programs use their own occupation lists.

Federal program TEER requirements for NOC 32101
ProgramTEER checkWhy
Federal Skilled WorkerTEER qualifiesTEER 2 is within TEER 0 to 3
Canadian Experience ClassTEER qualifiesTEER 2 is within TEER 0 to 3
Federal Skilled TradesNot a listed tradeOnly certain trade groups qualify. Check IRCC
Spouse's open work permitQualifiesOn IRCC's TEER 2–3 list. SOWP rules

Category-based draws: NOC 32101 is on IRCC's Healthcare and social services list (checked 2026-10-16). Under NOC 2016, TEER 2 was skill level B ("NOC B").

Category-based Express Entry draws and provincial nominee programs use their own occupation lists. Check the current lists on IRCC's Express Entry page and provincial nominee page.

NOC 32101: common questions

What is NOC 32101?

NOC 32101 is the code for licensed practical nurses in Canada's National Occupational Classification (NOC 2021). Its first digit, 3, is the broad category and its second digit, 2, is the TEER level. Immigration forms, job offers and LMIA applications use this five-digit code.

What TEER is NOC 32101?

NOC 32101 is TEER 2. Occupations that usually need a college program of two to three years or an apprenticeship of two to five years, or that carry supervisory or significant safety responsibilities. Under the older NOC 2016 system, TEER 2 lines up with skill level B.

Is NOC 32101 eligible for Express Entry and PR?

By TEER, yes. TEER 2 is inside the TEER 0 to 3 range that the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class accept. You still need qualifying work experience, language test results and enough CRS points to get an invitation. Category-based draws and provincial nominee programs use their own occupation lists.

Is NOC 32101 in a category-based Express Entry draw?

Yes. As of IRCC's list dated 2026-10-16, NOC 32101 is in the healthcare and social services category. Category-based draws invite candidates with at least 6 months of continuous work experience in one of the listed occupations, and IRCC updates the lists from time to time.

Is NOC 32101 eligible for a spousal open work permit (SOWP)?

Yes. NOC 32101 is on IRCC's list of TEER 2 occupations that qualify, so a worker in this job can support a spouse's open work permit, as long as their own work permit has at least 16 months left when the spouse applies (IRCC page modified 2026-06-12).

What is the NOC code for a licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.)?

Licensed practical nurse (L.P.N.) is listed under NOC 32101, licensed practical nurses. The job title alone does not decide your code: your duties should match the main duties of NOC 32101.

How do I know if NOC 32101 is my NOC code?

Compare what you actually do with the main duties listed for NOC 32101, not just your job title. IRCC expects your duties to match the lead statement and most of the main duties of the code you choose. If they fit another code better, use that one. You can paste your duties into nocfinder to see how they line up, duty by duty.

Source: ESDC NOC 2021 · IRCC program pages. Not legal advice.