Illustration of a personal support worker crossing a covered bridge toward a small care home in New Brunswick.

How to become a PSW in New Brunswick

Insights · Registration · September 28, 2026 · 3 min read

To become a PSW in New Brunswick you complete PSW training and start work. Certification is voluntary. If you want it, since 1 July 2025 the only way in is the Certificate of Qualification exam, and you need approved training and 3,000 working hours first.

Occupation: Personal Support Worker, a designated occupation under Board Order V188.1
Certification: Voluntary Certificate of Qualification
Route since 1 July 2025: The exam only; the legacy route has closed
To write the exam: Approved training, 3,000 hours in the occupation confirmed by an employer, and an employer attesting to the mandatory skills
Exam: Multiple choice, four hours, administered by a Skilled Trades NB regional office
Other titles covered: Home support worker, resident attendant, patient care attendant

Step 1: train

New Brunswick's two public colleges both train personal support workers. NBCC offers a one-year, full-time Personal Support Worker Acute Care certificate in a blended format, with a preceptorship. CCNB teaches Préposé aux soins in French over 17 weeks, with placements in long-term care, and runs acute-care and workplace-integration versions as well.

A school certificate is not the same as certification. The province's certification FAQ says a training certificate "does not equate to occupational certification". The certification branch compares your training with the provincial training standard. If certification matters to you, ask your school whether its program is approved for it.

Placements come with checks. NBCC, for example, asks for immunizations, CPR at the health care provider level with AED, and criminal record and vulnerable sector checks.

Step 2: work, with or without certification

Certification is voluntary. The FAQ says that not applying, or being refused, "will not negatively impact your current employment status". Many PSWs work without it. The occupation covers more than one job title. Home support workers, resident attendants and patient care attendants all count, in any workplace.

Your working hours count toward certification later. To write the exam you need 3,000 hours in the occupation, confirmed by an employer.

Step 3: the Certificate of Qualification exam

Until 1 July 2025, experienced workers could certify through a legacy route. That route has now closed. The FAQ published for the occupation says the exam is now the only way to be certified, and that it "is only available to those with approved training/education credentials."

What the FAQ publishes about the exam:

It is multiple choice and administered by a Skilled Trades NB regional office.
You get four hours, and extra time in some cases.
The pass mark is 70%.
Sittings are usually held monthly in each region, and results are mailed within two weeks.
Fees are a $100 assessment fee and a $250 exam fee. Confirm them with your regional office, because the FAQ is older than the current branch name.

The number of questions is not published.

Trained outside New Brunswick?

New Brunswick's apprenticeship and certification pages describe equivalency in general terms. You bring proof of your training and experience from elsewhere, then either challenge the exam or ask for your certification to be recognized. For newcomers, a March 2025 Skilled Trades NB guide covering all trades recommends English or French at roughly CLB 7 to 8 for exams. It also requires legal entitlement to work and proof of a job offer.

What a PSW does in New Brunswick

Board Order V188.1 sets out the work: personal care and a safe environment, the needs of clients with health conditions or disabilities, individualized service plans, and reports such as care plan and incident reports. It lists "assistance with medication", not giving it.

How practice fits in

Our New Brunswick PSW exam practice is written to Board Order V188.1 and New Brunswick law, and explains every answer. That makes it useful whether or not you plan to certify. If you trained under another province's title, see health care aide vs personal support worker. CareAide is practice only. It is not a program, Skilled Trades NB, or the exam administrator.

Common questions

Do PSWs need to be certified in New Brunswick?

No. The Personal Support Worker Certificate of Qualification is voluntary, and the province's FAQ says not holding it will not affect your current employment status.

Can I still get certified as a PSW in New Brunswick with experience alone?

No. The New Brunswick PSW legacy route closed on 1 July 2025. The exam is now the only way to certify, and you need approved training plus 3,000 hours in the occupation confirmed by an employer to write it.

What is on the New Brunswick PSW exam?

The New Brunswick PSW Certificate of Qualification exam is multiple choice and administered by a Skilled Trades NB regional office. You get four hours, and the published pass mark is 70%. The number of questions is not published.