NMBI registration number (PIN)

NMBI keeps the Register of Nurses and Midwives, and it is illegal to practise as a nurse or midwife in Ireland if you are not on it. Your PIN is the number attached to your record. NMBI asks you to quote your name, PIN and date of birth whenever you contact its customer service team, and employers, agencies and test centres ask for it too. It is not the same as the UK's NMC PIN; if you hold both, they are separate numbers on separate registers.

Internationally trained nurses usually meet the number in two stages. If you complete a period of adaptation, NMBI places you on the Candidate Register for its duration and issues a Candidate Certificate. The Nurses and Midwives (Candidate Register) Rules 2018 define the candidate number as the personal identification number (PIN) attached to your candidate registration. RCSI also asks for your NMBI number when you book the aptitude test.

After your qualification is recognised, you apply for full registration through MyNMBI with English language evidence and a fit and proper declaration, and pay the €145 overseas registration fee. Once registered, your record and PIN appear on the public register under the division you qualify for, such as Registered General Nurse.

NMBI tells employers that Check the Register is the easiest and most reliable way to confirm registration. It shows your registration status, expiry date, the divisions you are registered in and any fitness to practise conditions. The register can be searched by PIN or surname. NMBI advises employers to check every year after the renewal deadline, and it contacts known employers when a nurse is removed for not renewing. The Candidate Register can be checked the same way for nurses on adaptation.

1. Renew every year through MyNMBI, using the email address your renewal notice was sent to. The 2027 window runs from 28 October 2026 to 31 January 2027.
2. Pay the annual retention fee of €100 by card. Nurses first registered on or after 1 September 2026 do not renew until the 2028 cycle.
3. Keep your contact and employment details up to date, which the Nurses and Midwives Act requires.
4. From January 2027, keep records for NMBI's Professional Competence Scheme; NMBI says the first audits are scheduled for 2030.

• Missing the renewal deadline. NMBI must list you for removal, and a restoration fee applies on top of the annual fee.
• Creating a second MyNMBI account. NMBI says not to, because you will lose access to your record.
• Leaving Ireland. NMBI recommends voluntary removal, which is free, rather than letting registration lapse.
• No renewal notice. Check your spam folder, then contact NMBI customer service with your name, PIN and date of birth. NMBI asks you not to start renewing without the notice.