With the new Nursing Legislation and the COFEN Resolution nº 111 of 1989 the basic nursing activities developed by non-qualified workers are only allowed until June 26, 1966 through permission granted by the CORENs. Assuming that nursing entities must be part of the professionalization process, the objective of this study is to know a few characteristics at elementary level and point to a demand classification for the professional qualification of these workers in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Data found in this study refer to the period 1988 to April 1991 and have been collected in the COREN-RJ through 4535 processes for obtaining permission. The results show a significant diversity of this profile according to healt facilities and geographic areas