Short answer
- In 44 of 51 jurisdictions (the 50 states and DC), an active CNA in good standing can transfer without retaking the exam, as long as the state’s conditions are met.
- Kansas is the exception: you must pass the Kansas nurse aide test. Hawaii, Michigan, New Jersey and Wisconsin may require their exam depending on your situation.
- Eight states charge nothing: Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Virginia. The most expensive is Alaska at $275.
- The most common condition is recent paid work: many states want proof that you worked as a nurse aide, often at least 8 hours within the last 24 months.
- Each state row below links to the official form or registry. We checked every state on September 22, 2026.
A CNA certification is a state credential: you’re listed on one state’s nurse aide registry, and moving means getting listed on another. Every state calls the process something different (reciprocity, endorsement, “Route 2”) and sets its own conditions. This guide collects the rules for all 50 states and DC from the state agencies and their testing contractors, with a link to the official source for each. Rules change; check the linked page before you apply.
How CNA reciprocity works
The basic steps are similar everywhere:
- Keep your current certification active. Nearly every state requires that you’re active and in good standing on another state’s registry. If your certification has lapsed, most states will send you back to training and testing, or ask you to reactivate in your home state first (Pennsylvania says so explicitly).
- Apply to the new state’s registry, usually online through the state or its testing vendor (Credentia, Prometric, Headmaster/TMU and others).
- Prove your identity and status: photo ID, Social Security card, a copy of your certificate, and often a verification from every state where you’ve been certified.
- Pass a background check where required. Several states ask for fingerprints (for example Alaska, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Wyoming).
- Meet any work-history condition (see below) and pay the fee, if there is one.
Federal rules set the floor for all of this: a state-approved nurse aide program must include at least 75 hours of training, 16 of them supervised practical training (42 CFR 483.152). Several states check that your original training met that standard.
The conditions that trip people up
Recent work. Georgia and North Carolina want at least 8 paid hours under RN supervision in the last two years; Minnesota and Mississippi want 8 hours; California wants proof of paid work in the last two years unless you were certified recently. A few states set much higher bars:
| State | Work requirement for reciprocity |
|---|---|
| Delaware | 420 hours (3 months full-time) of paid CNA work in the last 24 months, or equivalent training |
| Vermont | 400 hours (50 days) of nursing assistant work in the last 2 years |
| Wyoming | 400 hours, 40 hours of CE, or a passed exam in the last 2 years |
| Rhode Island | 3 months of full-time work, or a 100-hour program with 20 clinical hours |
| New Jersey | 24 hours of approved CE in the last 24 months, or 24 months of full-time work plus both NJ exams |
Where you trained. Tennessee does not accept Florida-issued certifications. Michigan only accepts CNAs from 40 listed states, and only if they trained and tested there. South Carolina requires at least a 100-hour training course. West Virginia requires that your original state’s requirements are “substantially the same” as its own.
States with no expiration date. Some states (for example Illinois and Nebraska) don’t print an expiration date. If you’re coming from one of them, New York, Indiana and several others ask for an employer letter proving recent paid work.
Living or working in the state. Idaho only grants reciprocity if you live in Idaho or have a job offer there. Louisiana asks for a Louisiana ID unless you live within 30 miles of the state.
State-by-state CNA reciprocity rules
“Exam needed?” means: do you have to pass the new state’s competency exam if you meet the listed conditions? “Not published” means the state doesn’t publish a fee on its official pages; it doesn’t mean the process is free.
Jump to your region: Northeast (CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT) · Midwest (IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI) · South (AL, AR, DE, DC, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV) · West (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY)
Northeast
| State | Exam needed? | Key conditions | Fee | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | No | Active and in good standing; no testing | $55 | form or registry |
| Maine | No | Current, active and in good standing; training must meet federal minimums | free | form or registry |
| Massachusetts | No | Certified elsewhere, in good standing, never certified in Massachusetts; form 9110 | not published | form or registry |
| New Hampshire | No | Active license elsewhere, background check, and 12 hours of CE per year | $66 | form or registry |
| New Jersey | Possibly | Current certificate plus 24 hours of approved CE in the last 24 months; otherwise 24 months of full-time work and passing both NJ exams | $36 | form or registry |
| New York | No | Listed on another registry; if it shows no expiration date, proof of 7 paid hours in 24 months | $50 | form or registry |
| Pennsylvania | No | Active and in good standing; if lapsed, update your home registry first | not published | form or registry |
| Rhode Island | No | Current license, background check, and 3 months full-time work or a 100-hour program with 20 clinical hours | $35 | form or registry |
| Vermont | No | Licensed elsewhere plus 400 hours (50 days) of work in the last 2 years; fingerprints | $25 | form or registry |
Midwest
| State | Exam needed? | Key conditions | Fee | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | No | Active, federal training standards met, no findings or disqualifying convictions; fingerprints | $25 | form or registry |
| Indiana | No | Active and in good standing; no test since September 1, 2025 | $50 | form or registry |
| Iowa | No | Currently on another state’s registry; apply online | not published | form or registry |
| Kansas | Yes | Active and never certified in Kansas; you must pass the Kansas nurse aide test (one attempt) | $20 | form or registry |
| Michigan | Possibly | Only from 40 listed states, and only if you trained and tested there | $40 | form or registry |
| Minnesota | No | Good standing plus 8 hours of work in that state in the last 24 months | free | form or registry |
| Missouri | No | Good standing in another state; Alabama CNAs need proof of 8 work hours | not published | form or registry |
| Nebraska | No | 75-hour training, passed exams, recent work if not tested recently, and a 1-hour Nebraska abuse and neglect course | free | form or registry |
| North Dakota | No | Current status, no findings, and 8 paid hours of nursing work in 24 months | free | form or registry |
| Ohio | No | Certified in another state; reciprocity form signed by the transferring state | not published | form or registry |
| South Dakota | No | At least a 75-hour program, active registration, no findings | not published | form or registry |
| Wisconsin | Possibly | Active plus a 75-hour program or 2,088 work hours in 2 years; the Wisconsin exam may be required | not published | form or registry |
South
| State | Exam needed? | Key conditions | Fee | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Unverified | Reciprocity offered; conditions could not be verified on the state registry site | not published | form or registry |
| Arkansas | No | Current and in good standing, never listed in Arkansas; Form 9110AR | $25 | form or registry |
| Delaware | No | Current certificate plus 420 hours (3 months full-time) of paid CNA work in the last 24 months, or equivalent training | not published | form or registry |
| District of Columbia | No | Current, unencumbered certificate and background check; fast track for Maryland and Virginia | $100 | form or registry |
| Florida | No | Active license, practiced 2 of the last 4 years, clean discipline record; background screening | not published | form or registry |
| Georgia | No | Active, no findings, and 8 paid hours under RN supervision in the last 2 years | not published | form or registry |
| Kentucky | No | Active status elsewhere; a current pay stub may be requested | not published | form or registry |
| Louisiana | No | Active and in good standing in every state; Louisiana ID unless you live within 30 miles | $35 | form or registry |
| Maryland | No | Active and in good standing, no findings, training that meets Maryland standards; fingerprints | $20 | form or registry |
| Mississippi | No | Active, good standing, and 8 hours of work in a nursing home, hospital or hospice in the last 24 months | $25 | form or registry |
| North Carolina | No | Active, passed exam, and 8 paid hours under RN supervision in the last 24 months | free | form or registry |
| Oklahoma | No | Listed as a certified long-term care aide with no findings | free | form or registry |
| South Carolina | No | Active and in good standing, OBRA-tested, and at least a 100-hour training course | not published | form or registry |
| Tennessee | No | Active and in good standing; Florida certifications are not accepted | not published | form or registry |
| Texas | No | Active in another state plus a DPS criminal history check; apply through TULIP | not published | form or registry |
| Virginia | No | Approved training, passed competency evaluation, currently registered with no findings | free | form or registry |
| West Virginia | No | Good standing, and the other state’s requirements must be substantially the same as West Virginia’s | not published | form or registry |
West
| State | Exam needed? | Key conditions | Fee | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | No | Current, unencumbered certificate, federal-standard training and a passed competency exam; fingerprints | $275 | form or registry |
| Arizona | Unverified | Could not be verified (state board site blocked automated access) | not published | form or registry |
| California | No | Active and in good standing; proof of paid work in the last 2 years unless certified less than 2 years ago; Live Scan | not published | form or registry |
| Colorado | No | Good standing plus 1 year certified or equivalent training | not published | form or registry |
| Hawaii | Possibly | Current, active certificate; the state may still require the competency exam | $27 | form or registry |
| Idaho | No | Current on any registry; only if you live in Idaho or have a job offer there | free | form or registry |
| Montana | No | Current CNA registration in any US state or territory | not published | form or registry |
| Nevada | No | Active certificate, OBRA training, CNA work in the last 2 years, verification from your first state; fingerprints | $50 | form or registry |
| New Mexico | No | Current and in good standing; if trained in AL, IL or NE within 24 months, proof of 8 work hours | not published | form or registry |
| Oregon | No | Active certificate, approved training and a fingerprint background check | $60 | form or registry |
| Utah | No | Current and active, no abuse findings | $50 | form or registry |
| Washington | No | Active certificate, work history and verification forms from each state | $85 | form or registry |
| Wyoming | No | Active certificate plus 400 hours, 40 hours of CE or a passed exam in the last 2 years; fingerprints (+$60 background check) | $60 | form or registry |
Sources: the state agency or its contracted testing vendor, linked in each row. Where a state site blocked access, we used archived copies of the same official page and say so in our dataset. For Alabama and Arizona the official pages were not reachable, so we don’t list conditions we couldn’t verify.
Recent changes worth knowing
- Indiana stopped requiring a test for transferring CNAs on September 1, 2025.
- Maryland replaced its GNA title on April 1, 2026: former CNA/GNA holders are now CNA-I (can work in nursing homes), former CNAs are CNA-II.
- Michigan requires 12 hours of continuing education per year for certificates expiring on or after March 23, 2026.
- Washington moved nursing assistants under the State Board of Nursing on July 1, 2026; certification renews every year.
- Oregon cut its training requirement from 155 to 105 hours on July 1, 2025.
- New York stopped issuing paper certificates on August 1, 2026.
How to make the transfer smooth
- Don’t let your current certification lapse before you’re listed in the new state. Lapsed status turns a paperwork process into retraining in many states.
- Keep proof of your paid work hours (pay stubs, employer letters). It’s the most common condition.
- Apply before you start work. You generally need to be on the state’s registry to work in a nursing home, as the BLS notes for nursing assistants (BLS).
- Check the renewal rule of your new state right away. Utah wants 200 paid hours in 24 months for renewal, New Hampshire 200 hours plus 24 hours of CE, and Virginia and Washington renew every year.
For how CNA compares with LPN and RN, see CNA vs LPN vs RN.
Frequently asked questions
Which states have free CNA reciprocity?
Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Virginia list no fee. Other states either charge a fee or don’t publish one.
Do I have to retake the CNA exam in a new state?
In most states, no, as long as your certification is active and you meet the conditions. Kansas requires its own test, and Hawaii, Michigan, New Jersey and Wisconsin may require their exam depending on your situation.
How long does CNA reciprocity take?
It depends on the state and on how quickly your previous states verify your status. Iowa, for example, says processing takes at least two weeks. Apply before you plan to start work.
Can I transfer an expired CNA certification?
Usually not directly. Most states require active status; with a lapsed certification you’ll typically need to reactivate in your original state, or complete training and testing again.
Does Texas have CNA reciprocity?
Yes. Texas lists an active certification in another state plus a DPS criminal history check, with the application submitted through the TULIP system.
How we checked this. Our researchers read the official page or handbook for every state on September 22, 2026: state nurse aide registries, health departments, boards of nursing and their contracted testing vendors. Each claim in our dataset has a source link and quote. Rules and fees change often; the linked official page is always the final word. Certificate Quest is not affiliated with any state agency or testing vendor and earns nothing from links on this page. This is general career information, not legal advice.