CNA Registry: License Lookup, Verification and Renewal

Every state runs a public registry where a CNA certification can be looked up and verified. Here is the portal each state uses, what a record shows, and what renewal takes.

How to look up a CNA license in any state

There is no national CNA registry. Certification is held by the state that issued it, so a CNA certified in one state does not appear in another state’s search at all. Every state publishes a public search — some run their own, some share a commercial platform, some fold it into a general license lookup. Find your state below.

Open your state’s page
Find your state in the table below. Its page carries the portal link, the fields the search asks for and the registry’s phone number.
Follow the portal link from there
Official records sit with a health department, a licensing agency, a human services department or a contracted vendor, depending on the state. A commercial-looking domain does not mean the search is unofficial.
Search what the registry holds
Most registries search by name or certificate number, and some ask for a date of birth or part of the SSN. The registry holds the legal name you tested under.
Read the record
Status, issue and expiry dates, and any findings. A clean result is not always the whole answer — see verifying a license.

What the registry costs

Being listed on the registry is free: 42 CFR 483.156(b)(4) bars a state from charging a nurse aide for that listing, and it binds every state. Looking a record up is normally free as well, and most portals need no account.

That covers the listing, not the credential. Some states charge a separate certification or renewal fee, and training, the exam, fingerprinting and background checks are charged separately. Your state page gives the fees that actually apply to you.

CNA registry lookup by state

Pick your state for its official registry and how a certification is looked up there.

Official CNA registry by state — all 50, alphabetical
State	Official registry
Alabama	Alabama Certified Nurse Aide Registry
Alaska	Alaska Nurse Aide Registry
Arizona	Arizona Nurse Aide Registry
Arkansas	Arkansas CNA Registry
California	California Nurse Aide Registry
Colorado	Colorado Certified Nurse Aide Registry
Connecticut	Connecticut State Nurse Aide Registry
Delaware	Delaware State Nurse Aide Registry
Florida	Florida Nurse Aide Registry
Georgia	Georgia Nurse Aide Registry
Hawaii	Hawaii Nurse Aide Registry
Idaho	Idaho State Nurse Aide Registry
Illinois	Illinois Health Care Worker Registry
Indiana	Indiana Aides Registry
Iowa	Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry
Kansas	Kansas Nurse Aide Registry
Kentucky	Kentucky Nurse Aide Registry
Louisiana	Louisiana Certified Nurse Aide Registry
Maine	Maine Registry of Certified Nursing Assistants and Direct Care Workers
Maryland	Maryland Nurse Aide Registry
Massachusetts	Massachusetts Nurse Aide Registry
Michigan	Michigan Nurse Aide Registry
Minnesota	Minnesota Nurse Aide Registry
Mississippi	Mississippi CNA Registry
Missouri	Missouri Certified Nurse Assistant Registry
Montana	Montana Nurse Aide Registry
Nebraska	Nebraska Nurse Aide Registry
Nevada	Nevada Nurse Aide Registry
New Hampshire	New Hampshire Nurse Aide Registry
New Jersey	New Jersey Nurse Aide Registry
New Mexico	New Mexico Nurse Aide Registry
New York	New York State Nurse Aide Registry
North Carolina	North Carolina Nurse Aide I Registry
North Dakota	North Dakota Nurse Aide Registry
Ohio	Ohio Nurse Aide Registry
Oklahoma	Oklahoma Nurse Aide and Nontechnical Services Worker Registry
Oregon	Oregon Nurse Aide Registry
Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry
Rhode Island	Rhode Island Nurse Aide Registry
South Carolina	South Carolina Nurse Aide Registry
South Dakota	South Dakota Unlicensed Assistive Personnel Registry
Tennessee	Tennessee Nurse Aide Registry
Texas	Texas Nurse Aide Registry
Utah	Utah Nursing Assistant Registry
Vermont	Vermont Nurse Aide Registry
Virginia	Virginia Nurse Aide Registry
Washington	Washington Nurse Aide Registry
West Virginia	West Virginia Nurse Aide Registry
Wisconsin	Wisconsin Nurse Aide Registry
Wyoming	Wyoming CNA Registry

How to verify a CNA license

Who is asking changes what the result means.

You just finished training

Search your own record to confirm the state processed your exam result. Results take days to weeks to move from the testing vendor to the registry, so an empty result in the first two weeks is usually timing, not failure.

You moved to another state

Your old state still lists you. The new one will not list you at all until it grants reciprocity, so verify in both and start with transferring a certification.

You are an employer or agency

Verify before the first shift and keep the result. A staffing agency placing CNAs across state lines has to verify in every state it places into — see CNA staffing agencies.

What a registry record shows

On the record	What it tells you
Status	Whether the certification is current. The words differ by state — see what each status means.
Issue and expiry dates	How long is left in the cycle. This is the field that tells someone they are about to lapse.
Findings	Substantiated findings of abuse, neglect or misappropriation of property. This is the legal reason registries exist, and the reason an employer verifies rather than accepting a card.

Every state is required to record findings. But a clean certification lookup is not always the whole answer, because some states keep findings on a second list with its own name and its own search, and your state page names which list applies and where it is searched.

Renewing your CNA certification

How long it lasts, and what keeps it active

A certification runs for a fixed cycle, 24 months in most states, and the federal rule turns on paid work as a nursing assistant during that cycle. States build their own requirements on top of it: some add a fee, some a form, some continuing education. The work is the part every state counts, and your state page gives the hours, the cycle length and anything else your state asks for.

Who files it

In some states the employer reports your hours and you cannot file for yourself. In others you file and the employer only confirms. Getting this backwards is how a certification lapses while someone waits on a form nobody sent. Check which model your state uses before the cycle closes, not after.

If the cycle closes without the hours

The certification does not renew. What it becomes and what it takes to come back varies: some states reinstate on verified work hours, others require the competency exam again. Start with what each registry status means, then your state page.

Reinstating a certification that has already lapsed

Renewal and reinstatement are different routes. Renewing proves you worked during the cycle. Reinstating is what a state asks for once the cycle has been closed a while, and it usually means a fresh application, retesting, or both. Your state page gives the cut-off and which of the two applies to you.

Being listed on the registry itself is free, by federal rule. A separate state certification or renewal fee can still apply, so check your state page before assuming. Here is the regulation.

What each registry status means

Registries publish a status word, and it is one of the main things deciding whether someone can be scheduled for a shift.

Status	What it means	Working eligibility, usually
Active	Current and in good standing for the rest of the cycle.	Eligible to work
Expired	The cycle closed without the qualifying work hours being reported.	Not until it is renewed
Lapsed	Expired long enough that reinstatement, and sometimes retesting, is required.	Not until it is reinstated
Inactive	On the registry but not currently eligible, often pending paperwork or a reported gap in work.	Depends on the state rule

These four words are the common set, not a national standard, and the binding answer is always the state page for that certification.

How to get on the registry after your exam

In most states there is no separate registry application: the testing vendor reports your result and the registry adds you, with no form to file. Some states do ask you to file a certification application of your own, so your state page is what tells you which of the two applies.

Finish a state-approved program. Federal rules set a floor of 75 hours of training with supervised clinical practice; many states require more. Approved CNA programs by state.
Pass the competency exam. A written or oral section plus a hands-on skills demonstration, delivered by the state’s testing vendor.
Clear any required screening. Some states require fingerprinting or a criminal background check before you are listed, and others leave the screening to your employer. Where it applies it is the step most likely to add weeks.
Search for yourself. Processing runs from a few days to several weeks depending on the state and the testing vendor, and your state page gives the timing your state publishes. If you are still not listed well past that, call the registry with your test date rather than retesting.

CNA Programs

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Transferring a CNA license between states

Transferring means the state you are moving to recognizes the certification you already hold, a process it calls reciprocity or endorsement. You apply to the new state, the state you were certified in verifies your record, and the new state decides. Fees and processing times are set by the destination state and vary widely.

The full picture, state by state, is on CNA license reciprocity, and the reciprocity tool answers it for one pair of states at a time.

CNA registry FAQs

Is there a national CNA registry?

No. Nurses have Nursys, a genuine national verification database, but there is no CNA equivalent. Certification is granted state by state, and a CNA certified in one state does not appear in another state’s registry at all. That is why this page has to name 50 separate portals, and why moving states means a transfer rather than a lookup.

Does it cost anything to look up a CNA license?

Normally not, and most portals need no account either. Being listed on the registry is free by federal rule, because 42 CFR 483.156(b)(4) bars states from charging nurse aides for registry listing. That covers the listing itself: some states charge a separate certification or renewal fee, and training, the exam and background checks are charged separately. Your state page gives the fees that apply.

Why can’t I find my name on the registry?

Three common reasons. The registry holds the legal name you tested under, so search a maiden or previous name. Results can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to reach the registry, depending on the state and the testing vendor. And a certification only appears in the state that issued it.

Can I renew a CNA certification that has already expired?

Often, but it depends on how long it has been expired and on the state. Some states reinstate on verified work hours, some require the competency exam again, and some set a cut-off after which you start over. Check the status your record shows, then your state page.

What is TMU, and why is my state’s registry on a vendor site?

Some states run their own registry system, and others contract the registry or the testing to a vendor such as TMU, Prometric or Credentia. That is why an official lookup can open on a commercial domain rather than a .gov site, and why the search screen looks identical in several states. It is still the official record. Which platform your state uses, and the link to it, are on your state page.

Will a registry search show disciplinary findings?

Usually, since every state must record substantiated findings of abuse, neglect or misappropriation of property. But several states keep them on a separate misconduct list with its own search, so a clean certification record is not always the complete answer. See what a record shows.

How do I change my name or address on the registry?

Through the registry, not through your employer. The registry holds the legal name you tested under, which is why a married name often returns nothing on a search. States differ on whether the change goes through a form, the portal account or the office directly, and some ask for proof of the name change. Your state page carries the route.

Can I verify a CNA license by phone or email?

Sometimes. Every state has a public search, so start there. Registries also publish a contact number, and some will confirm a certification in writing for an employer. What each one accepts differs, so the number and the route are on your state page.

What is the difference between renewing and reinstating?

Renewing happens while the certification is still current: the state records your qualifying work hours and the cycle starts again. Reinstating happens after the cycle has closed, and usually means a fresh application, retesting, or both. Which one applies depends on the status your record shows and how long it has been expired. Renewing your certification.

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Not certified yet, or already lapsed?

You have not been certified yet.

You cannot be looked up until you pass the exam. Start with approved CNA programs in your state, then getting listed.

Your certification has lapsed.

Look yourself up first: the status word decides whether you renew, reinstate or retest. What each status means.

Sources. Federal requirements come from 42 CFR Part 483, Subpart D. Registry names and portals are checked against the responsible state agency, or the registry provider that agency contracts with, and each state page carries its own sources. Where a state does not publish a figure, this page leaves it out rather than estimating it.