Missouri CNA Registry
Check any Missouri certified nursing assistant on the Missouri Certified Nurse Assistant Registry. The search is free, needs no account, and is the same record an employer sees. This page covers looking up a license, reading the status, keeping your certification active, and getting listed after your exam.
This is the state's own system, run by Missouri DHSS. It is the same database an employer checks, and the only place a certification status is authoritative.
Four ways to use this page. Pick the one that matches your situation.
Missouri Certified Nurse Assistant Registry
- Governing agency
- Missouri DHSSMissouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Health Education Unit
- Lookup portal
- mo.tmutest.com TMU, public search
- Registry phone
- 573-526-5686
- Renewal cycle
- 24 months work hours must be reported
How to Look Up a Missouri CNA License
This section is the mechanics: where the search is, what to type into it, and how to read what comes back.
Missouri keeps its certified nurse assistant records at mo.tmutest.com. The search is public, so you can check your own record or a candidate's record without an account and without paying.
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Open the Missouri registry search
Go to mo.tmutest.com and use the Search Public Registry panel. The search takes a Search By dropdown offering Name, SSN, Registration Number or Misconduct, and a single Look For box. A name has to be entered as LAST, FIRST or FIRST LAST, because one word on its own is rejected. No login, no account, no fee.
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Enter your details as the registry recorded them
Use the name from the time of testing, and fill in every box the panel asks for. If it offers a registration number box, use that as well: the number is unique to one person and a name is not.
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Match the record to the person
Check every identifying detail the result shows, not just the name, before you treat a row as a match. A common surname can return more than one person, and the wrong record can look right at a glance.
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Read what the record says, not just that a name came back
Appearing on the registry is not the same as being current, so read what the record says about standing, whether that is a status, an expiry date, or both, then check it against the status table below. If a result links through to a fuller record, open it, because some registries keep the status there. The results table shows one card per person, carrying the name, the city and ZIP, whether any certification is active and whether there is a history of misconduct, and behind Show Record Details a table of Certification, Status, Issued and Inactive carrying the registration number.
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Save a dated copy of the result
Print to PDF or screenshot the page showing the name, registration number, what the record says about standing, and the date you checked. Employers and agencies usually want that record on file.
How to find your registration number
Where a search takes the number, it narrows the result to one person in a way a name may not. If you have lost it, it is on any of these.
- Your certificate or wallet card, if your state issued one after the skills test
- The result page of the registry search itself, once you have found your record
- Your employer's personnel file, because facilities record it when they verify you at hire
- The registry, on 573-526-5686, if none of the above works
What Each Missouri CNA Registry Status Means
The status field is the part that decides whether someone can work. Wording varies by state, so read the exact term on the record rather than assuming what it means.
| Status | What it means | Can they work? |
|---|---|---|
| Active | The certification is current, and the person may work as a CNA in a long-term care facility as long as there is no finding against them. | Yes |
| Inactive | The registry shows a two-year break in nursing or nursing-related work. Proof of qualifying work restores it, and without that proof Missouri requires the challenge exam. | No |
| Expired | The registry shows a five-year break in nursing or nursing-related work. The person cannot work as a CNA in a long-term care facility, and Missouri no longer allows the exam to be challenged. | No |
Why Your Missouri CNA License Is Not Showing on the Registry
| Problem | What is happening | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Your name returns no results | The registry stores the legal name you used at the time of testing. A lapsed record stays listed, so a missing result is more often the name or the format than a record that is not there. The box rejects a single word and expects LAST, FIRST. | Search your maiden or pre-marriage name, and give the search less to match on rather than more. |
| You passed but you are not listed | Results have to reach the registry from your testing entity before you show as certified. | Give the registry time to process them, then call 573-526-5686 with your test date and testing entity. |
| The record shows as expired but you have been working | Qualifying hours have to be reported before the record updates, and yours may not have been filed. | File your own employment verification with the registry while the state still accepts it, then re-check the record. If it no longer does, the reinstatement routes below apply. |
| You do not know how to file the report | The registry expects the report to come from you, so it will not arrive on its own. | Contact the registry on 573-526-5686 or cnaregistry@health.mo.gov and ask for the form they accept. |
| Details on your record are wrong | Name, address and registry data come from the record created at testing. | Contact the registry on 573-526-5686 or cnaregistry@health.mo.gov with documentation of the correct details. |
How to Verify a CNA License in Missouri
This section is what the result proves: what a record is evidence of, what to save as your copy of it, and what it means for you specifically. The search itself is the same for everyone.
Verifying your own license after finishing training
Look yourself up at mo.tmutest.com once your testing entity has filed your results. Save a dated copy of the record, because most employers ask for proof at offer stage rather than checking themselves.
Verifying your license after transferring from another state
A certification held in another state does not appear in Missouri until reciprocity is processed. Until a Missouri record exists, employers here cannot verify you, and your out-of-state record is the only proof you have. See transferring a license to Missouri for the application route, then verify the new record the same way.
Verifying someone else's license (for employers)
Federal rules require a facility to check the registry before it lets someone work as a certified nurse assistant. The record carries two things: the certification status, and any substantiated finding of abuse, neglect or misappropriation of property the state has recorded against that person. Read both, because someone can be listed and still carry a finding that bars employment. The record only covers Missouri, so if a candidate has worked elsewhere, search that state's registry too.
How to Renew Your Missouri CNA License
Renewal in Missouri is yours to file. You report your own qualifying work to the registry, and the record does not update until you do, however long you have been working.
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Work at least 8 hours in a qualifying role
The hours must be paid nursing or nursing-related duties inside the 24 months before your record lapses. Unpaid placements and volunteer shifts do not count. Which paid work counts? Paid nursing services, including private duty work, which you choose from the drop-down menu in your TMU profile. If the work was in another state, ask the registry whether it counts before you rely on it, because states differ.
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File the report yourself
You submit it, not your employer, through the state's system, TMU. The record does not update until you do, so file before it lapses. You upload the proof yourself, a pay stub, W-2 or letter on company letterhead, and your employer is then emailed to verify it before the renewal completes.
Do it while you still work there. Whatever the registry asks for, it is harder to get from a former employer. -
Check the record, and read the expiry date
Look yourself up at mo.tmutest.com once the report has been filed. A status of active on its own is not enough, because the previous period may still be running. The expiry date is what tells you the new period has actually started.
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Fix a missing report before it lapses
If the hours were worked but never reported, that is correctable, and it is far easier to correct while the record is still active. Contact the registry on 573-526-5686 or cnaregistry@health.mo.gov and ask what they will accept as evidence of the work.
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Keep your own dated copy
Save the record showing the new expiry date. If a report is ever missed, that copy is what you give a new employer while the registry corrects it.
| Item | Missouri |
|---|---|
| Active period | 24 months |
| Work required | At least 8 hours of paid nursing or nursing-related duties |
| Which paid work counts | Paid nursing services, including private duty work, which you choose from the drop-down menu in your TMU profile. |
| What does not count | Volunteer shifts and unpaid clinical placements |
| Work in another state | Ask the registry before you rely on it. States differ on whether out-of-state hours count |
| Who reports it | You. The registry expects the worker to file |
| Where the report is filed | TMU |
| Evidence of the hours | You upload the proof yourself, a pay stub, W-2 or letter on company letterhead, and your employer is then emailed to verify it before the renewal completes. |
| Renewal fee | $20 |
| Filing deadline | Missouri emails and texts a renewal alert 60 days before the expiry date on your record. If the documentation you upload does not show nursing services the renewal can be denied, and you then have 15 business days to supply the right documents before the fee has to be paid again. |
How to Reinstate a Lapsed Missouri CNA License
If your certification reaches its expiry date without the qualifying work reported, the record stops being active. What it takes to come back depends on which of these you are.
| Your situation | What you do | Retesting |
|---|---|---|
| You worked recently, but the hours were never reported | File the employment verification for that work now, while the state still accepts it | Not while the state still accepts the renewal |
| No qualifying work for 24 months or more | Missouri lets you challenge the exam while the record has been inactive for less than five years, which is the knowledge and skills tests with one attempt and no retraining. Past five years, or if you fail the challenge, the full 175-hour course has to be taken again. | Yes, to work in a Medicare- or Medicaid-certified facility |
| You hold an active certification in another state | Apply through reciprocity. See our Missouri reciprocity guide | Usually not |
| You are not working in a Medicare- or Medicaid-certified facility | The federal requirement does not reach you, but some states require certification or registration in other settings, and many employers still ask for an active certification | Not under federal rules |
How to Get on the Missouri CNA Registry
In Missouri you do not file a registry application yourself. You train, you test, and your testing entity sends the application and results to the registry.
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Meet the basic requirements
You must be at least 18. Training providers may set their own requirements on top of that.
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Complete an approved 175-hour course
Train with a provider approved in Missouri. See our list of Missouri CNA programs.
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Pass the written and skills tests
A knowledge examination, which you may take written or orally, and a hands-on skills demonstration. Both must be passed. The knowledge test can be taken orally instead of in writing if you ask, which is a federal right in every state and is worth knowing if reading is difficult for you or English is not your first language.
If a facility has already hired you, both tests have to be passed within four months of your hire date. Our free CNA practice tests cover the same knowledge areas as the written test, and the free CNA skills course walks through the skills evaluation itself.
The state charges no application fee. The exams are charged separately, so ask what they cost before you book. -
Let your testing entity file the results
The testing entity sends your application and results straight to the registry. There is nothing for you to submit.
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Check that you appear on the registry
Give the registry time to process the result, then look yourself up at mo.tmutest.com before you contact the registry.
Missouri CNA Registry Contact Information
- Phone
- 573-526-5686
- cnaregistry@health.mo.gov
- Mailing address
- Health Education Unit
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
PO Box 570
Jefferson City, MO 65102
- License lookup
- mo.tmutest.com
- Registry information
- Missouri DHSS CNA Status
Missouri CNA Requirements at a Glance
| Requirement | Missouri |
|---|---|
| Registry name | Missouri Certified Nurse Assistant Registry |
| Credential term used by the state | certified nurse assistant |
| Governing agency | Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Health Education Unit |
| Minimum age | 18 |
| Total training hours | 175 |
| Classroom hours | 75 |
| Clinical hours | 100 |
| Exam | A knowledge examination, which you may take written or orally, and a hands-on skills demonstration. Both must be passed. |
| Testing deadline | Both tests within four months of hire |
| Application fee | Free |
| Renewal cycle | 24 months, worker-reported hours |
| Testing vendor | D&S Diversified Technologies (Headmaster) |
Transferring a CNA License To or From Missouri (Reciprocity)
Reciprocity is how an active certification held in one state becomes a certification in another. It usually avoids retesting, but only while your current certification is in good standing. A lapsed or flagged record cannot transfer.
The route in and out of Missouri, the documents required and the current processing time are covered in the guide. The tool checks any two states against each other.
Missouri CNA Training Programs
The steps above are the whole route onto the registry. The one thing that comes before them is an approved 175-hour program, because you cannot sit the exam without completing one. The state itself charges no application fee, so training is the cost that matters.
| Program | City |
|---|---|
| Seasons Care Center | Kansas City |
| St Louis Altenheim | St. Louis |
| Wilson'S Creek Nursing & Rehab | Springfield |
| The Villa At Blue Ridge | Columbia |
| Monterey Park Nursing Center | Independence |
Tell us where you are and we will match you with approved programs. Takes about a minute.
Find CNA programs near you✓ Free Service • ✓ No Obligations • ✓ Compare Multiple Programs • ✓ Accredited Schools Only
Cost, format and city for each one, listed by city so you can start near you.
If you want to prepare before you enrol, our free CNA skills course covers the material the program and the skills test are built on.
Missouri CNA Registry FAQ
Is the Missouri CNA Registry free to search?
Why can I not find my name on the registry?
How long does Missouri certification last?
Can I report my own work hours?
What happens if my status expires?
Can an employer see abuse or neglect findings?
Do I need to be on the registry to work in Missouri?
Look Up a CNA License in Another State
Every state runs its own registry, and a certification is only verifiable in the state that issued it. Pick a state to see its portal, its status vocabulary and its renewal rules.