New Mexico CNA Registry
Check any New Mexico certified nursing assistant on the New Mexico Nurse Aide 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 HCA. 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.
New Mexico Nurse Aide Registry
- Governing agency
- HCANew Mexico Health Care Authority
- Lookup portal
- nm.tmutest.com TMU, public search
- Registry phone
- 888-401-0462
- Renewal cycle
- 24 months work hours must be reported
How to Look Up a New Mexico CNA License
This section is the mechanics: where the search is, what to type into it, and how to read what comes back.
New Mexico keeps its nurse aide records at nm.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 New Mexico registry search
Go to nm.tmutest.com and use the Search Public Registry panel. The search takes a Search By dropdown set to Name, SSN, Registration Number or Misconduct, and one Look For box, which for a name search takes LAST, FIRST or FIRST LAST, because a single word 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 what the panel asks for. If it offers a certification number box, the number is unique to one person and a name is not, but some panels take the number or a name, not both.
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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, state and ZIP, whether the person has any active certification and whether they have a history of misconduct, with a Show Record Details link that opens a Certification History table of Certification, Status, Issued and Expires, where the Certification cell carries the certification number, and, on a record with a finding, a Has Prior Misconduct History table of Type and Verified At.
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Save a dated copy of the result
Print to PDF or screenshot the page showing the name, certification 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 certification 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 888-401-0462, if none of the above works
What Each New Mexico 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? |
|---|---|---|
| Has active certifications | Shown on the result card when at least one certification on the record is current. Open Show Record Details to see the Active row and the date it expires. | Yes |
| Previously certified, none active | Shown on the result card when nothing on the record is current. New Mexico keeps lapsed records listed, including ones that expired many years ago, so this is what an expired certification looks like in the search. | No |
| Active | The word in the Status column of the Certification History table, on the row for the current 24-month period. The Expires date on that row is when it ends. | Yes |
| Initial | A certification period that has ended, usually the first one on the record. It sits under the Active row on a current record and is often the only status word on a lapsed one, so look for an Active row above it and read the Expires date before deciding whether the person is current. | Conditional, confirm before the shift |
| Archived | A certification period that has ended. With no Active row above it in the Certification History, the person is not current. | No |
Why Your New Mexico 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. New Mexico's search will not run on a single word: it needs a surname and a first name, in either order. A common name returns at most 100 results and the rest are not shown, so type the full first name. There is no status filter, and lapsed records stay listed, including ones that expired many years ago. The registry moved from Prometric to TMU in July 2024, so search TMU rather than Prometric's old page. | 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 888-401-0462 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 the report yourself, through the state's system, TMU, 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. | File it yourself: TMU. If you cannot, contact the registry on 888-401-0462 or CNA.Registry@hca.nm.gov and ask what it accepts. |
| Details on your record are wrong | Name, address and registry data come from what was submitted to the registry, when your record was created or since. | Contact the registry on 888-401-0462 or CNA.Registry@hca.nm.gov with documentation of the correct details. |
How to Verify a CNA License in New Mexico
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 nm.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 New Mexico until reciprocity is processed. Until a New Mexico record exists, employers here cannot verify you, and your out-of-state record is the only proof you have. See transferring a license to New Mexico 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 nurse aide. The record carries two things: the certification status, and any substantiated finding of resident abuse, neglect or exploitation 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 New Mexico, so if a candidate has worked elsewhere, search that state's registry too.
How to Renew Your New Mexico CNA License
Renewal in New Mexico 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 consecutive 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 nurse aide work in a nursing home, hospital, hospice, home health agency or intermediate care facility. Private-duty, doctor's office and laboratory aide work does not count, and neither does aide work in an assisted living or residential personal care home. 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 list the work and the employer in TMU and choose an employer contact, who is emailed a verification link and has to confirm the work before the next 24 months are added. If you worked through a staffing agency, send the request to a facility you worked at through it, because agencies cannot verify. If a past employer will not verify, choose HCA Renewal – Documentation Required, and the Health Care Authority reviews your documentation instead.
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 if it has one
Look yourself up at nm.tmutest.com once the report has been filed. Where the record carries an expiry date, a status of active on its own is not enough, because the previous period may still be running, and 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 888-401-0462 or CNA.Registry@hca.nm.gov and ask what they will accept as evidence of the work.
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Keep your own dated copy
Save a copy of the record showing your current status, and the new expiry date where the record has one. If a report is ever missed, that copy is what you give a new employer while the registry corrects it.
| Item | New Mexico |
|---|---|
| Active period | 24 months |
| Work required | At least 8 consecutive hours of paid nursing or nursing-related duties |
| Which paid work counts | Paid nurse aide work in a nursing home, hospital, hospice, home health agency or intermediate care facility. Private-duty, doctor's office and laboratory aide work does not count, and neither does aide work in an assisted living or residential personal care home. |
| 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 list the work and the employer in TMU and choose an employer contact, who is emailed a verification link and has to confirm the work before the next 24 months are added. If you worked through a staffing agency, send the request to a facility you worked at through it, because agencies cannot verify. If a past employer will not verify, choose HCA Renewal – Documentation Required, and the Health Care Authority reviews your documentation instead. |
| Renewal fee | The renewal fee is $25 plus a 4.875% New Mexico gross revenue tax fee, paid by card in TMU unless your employer pays it for you. There is no fee when you renew through a state-funded facility. |
| Filing deadline | You can submit the renewal in TMU from 30 days before your expiration date until 30 days after it, and TMU emails and texts a reminder 30 days before. Once the certification has been expired for more than 30 days, you have to pass the competency exam again, even if you did the work. |
| Continuing education required | 12 hours of in-service or continuing education training each year, 24 hours per renewal cycle |
How to Reinstate a Lapsed New Mexico CNA License
If your active period runs out 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 report for that work now, through the state's system, TMU, while the state still accepts it | Not while the state still accepts the renewal |
| No qualifying work for 24 months or more | If your certification lapsed less than 24 months ago, you can retest without retraining: ask D&S Diversified Technologies (Headmaster) to set your account to reactivate by exam, and pass both parts within 24 months of the expiry date. Lapsed longer, you can still retest if you have worked in a nursing-related field for at least 24 months, through the Reactivation by Exam application in TMU with a letter from your employer. Otherwise you have to complete a state-approved training program and pass the exam again. | Yes, to work in a Medicare- or Medicaid-certified facility |
| You hold an active certification in another state | Apply through reciprocity. See our New Mexico 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 New Mexico CNA Registry
In New Mexico 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 16. Training providers may set their own requirements on top of that.
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Complete an approved 75-hour course
Train with a provider approved in New Mexico. Our CNA program directory does not cover New Mexico yet, so start from the state's own approved-provider list.
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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. Federal rules say you can choose to take the knowledge test orally instead of in writing, but some states offer that only as an approved accommodation, so ask your testing entity how to request it 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. Check what the exams cost and who collects the fee 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 nm.tmutest.com before you contact the registry.
New Mexico CNA Registry Contact Information
- Phone
- 888-401-0462
- CNA.Registry@hca.nm.gov
- Mailing address
- ATTN: Nurse Aide Registry
3900 Masthead St NE, Suite 200
Albuquerque, NM 87109
- License lookup
- nm.tmutest.com
- Registry information
- New Mexico Health Care Authority, Certified Nurse Aide Registry
New Mexico CNA Requirements at a Glance
| Requirement | New Mexico |
|---|---|
| Registry name | New Mexico Nurse Aide Registry |
| Credential term used by the state | nurse aide |
| Governing agency | New Mexico Health Care Authority |
| Minimum age | 16 |
| Total training hours | 75 |
| Clinical hours | 16 |
| 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 New Mexico (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 New Mexico, the documents required and the current processing time are covered in the guide. The tool checks any two states against each other.
New Mexico CNA Training Programs
The steps above are the whole route onto the registry. The one thing that usually comes before them is an approved 75-hour program. The state itself charges no application fee, so training is the cost that matters.
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
Our directory does not cover New Mexico yet, so the state's own approved-provider list is the place to start.
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.
New Mexico CNA Registry FAQ
Is the New Mexico CNA Registry free to search?
Why can I not find my name on the registry?
How long does New Mexico 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 New Mexico?
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.