CNA Classes & Programs in New Jersey

Understanding New Jersey's CNA training and certification requirements is an essential first step before enrolling. Meeting these standards ensures you're eligible to test, be placed on the state registry, and work in approved healthcare settings.

Eligibility

• Program enrollment (NATCEP): You must complete a New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH)–approved Nurse Aide in Long-Term Care Facilities Training and Competency Evaluation Program (NATCEP). Programs are offered by county colleges, vocational schools, and licensed long-term care facilities.
• Background check: Certification requires a Criminal Background Investigation (CBI) with fingerprinting through the New Jersey State Police and FBI. You must be eligible for employment (no disqualifying abuse/neglect/misappropriation findings on the Nurse Aide Registry).

Training Hours & Clinicals

New Jersey requires a minimum of 90 total hours for CNA training: 50 hours of classroom instruction and 40 hours of supervised clinical experience in a New Jersey-licensed long-term care facility. Before any direct resident contact, programs must provide required instruction in topics such as communication, residents' rights, infection control, and safety/emergency procedures (including the Heimlich maneuver), consistent with federal OBRA regulations.

Certification Exam

After training (or if you qualify for an approved waiver route), you must pass both parts of the NJDOH-approved competency exam, administered by PSI:

• Skills evaluation: demonstration of five randomly selected nurse-aide skills (including mandatory handwashing plus four other skills). This must be passed first.
• Knowledge test: written or oral format (oral available in English or Spanish) covering key nurse-aide content domains. You become eligible for this only after passing the skills evaluation.

Both components must be passed within two years of completing training. Candidates have up to three attempts per exam section within one year of the first attempt; those who do not pass after three attempts must retrain before testing again.

Placement on the Registry & Working as a CNA

When you pass both exam components and meet NJDOH requirements, your name is added to the New Jersey Nurse Aide Registry (maintained by PSI for NJDOH). Employers must verify registry status prior to hiring. Under federal rules, a Medicare/Medicaid-certified facility may employ a trainee for up to 120 days while training and testing are completed.

Renewal & In-Service Education

Your CNA certification must be renewed every 24 months. To recertify, you must have performed at least seven (7) hours of paid employment providing nursing or nursing-related services in a licensed healthcare facility or agency within the previous 24 months, remain in good standing, and complete a CBI with fingerprinting prior to expiration. CNAs working in Medicare/Medicaid-certified facilities must receive at least 12 hours of in-service education annually (24 hours over two years), which employers provide and document.

Reciprocity & Other Routes

If you're certified in another U.S. state or territory and in active, good standing, you may apply for reciprocity to be placed on the New Jersey Nurse Aide Registry. NJDOH offers two pathways:

• Route 1 (CEUs): Within the prior 24 months, completion of 24 hours of approved CEUs, including 12 hours in Alzheimer's/dementia care and 12 hours across infection control, emergency procedures, abuse/neglect & resident rights/misappropriation, and pharmacy.
• Route 2 (Employment): 24 months of full-time employment (≥35 hrs/week) as a CNA in a nursing home within the last 24 months; applicants must also pass the New Jersey skills and written/oral exams.

Additional equivalency routes may apply to nursing students/graduates, individuals with qualifying military training, and certain homemaker-home health aides who completed the Board of Nursing's LTC module.

Costs

Current exam fees are set by PSI. The total is typically $76 for skills + written and $90 for skills + oral, with retake fees of $23 (skills), $53 (written), and $67 (oral). Verify current amounts when you apply. Under federal and state law, Medicare/Medicaid-certified nursing facilities must cover exam fees for candidates employed or with a job offer at the time of testing.

Sources: NJDOH — Apply for a Certification (Nurse Aide/Personal Care Assistant), NJDOH — Renew or Replace a Certificate, NJDOH — Nurse Aides/Personal Care Assistants, N.J.A.C. 8:39-43.10 — Approval of Nurse Aide LTC Training Program, N.J.A.C. 8:39-43.6 — Recertification, N.J.A.C. 8:39-43.17 — In-Service Education, PSI — New Jersey Nurse Aide Registry & Testing