CNA Programs & Career Opportunities in Oregon

Before starting your training, it's important to understand exactly what Oregon requires to become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). Meeting these requirements ensures you're eligible to take the state competency examination, receive certification from the Oregon State Board of Nursing, be listed on the Oregon CNA Registry, and perform CNA duties in healthcare settings throughout the state. As of July 1, 2025, Oregon has one level of CNA certification; the former CNA 1 and CNA 2 designations are no longer used.

Eligibility

• Program enrollment: The standard pathway requires completion of an Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN)-approved nursing assistant training program. Approved programs are offered through community colleges, healthcare facilities, high schools, and other authorized training providers.
• Alternative pathways: Applicants may also qualify based on completion of a nursing assistant program approved by another U.S. state or territory, qualifying military healthcare training documented through a Joint Services Transcript and DD Form 214, an active RN, LPN, or vocational nurse license in good standing, or current enrollment in an approved nursing education program.
• Age requirement: The Oregon State Board of Nursing does not establish a minimum age for CNA certification, although individual training programs, clinical facilities, or employers may impose their own requirements.
• Background check: Initial applicants must complete a national fingerprint-based criminal history background check. Applicants must also answer the Board's criminal and disciplinary history questions. A criminal record does not necessarily result in automatic denial, but the Board reviews relevant history before issuing certification.

Training Hours & Clinicals

Oregon-approved nursing assistant programs must provide at least 155 total hours of education, divided into:

• 80 hours of classroom and laboratory instruction, which may include an approved live virtual format; and
• 75 hours of supervised clinical experience in a hospital, licensed nursing facility, licensed residential care facility, or licensed assisted living facility that has an RN on duty during all scheduled student clinical hours.

Before students provide direct care to clients, they must complete at least 24 hours of supervised classroom and laboratory instruction, including return demonstrations of learned skills to determine competency, in addition to facility orientation. During clinical training, an RN must be on duty, students may provide only the care they have been taught and found competent to perform, and they must remain under the direct supervision of Board-approved faculty. Students may not be counted or used as facility staff during their scheduled clinical hours.

The curriculum covers communication, infection prevention and control, client rights, safety and emergency procedures, basic nursing care, activities of daily living, restorative care, mental health and social service needs, care of people with cognitive impairments, and the CNA duties authorized under Oregon law. Students must complete all required hours, successfully demonstrate the required laboratory and clinical skills, earn at least 75% on the program's final examination, and obtain qualifying adult CPR certification. The clinical portion must generally be completed within four months after the final classroom or online-instruction date.

Federal rules allow a Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing facility to employ an individual as a nurse aide for no more than four months without certification, provided the individual is completing the required training and competency evaluation. Oregon also permits students enrolled in a Board-approved program to perform nursing assistant duties with appropriate supervision.

Competency Exam (Knowledge & Skills)

After completing an approved eligibility pathway, candidates must pass Oregon's competency examination administered by D&SDT-Headmaster through the TestMaster Universe (TMU) system. The examination consists of two parts:

• Knowledge test: An 80-question multiple-choice examination based on Oregon's approved nurse aide test plan. Candidates have 90 minutes to complete the test and must score at least 73% to pass. The knowledge examination may be taken at an approved testing site or through an available remotely proctored format. An audio version is also available.
• Skills test: Candidates demonstrate three or four assigned skills, beginning with one mandatory task that incorporates hand washing, followed by two or three randomly selected tasks. Candidates have 35 minutes to complete the examination and must correctly perform every key step and at least 80% of the non-key steps for each assigned task.

Candidates must apply for the competency examination within one year of completing their nursing assistant training program. After the application is submitted, candidates have one year from the application date to pass both portions of the examination. A candidate who fails one portion may pay the applicable retest fee, obtain authorization from OSBN to test again, and reschedule that component. Oregon's current candidate handbook does not establish a fixed maximum number of attempts, but all attempts remain subject to the applicable application and testing deadlines.

Certification & Working as a CNA

After passing both examination components, completing the fingerprint-based background check, and satisfying all application requirements, the Oregon State Board of Nursing issues the CNA certification and lists the individual on the Oregon CNA Registry. Passing the training program and examination alone does not authorize practice until the Board has issued an active certification.

Once certified, you may perform CNA duties in nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living and residential care communities, home health settings, and other healthcare facilities. Employers must verify that your Oregon CNA certification is active before allowing you to work as a CNA. The registry also contains Board sanctions and substantiated findings of resident abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of resident property.

Renewal

An Oregon CNA certificate is valid for two years and is renewed through the OSBN Nurse Portal. Renewal requires submission of the Board's online renewal application, payment of the applicable fee, and a criminal-records background check. The OSBN sends courtesy renewal reminders before expiration, but meeting the renewal deadline remains the CNA's responsibility.

Effective January 1, 2026, the Oregon State Board of Nursing eliminated the paid-practice-hours requirement for renewal. Although CNA certification must still be renewed every two years, CNAs are required to complete two hours of cultural competency continuing education every 48 months after initial certification and attest to completion when applicable at renewal. This means the cultural competency course is generally required every other renewal cycle. Because Oregon's continuing education and renewal rules changed recently, applicants should confirm the current requirements through the OSBN Nurse Portal before renewing.

If a certificate has been expired for more than 90 days, the individual must apply for reinstatement rather than standard renewal. A CNA whose certification has been expired for more than 90 days but no more than two years must complete the reinstatement application and the required background check. If the certificate has been expired for more than two years, the applicant must also pass the Board-approved competency examination, and an applicant who fails that examination must complete another approved training program before retesting.

Endorsement

A nursing assistant certified in another U.S. state or territory may apply for Oregon certification by endorsement. Applicants must hold an active out-of-state CNA certification, complete the Oregon State Board of Nursing application, submit proof of their nursing assistant training, arrange for verification of the out-of-state credential, complete the required fingerprint-based background check, and meet the Board's other application requirements.

Oregon may also accept qualifying military healthcare training, an active RN or LPN license in good standing, or current nursing-student status under the alternative pathways established by the Board. An active CNA certification from another state may be accepted as evidence that the applicant has completed an approved competency examination.

Costs & Reimbursement

Training costs vary by provider, while application, fingerprinting, testing, renewal, and endorsement fees are set by the Oregon State Board of Nursing and its service providers. Candidates should verify the current initial application and examination fees through the OSBN Nurse Portal before applying. Current OSBN instructions list a $25 fee to retake the knowledge examination and a $45 fee to retake the skills examination.

Under federal law, an individual who is employed by—or has received an offer of employment from—a Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing facility when beginning an approved nurse aide training and competency evaluation program may not be charged for the training, textbooks, required course materials, or competency examination. An individual who initially pays these expenses and becomes employed by or receives an offer from a certified nursing facility within 12 months after completing training may qualify for prorated reimbursement while employed as a nurse aide.

Sources: Oregon State Board of Nursing – CNA 1 & 2 Consolidation, Oregon State Board of Nursing – Competency Requirements, Oregon Administrative Rules OAR 851-061-0090 – Curriculum Standards, Oregon State Board of Nursing – Approved Nursing Assistant Curriculum, D&SDT-Headmaster – Oregon Nurse Aide Testing, D&SDT-Headmaster – Oregon Nurse Aide Candidate Handbook, 42 CFR 483.152 – Federal Training and Reimbursement Requirements