Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) · rules checked October 22, 2026
Stay active by performing at least 8 hours of paid nursing or nursing-related services, under a licensed nurse, in a qualifying facility (nursing home, hospital, home health, hospice or mental health facility) in every 24-month period. There is no calendar renewal application or renewal fee - status is kept by documented work, reported through the employer/registry.
If you have never worked for pay since certifying, use your certification date.
Checked in part: most of Alabama's rules were confirmed on primary sources on October 22, 2026, but a few details could only be confirmed in part. Where a figure is marked "not published," use the registry link on this page to confirm — we would rather show you the gap than fill it with a guess.
| Credential | Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) |
|---|---|
| Registry | Alabama Nurse Aide Registry (Alabama Department of Public Health) · (334) 206-5169 |
| Training required | 75 hours |
| Exam | Credentia and Prometric (your training program chooses its test provider) — $135 (written $55 · skills $80) |
| How renewal works | Stays active through paid work inside the window — no calendar expiry while you keep working. Renewal fee: $0. |
| Keep-active work rule | Stay active by performing at least 8 hours of paid nursing or nursing-related services, under a licensed nurse, in a qualifying facility (nursing home, hospital, home health, hospice or mental health facility) in every 24-month period. There is no calendar renewal application or renewal fee - status is kept by documented work, reported through the employer/registry. |
| Continuing education | No state continuing-education requirement to stay on the registry. Facility in-service training is separate and does not decide registry status. |
| Who reports your work | Your employer does — if they fail to, you can show as inactive while working |
There is no retest-only or refresher-only route in Alabama. Once the certification is invalid, the route back is a new ADPH-approved training program and both exam parts again — the Credentia Alabama Candidate Handbook's 'Lapsed Nursing Assistant' route says exactly that.
After 24 consecutive months without qualifying paid work the certification becomes invalid/inactive and the person must complete a new ADPH-approved 75-hour Nurse Aide Training Program (NATCEP) and pass both parts of the competency exam again.
HARSH STATE: Alabama is retrain-and-retest, not retest-only, once you go 24 months without paid work. Do not assume you can just retest. Also note: Alabama does not issue a paper certificate itself and reciprocity is employer-initiated (see endorsement). Exam is also offered by Prometric at some sites ($40 written + $45 skills + site fee, about $125 total) - the vendor follows the training program; Credentia split shown here is $55 written/oral + $80 skills = $135.
Application fee: $0 · typical processing: About 2-4 weeks after the employer submits verification (secondary-source estimate).. Must hold active, good-standing certification on another state's registry, with no substantiated finding of abuse, neglect or misappropriation on any registry, and training equivalent to at least the 75-hour federal minimum. Work-history requirement: Secondary ADPH-based guides cite at least 8 hours of paid nurse aide work in the past 24 months.. TRAP: Alabama reciprocity is EMPLOYER-INITIATED ONLY. (ADPH does not publish reciprocity fees or conditions on its own pages — the process below follows ADPH-based guidance; confirm details with ADPH at (334) 206-5169.) An individual cannot apply on their own - you must first be hired by an Alabama licensed facility (nursing home, hospital, home health, hospice, mental health facility), and that employer contacts ADPH to verify your out-of-state certification and place you on the Alabama registry.
The table below is computed for an active aide in good standing, trained to the origin state's standard hours. Your own hours or status can change your row — run the transfer checker with your real facts.
| Certified in | Verdict for Alabama | Fee | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Same state — no transfer needed | ||
| Alaska | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Arizona | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Arkansas | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| California | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Colorado | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Connecticut | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Delaware | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| District of Columbia | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Florida | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Georgia | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Hawaii | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Idaho | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Illinois | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Indiana | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Iowa | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Kansas | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Kentucky | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Louisiana | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Maine | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Maryland | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Massachusetts | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Michigan | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Minnesota | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Mississippi | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Missouri | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Montana | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Nebraska | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Nevada | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| New Hampshire | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| New Jersey | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| New Mexico | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| New York | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| North Carolina | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| North Dakota | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Ohio | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Oklahoma | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Oregon | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Pennsylvania | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Rhode Island | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| South Carolina | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| South Dakota | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Tennessee | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Texas | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Utah | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Vermont | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Virginia | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Washington | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| West Virginia | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Wisconsin | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Wyoming | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | Alabama accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
The kit carries Alabama's full recovery path — the forms, the order to file them, the phone scripts — plus transfer checklists for every destination. See the kit →
