Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) · rules checked October 22, 2026
All nurse aide certificates expire January 31 of odd-numbered years, regardless of when first issued, so a first period can be shorter than 2 years. To renew you self-attest on the DORA renewal application to at least 8 hours of paid nursing care activities in the past 24 months (work in any U.S. state or territory counts) and pay the Board renewal fee. The Board charges a renewal fee but does not publish the amount outside the application - it is shown when you file, so renewal_fee is left null rather than guessed. A 60-day grace period after expiry may carry a late/delinquency fee.
If you have never worked for pay since certifying, use your certification date.
| Credential | Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) |
|---|---|
| Registry | Colorado Nurse Aide Registry (Colorado Board of Nursing, DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) · (303) 894-2430 |
| Training required | 75 hours |
| Exam | Credentia — Not published — confirm with the registry |
| How renewal works | Expires on a fixed calendar cycle; renew by application. Renewal fee: Not published — confirm with the registry. |
| Keep-active work rule | All nurse aide certificates expire January 31 of odd-numbered years, regardless of when first issued, so a first period can be shorter than 2 years. To renew you self-attest on the DORA renewal application to at least 8 hours of paid nursing care activities in the past 24 months (work in any U.S. state or territory counts) and pay the Board renewal fee. The Board charges a renewal fee but does not publish the amount outside the application - it is shown when you file, so renewal_fee is left null rather than guessed. A 60-day grace period after expiry may carry a late/delinquency fee. |
| Continuing education | No continuing education required to renew a Colorado nurse aide certificate (3 CCR 716-1 Rule 1.10). |
| Who reports your work | You do — nobody files it for you |
Expired 2 years or less: reinstatement application + fee. If you did not perform the 8 hours, you must show you passed the Board competency evaluation within the past 24 months. Your attestation on the reinstatement application is the verification of the 8 hours (Rule 1.10). Credentia route for reinstatement by examination is listed as Route E11.
Expired more than 2 years: you must retake and pass BOTH the written and manual skills competency evaluation and apply by examination with the required fee (Rule 1.10(F)(5)(c)). If you cannot prove prior training, complete a new Board-approved program first.
Fixed-date trap like Alaska: Jan 31 of odd years for everyone. Renewal fee is real but unpublished - do not quote a figure from secondary blogs (figures from $10 to $50 circulate and conflict).
Application fee: $50. Active certification in good standing in another state or U.S. territory, proof of substantially equivalent education/experience (or a current certificate held at least 1 year in a jurisdiction with substantially similar scope), no act that would be grounds for discipline in Colorado, filed through DPO Online Services with the Board application and the $50 endorsement application fee. Endorsement applicants are exempt from the clinical competency evaluation (C.R.S. 12-255-205). The $50 endorsement application fee is the figure on the DPO endorsement application (the Board rule, 3 CCR 716-1 Rule 1.10(E), requires 'the application fee' without printing an amount; older secondary tables quoting $10 are stale). Colorado's lapse, renewal and endorsement rules were read in the Board rule itself in the October 2026 sweep; the one figure that could not be read on a primary page is the exam fee table, which is why this state keeps its careful flags on exam pricing.
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 Colorado | Fee | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Alaska | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Arizona | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Arkansas | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| California | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Colorado | Same state — no transfer needed | ||
| Connecticut | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Delaware | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| District of Columbia | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Florida | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Georgia | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Hawaii | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Idaho | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Illinois | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Indiana | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Iowa | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Kansas | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Kentucky | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Louisiana | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Maine | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Maryland | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Massachusetts | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Michigan | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Minnesota | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Mississippi | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Missouri | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Montana | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Nebraska | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Nevada | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| New Hampshire | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| New Jersey | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| New Mexico | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| New York | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| North Carolina | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| North Dakota | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Ohio | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Oklahoma | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Oregon | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Pennsylvania | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Rhode Island | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| South Carolina | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| South Dakota | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Tennessee | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Texas | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Utah | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Vermont | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Virginia | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Washington | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| West Virginia | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Wisconsin | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
| Wyoming | Accepted — with conditions | $50 | Colorado accepts active certifications with a $50 application fee. |
The kit carries Colorado's full recovery path — the forms, the order to file them, the phone scripts — plus transfer checklists for every destination. See the kit →
