State Tested Nurse Aide (STNA) · rules checked October 22, 2026

Ohio CNA certification: stay active, lapse, and transfer rules

To stay on the registry you must provide at least 7.5 consecutive hours, or 8 hours within a 48-hour period, of nursing and nursing-related services for pay during the 24 months following registry placement or your most recent date of verified work (OAC 3701-17-07.3). A single short shift split across days does not count unless it fits the 8-in-48 alternative.

Is my certification still active?

If you have never worked for pay since certifying, use your certification date.

The Ohio facts

CredentialState Tested Nurse Aide (STNA)
RegistryOhio Nurse Aide Registry · 800-582-5908
Training required75 hours
ExamHeadmaster — $104 (written $26 · skills $78)
How renewal worksStays active through paid work inside the window — no calendar expiry while you keep working. Renewal fee: $0.
Keep-active work ruleTo stay on the registry you must provide at least 7.5 consecutive hours, or 8 hours within a 48-hour period, of nursing and nursing-related services for pay during the 24 months following registry placement or your most recent date of verified work (OAC 3701-17-07.3). A single short shift split across days does not count unless it fits the 8-in-48 alternative.
Continuing educationNo state continuing-education requirement for registry renewal; work verification is documented on the HEA 7713 process / by facility statement or a physician or nurse statement for private-duty work.
Who reports your workYou or your employer

If your Ohio certification has lapsed

The cheaper route — while it lasts

If more than 24 consecutive months have passed since your last verified work, you can still be restored without retraining only by submitting documentation that you actually did provide the 7.5 consecutive hours (or 8 hours in 48 hours) for pay during that 24-month period.

Past that line

If you cannot document qualifying work, you must successfully complete additional training and the competency evaluation again under OAC 3701-17-07.1(D) — in practice, complete an ODH-approved training program and pass both exam parts. There is no retest-only route in Ohio.

Ohio is a trap state: the clock runs from your last date of verified work, not from a printed expiry date, and the hours must be consecutive (7.5 in one stretch) or 8 within 48 hours. Splitting 8 hours across a month does not keep you active.

Registry findings in Ohio

Ohio has a published process to petition for removal of a single, neglect-only registry finding after at least 1 year. Abuse and misappropriation findings cannot be removed. Details — free, and with no strings — on the registry findings page.

Transferring INTO Ohio

Application fee: $0. Must be active and in good standing on another state's registry with no substantiated finding of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation; the sending state's registry must certify placement met federal training and testing standards. Use ODH Form HEA 6907, Nurse Aide Registry Request for Reciprocity. Section II must be completed by your home-state registry and sent to ODH. No fee. Questions: NAR@odh.ohio.gov, (800) 582-5908 in-state or (614) 752-9500 out-of-state.

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 inVerdict for OhioFeeWhy
AlabamaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
AlaskaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
ArizonaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
ArkansasAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
CaliforniaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
ColoradoAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
ConnecticutAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
DelawareAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
District of ColumbiaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
FloridaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
GeorgiaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
HawaiiAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
IdahoAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
IllinoisAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
IndianaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
IowaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
KansasAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
KentuckyAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
LouisianaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
MaineAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
MarylandAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
MassachusettsAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
MichiganAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
MinnesotaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
MississippiAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
MissouriAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
MontanaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
NebraskaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
NevadaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
New HampshireAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
New JerseyAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
New MexicoAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
New YorkAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
North CarolinaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
North DakotaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
OhioSame state — no transfer needed
OklahomaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
OregonAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
PennsylvaniaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
Rhode IslandAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
South CarolinaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
South DakotaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
TennesseeAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
TexasAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
UtahAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
VermontAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
VirginiaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
WashingtonAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
West VirginiaAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
WisconsinAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.
WyomingAccepted as-is$0Ohio endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply.

Included in the $39 CNAStatusCheck Kit

The kit carries Ohio's full recovery path — the forms, the order to file them, the phone scripts — plus transfer checklists for every destination. See the kit →

Sources — checked October 22, 2026