Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) · rules checked October 22, 2026
You renew every year and must attest that you performed paid nursing-related activities at some point within the 2 years immediately before your expiration date. Virginia's regulation (18VAC90-25-80) does not set a minimum number of hours - but if you performed no paid nursing-related work at all in those 2 years, you must repeat and pass the nurse aide state examination before you can renew.
If you have never worked for pay since certifying, use your certification date.
| Credential | Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) |
|---|---|
| Registry | Virginia Nurse Aide Registry (Virginia Board of Nursing) · (804) 367-4569 |
| Training required | 140 hours |
| Exam | Credentia — $140 (written $45 · skills $95) |
| How renewal works | Stays active through paid work inside the window — no calendar expiry while you keep working. Renewal fee: $30. |
| Keep-active work rule | You renew every year and must attest that you performed paid nursing-related activities at some point within the 2 years immediately before your expiration date. Virginia's regulation (18VAC90-25-80) does not set a minimum number of hours - but if you performed no paid nursing-related work at all in those 2 years, you must repeat and pass the nurse aide state examination before you can renew. |
| Continuing education | The Virginia Board of Nursing has no continuing education requirement for certified nurse aides. |
| Who reports your work | You do — nobody files it for you |
Changing soon: Training length rose from 120 to 140 clock hours (at least 20 lab hours and 40 clinical hours) effective May 12, 2023 under 18VAC90-26-50 - many third-party sites still list 120. The annual CNA renewal fee in the current regulation text is $30 (older versions show $45/$50).
If your certificate has lapsed for more than 90 days you must file a reinstatement application (online) and pay the $30 fee, and either verify paid nursing-related work in the 2 years before the certificate expired AND within the preceding 2 years, or show you repeated and passed the nurse aide state examination.
No separate long-lapse retraining rule was found in 18VAC90-25-80: the same reinstatement route applies - work verification covering both windows, or repeat and pass the state examination. Virginia does not publish a number of years after which full retraining is forced for a lapsed CNA.
Trap: renewal is annual ($30) but the work look-back is 2 years, so an aide can renew once with no recent work and only hit the retest wall at the next cycle. Certificates lapsed 90 days or less use the simpler renewal path; over 90 days requires the reinstatement application. A prior finding of abuse, neglect or misappropriation makes you ineligible for reinstatement except through the neglect-removal petition in 18VAC90-25-81.
Virginia 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.
Application fee: $0. Certification by endorsement is free (Board application fee $0). You must be a graduate of a state-approved nurse aide education program meeting 42 CFR 483.152 clinical/competency requirements, have completed a competency evaluation, be currently registered in another state with no finding of abuse, neglect or misappropriation, and submit verification from each state where you have been registered, certified or licensed (unless electronic verification is available). Initial endorsement applications are accepted exclusively online. Advanced Certified Nurse Aide is a separate, higher credential ($25 application, $20 annual renewal) requiring 3 years as a CNA plus 120 hours of advanced training - do not confuse its fees with standard CNA endorsement, which is $0.
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 Virginia | Fee | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Alaska | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Arizona | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Arkansas | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| California | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Colorado | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Connecticut | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Delaware | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| District of Columbia | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Florida | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Georgia | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Hawaii | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Idaho | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Illinois | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Indiana | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Iowa | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Kansas | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Kentucky | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Louisiana | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Maine | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Maryland | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Massachusetts | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Michigan | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Minnesota | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Mississippi | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Missouri | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Montana | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Nebraska | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Nevada | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| New Hampshire | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| New Jersey | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| New Mexico | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| New York | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| North Carolina | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| North Dakota | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Ohio | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Oklahoma | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Oregon | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Pennsylvania | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Rhode Island | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| South Carolina | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| South Dakota | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Tennessee | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Texas | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Utah | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Vermont | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Virginia | Same state — no transfer needed | ||
| Washington | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| West Virginia | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Wisconsin | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
| Wyoming | Accepted as-is | $0 | Virginia endorses an active, good-standing certification with no application fee and no retest. Application and background check still apply. |
The kit carries Virginia's full recovery path — the forms, the order to file them, the phone scripts — plus transfer checklists for every destination. See the kit →
