You renew a CNA license with the state nurse aide registry that lists you: the registry sets your renewal cycle, the proof of paid nursing-related work, any in-service or continuing-education hours, and the form or portal.
Federal rules add one hard limit: a nurse aide who goes 24 consecutive months without providing nursing or nursing-related services for pay must complete a new training and competency evaluation program or a new competency evaluation program.
This guide covers the clocks, the paperwork, the fees and the state rules.
How long is a CNA certification good for?
Two clocks decide how long a CNA certification stays good: the certificate term your state's registry sets, and the federal rule on paid work.
Renewal runs through the registry because federal law requires every state to establish and maintain a nurse aide registry that is accessible to the public and health care providers.
There is no national renewal cycle on top of that: the certificate term is each state's own call.
The terms differ visibly from state to state.
Texas nurse aide registry certificates are valid for two years from issue.
Louisiana's certification expires exactly two years from the certification date.
California renews every two years on a birthday cycle, so an initial certificate runs for two birthdays.
Washington's nursing assistant credentials renew every year, on the holder's birthday.
Federal rules do set one consequence, through CMS's nursing home rules.
Under 42 CFR 483.35(d)(6), a nurse aide who goes 24 consecutive months without providing nursing or nursing-related services for pay must complete a new training and competency evaluation program or a new competency evaluation program.
Registries mirror the same clock.
A registry must remove an aide who has performed no nursing or nursing-related services for 24 consecutive months, unless the entry includes a documented abuse, neglect or misappropriation finding.
Findings are the exception that does not age out.
An abuse, neglect or misappropriation finding stays on the registry permanently unless it was made in error, the aide is found not guilty in court, or the state is notified of the aide's death.
The two clocks are separate, so a certificate can sit inside its term while the 24-month paid-work window runs out — which is how an active-looking certification lapses.
If you are still building the foundation, the certified nursing assistant career guide covers how the credential is earned in the first place.
What do you need to renew?
Renewal forms differ, but what registries ask for falls into four groups: proof of paid nursing-related work, in-service or continuing-education hours where the state requires them, a clear record, and the renewal filed through the registry's channel.
Paid nursing-related work.
As written, the federal rule turns on whether paid nursing-related services happened inside 24 consecutive months; the rule names no hour minimum.
States do set minimums.
New Jersey asks for at least seven hours of paid nursing-related work in a licensed facility or agency within the 24 months before expiration.
Alabama and Arizona each count at least eight hours inside 24 months.
Vermont sits at the far end: at least 50 days, or 400 hours, of nurse-assistant employment in the two years before renewal.
Proof works differently too.
Idaho verifies paid work with the employer's signature, or with W-2s and pay stubs.
Vermont takes the hours as an attestation at renewal and then audits a random percentage of licensees 30 days after the renewal period ends.
In-service and continuing education.
Coursework is where renewal rules part ways.
Texas requires at least 24 hours of in-service education every two years, including geriatrics and dementia care.
Florida requires 24 hours per two-year biennium, prorated at one hour per month for aides certified mid-biennium, and asks aides to keep compliance records for four years.
California asks the most of the states here: 48 hours of in-service training or CEUs, with at least 12 in each year and at most 24 of the hours taken online through CDPH-approved providers.
Keep this separate from your employer's in-service duty.
Federal rules require nursing homes to give nurse aides at least 12 hours of in-service training per year, including dementia management and resident abuse prevention training — an obligation that runs alongside whatever your state asks for at renewal.
Alabama states the counter-case outright: continuing education does not keep an Alabama CNA certification active.
A clear record.
New Jersey pairs renewal with an updated fingerprint-based background check, and the aide must have no revocation or suspension on record.
The renewal itself.
Every registry keeps its own channel.
Alabama skips the form entirely: the state has no renewal application, because certification stays active while the aide works at least 8 paid hours every 24 months under RN supervision in a nursing home, hospital, home health agency, hospice or mental health facility.
Renewal rules are state rules
Does unpaid or private-duty work count?
The federal 24-month rule counts nursing or nursing-related services performed for monetary compensation.
Unpaid caregiving — volunteer shifts or family care without pay — does not register on that clock as the rule is written.
Qualifying settings are named by the states, not by the federal text.
Alabama counts paid hours under RN supervision in a nursing home, hospital, home health agency, hospice or mental health facility.
New Jersey names a licensed facility or agency.
Texas pairs the work with coursework.
To stay active, the aide needs both nursing-related work and 24 hours of in-service education inside the 24 months since registration or renewal — miss either and the aide is in expired status, retaking both exams.
Private-duty work sits in the middle.
A paid private-duty shift through an agency is paid work, but whether it counts as nursing-related services is the registry's call, because states name their own qualifying settings.
The same boundary question applies to hours spent in non-medical caregiver work: whether a registry counts them as nursing or nursing-related services is exactly the question to put to the registry before you rely on them at renewal.
Can you renew online?
Texas moved renewal online on July 5, 2023: nurse aide applicants and certificate holders apply, renew and print certificates through HHSC's TULIP portal, and the renewal window opens three months before expiration, with either the aide or the employer filing.
California's CDPH runs OASYS for renewal applications, a process the state describes as online from start to finish; aides may renew up to six months before expiration, and renewal applications also go out by mail about four months before expiration.
Massachusetts has renewed CNAs online in the DPH Health Profession Licensing System since December 4, 2023.
Vendor portals matter because a state can contract out day-to-day registry operation to a non-state entity while staying accountable for it.
Missouri renewals run through Headmaster's TestMaster Universe portal, where the aide signs in and lists work hours and employers.
New Mexico files testing, renewal and reciprocity applications only online through the same TMU system.
South Carolina files renewals online through Credentia.
Kentucky's renewal applications go through the state board's Nurse Portal, and its registry no longer mails renewal reminders or certification letters — the renewal window is the aide's to track.
Whether your own state renews online, on paper, or not at all is the registry's answer to give, so start from the renewal page your registry publishes.
What does renewal cost?
One fee is settled federally: a state may not impose any charges related to registration on individuals listed in the nurse aide registry.
Renewal itself is priced state by state.
Idaho charges nothing to renew a CNA certificate.
Florida's biennial renewal fee is $50.00.
New Mexico's renewal fee is $25, in a filing window that runs from 30 days before expiration to 30 days after.
Virginia's 2026 fee schedule lists CNA renewal at $30 on an annual cycle.
Washington charges $95 to renew a nursing assistant credential and $85 to apply.
Fee schedules change, so treat each figure as of its source and confirm the current amount with your registry.
Renewal rules by state
The rules this page cites, side by side, with the federal floor first.
Empty cells mean the sources behind this page do not state that detail for the state — the registry's own renewal page is the authority for anything left blank.
| State | Renewal cycle | Paid-work requirement | In-service / CE | Channel and fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal floor (CMS) | No federal cycle — every state runs its own registry | 24 consecutive months without paid nursing-related services means a new training or competency evaluation | Nursing homes: at least 12 hours a year, employer-provided | Registry listing carries no charge |
| Alabama | No renewal application | At least 8 paid hours every 24 months, under RN supervision, in named facility types | CE does not keep the certification active | Active status follows the work; no form to file |
| Arizona | — | At least 8 hours within the past 24 months | — | — |
| California | Every 2 years; initial certificate runs two birthdays | Paid nursing-related work in a health care facility under licensed supervision | 48 hours in-service or CEUs; at least 12 per year; at most 24 online | CDPH's OASYS portal, up to 6 months early |
| Florida | Two-year biennium | 24 consecutive months without paid services ends it | 24 hours per biennium, prorated 1 hour per month; records kept 4 years | $50.00 biennial renewal fee |
| Idaho | Expires 24 months after the last paid day | At least 8 hours of paid work; employer signature or W-2/pay stubs | — | No renewal fee |
| Massachusetts | Every 2 years | At least 8 hours of paid nursing-related work in the past two years | — | Online in the DPH licensing system since December 4, 2023 |
| Missouri | — | Work hours and employers listed in the renewal | — | Headmaster's TMU portal |
| New Jersey | 2 years | At least 7 hours paid, in a licensed facility or agency, within 24 months | — | Updated fingerprint-based background check at renewal |
| New Mexico | Every 2 years once the employer verifies employment | At least 8 paid hours of CNA work within the past 24 months | — | Only online through TMU; $25 fee, filed from 30 days before to 30 days after expiration |
| South Carolina | — | At least one documented day (8 consecutive hours) for pay in the previous 24 months, under RN or LPN supervision | — | Renewal filed online through Credentia |
| Texas | Two years from issue | Qualifying work verified on Form 5506-NAR; work plus 24 in-service hours, or the status is expired | At least 24 hours every two years, including geriatrics and dementia care | HHSC's TULIP portal, from 3 months before expiration |
| Vermont | — | At least 50 days (400 hours) in the two years before renewal | — | Hours attested at renewal, then audited |
| Virginia | Initial certification 2 years; renewal filed annually | Attestation of paid nursing-related work within the two years before expiration | — | $30 renewal on the 2026 fee schedule |
| Washington | Every year, on the holder's birthday | — | — | $95 renewal; $85 to apply |
If a certification has already lapsed, check which requirement was missed: the paid work, the in-service hours or the filing window.
New Mexico's 30-day grace period is one such window, and missing it means retaking the state exam.
Texas places an aide who misses qualifying work or in-service into expired status, with both exams to retake.
After 24 consecutive months without paid nursing-related services, Florida requires a new training and competency program or a new competency evaluation.
And a registry must drop an aide with no nursing or nursing-related services for 24 consecutive months, unless the entry carries a finding — which stays.
Career information, not licensing, legal, medical or tax advice: renewal rules are state rules, so confirm the current cycle, work proof, CE hours and fees with your state's nurse aide registry before you renew.