To transfer a CNA certification to another state, you apply to the new state's nurse aide registry — the process states call reciprocity or endorsement.
There is no automatic transfer: the Texas candidate handbook tells movers to contact the destination registry because requirements vary from state to state.
This guide covers what applications ask for, where a state may make you retest, and working while a transfer is pending.
Is there CNA reciprocity between states?
There is no national CNA certification to carry with you.
Federal rules require every state to establish and maintain a nurse aide registry that is promptly accessible to the public and health care providers (42 CFR 483.156(a)), so the credential exists state by state.
Reciprocity is the application that moves your listing from one state's registry onto another state's.
State agencies name it differently: Alaska, Arizona, DC, Florida, Oregon and Vermont describe endorsement; Louisiana, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Georgia describe reciprocity; Nebraska's form is called the Interstate Endorsement form.
What the names share is the step they describe: a filing with the destination state, decided by that state.
The Texas candidate handbook (Prometric's CIB) puts it directly.
Aides moving out of Texas "must contact the Registry of that state to see if your CNA status can be transferred to that state as requirements vary from state to state."
The Nurse Licensure Compact, the multistate license arrangement for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, had 43 participating jurisdictions as of October 12, 2026 — it is a compact for nurse licenses, not a CNA credential.
A CNA moving between two Compact states still files the destination state's application, and Nursys — the system behind nurse license verification — covers RN and LPN/VN licenses only, not nurse aide certifications.
Nursing homes work under the mirror image of that rule.
Before allowing an individual to serve as a nurse aide, a nursing home must seek information from every state registry it believes will include information on that person (42 CFR 483.35(d)(5)).
Your record does not vanish when you cross a state line, and neither does the paperwork: the application, not the move, is the step that changes where you may work.
If you are still building the credential itself, the certified nursing assistant career guide covers training, the competency exam and the first registry listing.
What do you need before you apply?
The state rules documented below ask for different combinations of the same ingredients.
Here is what shows up, with the states that ask for each.
- An active listing in good standing. Indiana requires a current, active certification with no verified complaints or disciplinary action, and Mississippi limits reciprocity to aides placed on another state's registry under OBRA '87 training and competency requirements who are currently active and in good standing there.
- Proof of identity and of your training. Texas asks for the out-of-state certificate, photo ID and Social Security card with its TULIP application, and Wisconsin asks for proof of a minimum 75-hour state-approved program including its completion date.
- A background check. Texas runs a DPS criminal history check for all last names, Vermont requires a federal criminal background check, and Alaska requires fingerprints for state and FBI checks.
- Proof of recent paid work, where the state requires it. Vermont looks for at least 50 days (400 hours) of nurse assistant or similar employment in the past two years, and Delaware for 3 months of full-time paid CNA work (420 clock hours) within 24 months.
- Work hours in other shapes. Arizona's LNA endorsement requires active listing within the last 2 years plus 160 work hours or recent training and testing. New York wants a letter proving 7 hours of paid nurse aide work in the past 24 months when the other registry shows no expiration dates, and North Carolina requires at least 8 hours of paid RN-supervised nurse aide work in the previous 24 months.
- Extra training where a state adds it. Oregon requires 1 hour of pain management training from the Oregon Pain Management Commission within the last 36 months, and New Jersey's Route 1 asks for 24 hours of approved continuing education in the prior 24 months, including 12 hours on Alzheimer's and dementia.
- Eligibility conditions that have nothing to do with your record. Idaho grants reciprocity only with an Idaho job offer or Idaho residency, Michigan accepts training and testing only from states on its approved list, and Alabama has no reciprocity application form — a qualifying employer, such as a nursing home, triggers the verification.
Check your own status before you file anywhere.
Registries must remove aides who have performed no nursing or nursing-related services for 24 consecutive months, unless the entry includes a documented abuse, neglect or misappropriation finding (42 CFR 483.156(c)(2)), so a long break can leave no active listing to transfer.
The federal 24-month rule points the same direction: an 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 (42 CFR 483.35(d)(6)).
Look yourself up on your home state's own registry, and not on Nursys, which covers RN and LPN/VN licenses only.
Money is its own line item: states may not charge nurse aides any registration fee for being listed on the registry (42 CFR 483.156(b)(4)), but a reciprocity application can carry its own fee — $35 in Louisiana, $25 in Mississippi, $50 in New York.
Confirm with the destination registry
Which states make you retest or retrain?
Two patterns run through the documented rules: states that list you on your home credential, and states that put an exam somewhere in the route.
Colorado shows both patterns in one state.
Colorado grants endorsement under the Occupational Credential Portability Program to aides certified in good standing in another state with substantially equivalent credentials.
An out-of-state-trained aide who does not hold a current certificate takes the other route: Colorado requires that aide to pass the NNAAP exam, with proof of completing a state-approved training program.
Texas keeps a testing door open for recent graduates: aides trained in another state within the past 24 months may test through an out-of-state training eligibility route.
Expiration is the other retest trigger.
Texas registry certificates are valid for two years from issue.
A Texas aide who has not both performed nursing or nursing-related duties in a health care setting and completed 24 hours of in-service education in the 24 months since registration or renewal is in expired status and must retake both exams.
New Jersey's Route 2 swaps Route 1's continuing education for experience plus its own exam: 24 months of full-time CNA nursing-home work, plus passing New Jersey's skills and written/oral exams.
Tennessee is the sharpest documented edge: nurse aides certified in Florida must complete a Tennessee program and pass the Tennessee exam.
Elsewhere the exam is a maybe rather than a rule: Hawaii's DCCA decides whether to list a reciprocity applicant directly or require the exam, and Georgia's contractor may still require it after the transfer form.
North Carolina runs a mirror route: an aide trained in another state within 24 months can seek a training waiver followed by testing instead of reciprocity.
Underneath the state variations sits the federal rule: 24 consecutive months without paid nursing-related services means a new training and competency evaluation program or a new competency evaluation program.
If your route does end in testing, the paperwork has a federal clock: a record of passing the competency evaluation must be added to the state registry within 30 days of the date the person is found competent (42 CFR 483.154(e)(2)).
How long does a transfer take?
Honest answer: there is no single number.
The state rules documented on this page set their own clocks, and our research found none that publishes a standard processing time for the whole transfer.
The closest documented figure is a background-check allowance: New Jersey requires a Criminal Background Investigation by the State Police and FBI from reciprocity applicants and says to allow at least 12 weeks.
The temporary certifications two documented states issue are the nearest visible measure of the wait.
DC grants a 90-day temporary certification, for a $50 fee, to CNAs in good standing in Maryland or Virginia while their endorsement is processed, and Alaska may issue a 6-month temporary certification while its background check is pending.
One documented rule shows why the mechanics matter: New Mexico files testing, renewal and reciprocity applications only online through the Headmaster TMU system, and mailed, faxed or emailed applications are not accepted.
Two habits protect the rest of the timeline: file before you move, and keep your home-state listing active while you wait — in Texas, for example, certificates run two years and an expired status there means retaking both exams.
When you request the application, ask the registry for its current processing time; that answer changes faster than any guide, including this one.
Can you work while the transfer is pending?
The federal baseline for nursing homes is verification, not intention.
Before letting someone serve as a nurse aide, a nursing home must receive registry verification that the person met competency evaluation requirements, unless the person is a full-time employee in an approved program or recently completed one and is not yet listed (42 CFR 483.35(d)(4)).
A reciprocity application in progress is not that verification: until the new state lists you, a nursing home there has nothing on its own registry to check.
The safe question is therefore what the destination state allows while an application is pending, and the documented rules include temporary answers.
DC grants its 90-day temporary certification to Maryland and Virginia aides in good standing for exactly this gap.
Alaska's temporary certification can cover up to 6 months while the fingerprint check runs.
Louisiana's answer is emergency-shaped: during an emergency, a CNA certified in another state may work there for up to 30 days on home-state verification, and longer work requires Louisiana reciprocity.
South Carolina draws a hard line: its nursing facilities may not give a reciprocity applicant resident contact until reciprocity is granted or the aide passes both parts of the South Carolina competency evaluation.
Alabama sits at the other extreme: it has no reciprocity application form, and an out-of-state CNA reaches the Alabama registry when a qualifying employer, such as a nursing home, hires them and has the certification verified.
Treat every one of those as that state's rule, not a pattern.
Ask the destination registry and the employer what work, if any, is possible before your listing is granted, and get the answer in writing before your first shift.
Once the new registry lists you, browse CNA jobs in the new state.
Registries are open to the public and health care providers (42 CFR 483.156(a)), and nursing homes must seek registry information before allowing anyone to serve as a nurse aide (42 CFR 483.35(d)(5)).
A filed application is not a listing
CNA reciprocity by state
The table gathers the state rules our research documents, drawn from each state agency's published rule or the candidate handbook of its testing contractor.
It covers the rules we could verify — application route, the requirements attached, and the documented fees — and it is not a substitute for the destination registry's own current page.
| State | What the state's published rule says |
|---|---|
| Alabama | No reciprocity application form: an out-of-state CNA joins the Alabama registry when hired by a qualifying employer, such as a nursing home, that has the certification verified. Aides seeking only home health work cannot transfer this way. |
| Alaska | Endorsement for aides who completed a federally compliant training program, hold a current unencumbered certification and passed a competency evaluation. Applicants submit fingerprints for state and FBI checks, and a 6-month temporary certification may be issued while the check is pending. |
| Arizona | Endorsement places CNAs listed on another state's registry on the Arizona CNA Registry. LNA endorsement requires active listing within the last 2 years plus 160 work hours or recent training and testing. |
| Arkansas | The online Out-of-State Registry Reciprocity Form 9110AR, with a processing fee. Applicants must not already be on the Arkansas registry. |
| Colorado | Endorsement under the Occupational Credential Portability Program for aides certified in good standing in another state with substantially equivalent credentials. An out-of-state-trained aide without a current certificate must pass the NNAAP exam with proof of completing a state-approved training program. |
| Connecticut | Route 7 reciprocity for aides active and in good standing on another state's registry, with no exam required. |
| Delaware | A current CNA certificate plus, within 24 months, 3 months of full-time paid CNA work (420 clock hours) or a training or competency program with hours at least equal to Delaware's. |
| District of Columbia | Endorsement with a current unencumbered CNA certification. CNAs in good standing in Maryland or Virginia can get a 90-day temporary certification for a $50 fee while endorsement is processed. |
| Florida | Certifies out-of-state CNAs by endorsement under s. 456.0145(2), F.S., using Board of Nursing form DH-MQA-5102 (the MOBILE application, revised 8/2025). |
| Georgia | A transfer (reciprocity) form. Current and in good standing on the other registry, proof of employment in the past 24 consecutive months, and the contractor may still require the exam. |
| Hawaii | Route 2 (reciprocity) for aides certified elsewhere. The DCCA decides whether to list them directly or require the exam. |
| Idaho | Reciprocity only with an Idaho job offer or Idaho residency; incomplete or illegible applications are automatically denied. Iowa and Montana CNAs have a separate transfer application. |
| Indiana | A current, active CNA certification in another state, in good standing with no verified complaints or disciplinary action. |
| Kentucky | Since March 20, 2023, SRNA reciprocity, reinstatement and renewal applications are filed through the KBN Nurse Portal (ORBS system); the registry no longer mails renewal reminders. |
| Louisiana | Reciprocity through Prometric (Route 8): application, $35 fee, SSN card copy and a Louisiana or military ID. The LDH gives final approval. |
| Massachusetts | Open to CNAs certified in another state, current and in good standing, and never certified in Massachusetts. Since December 4, 2023, applications go through D&S Diversified Technologies on Form 9110. |
| Michigan | Reciprocity only for aides trained and tested in states on its approved list — programs of at least 75 hours with no exemptions from training or testing. As of October 12, 2026 the list included Pennsylvania, Indiana, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Nevada, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Ohio, and did not include Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts or Virginia. |
| Mississippi | Reciprocity only for aides placed on another state's registry under OBRA '87 training and competency requirements, currently active and in good standing. Applications file online in TMU with a $25 processing administrative fee, and D&SDT-Headmaster staff decide eligibility. |
| Nebraska | An Interstate Endorsement form. |
| New Jersey | Route 1: 24 hours of approved CE in the prior 24 months, including 12 hours on Alzheimer's/dementia. Route 2: 24 months of full-time CNA nursing-home work plus passing New Jersey's skills and written/oral exams. A State Police and FBI background check applies; allow at least 12 weeks. |
| New Mexico | Applications file only online through the Headmaster TMU system; mail, fax and email are not accepted. Reciprocity charges no fee and gives dual certification, which the CNA must maintain separately in each state. |
| New York | Route 2 reciprocity: application, copy of the out-of-state certificate and fees ($50 reciprocity fee). If the other state's registry shows no expiration dates, a letter proving 7 hours of paid nurse aide work in the past 24 months is required. |
| North Carolina | Reciprocity with at least 8 hours of paid RN-supervised nurse aide work in the previous 24 months (out-of-state private duty work does not count), or a training waiver followed by testing. |
| Oregon | Endorsement with an active CNA in another state plus 1 hour of pain management training from the Oregon Pain Management Commission within the last 36 months. Military transcript, active RN/LPN license or student nurse status are alternate qualification routes. |
| Pennsylvania | Reciprocity for aides active and in good standing on another state's registry, submitted through a Credentia Platform account. |
| South Carolina | Online reciprocity through the Credentia Platform. Nursing facilities may not give the applicant resident contact until reciprocity is granted or both parts of the state competency evaluation are passed. |
| South Dakota | Endorsement for aides who completed a training program of at least 75 hours, are actively registered on another state's registry, and have no findings or convictions of abuse, neglect or misappropriation. |
| Tennessee | Reciprocity Form 9110 on tn.tmutest.com. Nurse aides certified in Florida must complete a Tennessee program and pass the Tennessee exam. |
| Texas | A TULIP reciprocity application with the out-of-state certificate, photo ID and Social Security card, plus a Texas DPS criminal history check for all last names. |
| Vermont | LNA licensure by endorsement: a nursing assistant license or certification from another state, a federal criminal background check, and at least 50 days (400 hours) of nurse assistant or similar employment in the past two years (Rule 10-3). |
| Virginia | Certification by endorsement (online application) for aides tested and certified in another state. |
| West Virginia | Reciprocity from another state for aides in good standing with substantially equivalent education and testing requirements — one of three registry routes alongside passing the competency evaluation and an RN/LPN challenge. |
| Wisconsin | An Out-of-State (reciprocity) application on the Headmaster site with proof of a minimum 75-hour state-approved training program including its completion date. |
A state missing from this table still runs a registry — federal rules require every state to establish and maintain one — so contact that state's nurse aide registry for its own application and current fee schedule.
Every requirement above was read in October 2026.
Forms, fees and portals change, so file from the destination registry's own current page, not from this table alone.
Career information, not licensing, legal, medical, benefits or tax advice: reciprocity rules are state rules, so confirm the current application, fees and processing times with the destination state's nurse aide registry before you apply.