How to get a Certified Nurse Aide license in Colorado

Colorado nursing assistant licenses

Colorado issues 2 nursing assistant credentials. Each has its own section below; the table shows what each one covers and its headline requirements.

Who needs a Certified Nurse Aide license

Performs nurse aide tasks under the supervision of a licensed health care professional (dentist, physician, podiatrist, RN, LPN or other licensed or certified professional). An RN may find a CNA competent for listed expanded-scope tasks.²

Other rules on who may do this work:

• Telehealth Credential: a CNA with an active certificate in another state may apply to practice telehealth only, with a Colorado registered agent.¹

Requirements for a Certified Nurse Aide license

Exam

Colorado nurse aide Competency evaluation (written and manual skills components)²
Given by: Credentia³
When you can take it: Verified graduates of a nurse aide training program; also students who have completed 5 semester credit hours of nursing (or psychiatric technician) courses with nurse aide content, foreign-trained PN/RN graduates (credentials translated into English) and, at Board discretion, military-trained applicants.²
Written component²
Manual skills component²
Retakes: Fail any component three times and you must repeat a nurse aide training program before testing or applying again.²
Time limit: Pass both written and skills components within two years of the Board receiving the certification application.²
Exam waived: Not required for certification by endorsement of a current certificate from another state, US territory or the federal government (Occupational Credential Portability Program).²

Background check

Background check required¹
Applicants answer general and criminal history screening questions and upload supporting documents. A criminal history does not automatically disqualify; the Board reviews each case.¹

Residency or citizenship

Must be legally present in the U.S. (stated in the FAQ answer for nurses trained abroad).⁴

Also required

Applicants complete the Healthcare Professions Profile.¹

Also required

Nursing-facility employers must review each nurse aide at least every 12 months and provide in-service education (federal rule).⁵

How to apply

1. Complete a Colorado Board-approved nurse aide training program (at least 75 hours, including 16 classroom and 16 supervised clinical hours).²
2. Apply for the Competency evaluation online through Colorado's exam vendor, Credentia, and pay the application and exam fees.²
3. Pass the written and manual skills components within two years of the Board receiving your application. Three failures of any component means retraining.²
4. Complete the Board's requirements: verification of education, the criminal history screening questions and the Healthcare Professions Profile. Applications not completed within one year expire.²
5. Already certified in another state? Apply for Certification by Endorsement through DORA Online Services and upload verification of your other-state certificate.¹

Apply online

credentia.com³

Temporary or provisional license

Military spouses stationed in Colorado are entitled to a temporary license under C.R.S. 12-20-202.²

Renewal and continuing education

When it expires

To renew, attest to at least 8 hours of paid nursing care activities in the 24 months before renewal. Otherwise you must show you passed the Competency evaluation within the past 24 months. There is a 60-day grace period after expiry, and a late fee may apply.²

If it expires

Expired less than two years: reinstatement application and fee. Expired more than two years: retake and pass the Competency evaluation and file an examination application.⁶

Moving to Colorado with a license from another state

These are the routes the State Board of Nursing publishes for the Certified Nurse Aide license. The other nursing assistant licenses have their own routes in their sections below.

Certified Nurse Aide with Medication Aide Authority (CNA-Med)

A CNA-Med may administer regularly prescribed medications they were trained on (oral, buccal, sublingual, ophthalmic, otic, nasal, vaginal, rectal and transdermal routes), measure vital signs and oxygen saturation, and report reactions, all under a supervising licensed nurse.²

Requirements

Minimum age

18 years old²

High school diploma or GED

Required²

Education or training

At least 100 clock hours²
Complete a Board-approved Medication Aide Training Program of at least 100 hours (at least 60 hours classroom and laboratory, at least 40 hours clinical) with a final grade of at least "C".²
Who may teach it: Board-approved Medication Aide Training Program; classroom, laboratory and general clinical supervision by a qualified RN or LPN.²
Alternative: Military applicants may show substantially equivalent training on an official transcript.²

Experience

At least 1,000 hours of on-the-job training²
At least 1,000 hours of documented work as a CNA within the last 24 months (or military equivalent).²
Supervision: Recommendation required from the CNA's current supervising nurse, director of nursing or nursing home administrator.²
License you must hold first: Active, unencumbered Colorado nurse aide certification.²

Exam

Medication Aide Competency Evaluation (MACE), written²
Given by: Credentia¹
When you can take it: After completing an approved Medication Aide Training Program.²
Written Competency Evaluation²
Retakes: Pass in three or fewer attempts within the one-year window of Rule 1.18(F)(1)(h).²
Time limit: Pass the written Competency Evaluation within one year (rule wording: "within one year of the completion receipt of the Medication Aide Training application"); the Medication Aide Authority application itself must be filed within one year of completing the training program.²
Exam waived: Endorsement applicants who have held medication aide authority in another state for at least one year.¹

Background check

Background check required¹
General and criminal history screening questions on the application.¹

How to apply

1. Hold an active, unencumbered Colorado CNA certificate and work at least 1,000 documented hours as a CNA within 24 months. Get a written recommendation from your supervising nurse, director of nursing or nursing home administrator.²
2. Complete a Board-approved Medication Aide Training Program (at least 100 hours) with a C or better. Have the program coordinator complete the Proof of Training and Eligibility Affidavit.²
3. Apply to test with Credentia and pass the written MACE in three or fewer attempts within one year.²
4. Within one year of finishing training, file the Medication Aide Authority application ("Passed MACE exam") online and pay the fee. Upload your CNA verification, the affidavit, your MACE result and the recommendation letter.¹

Temporary or provisional license

Military spouses stationed in Colorado are entitled to a temporary license under C.R.S. 12-20-202 (Rule 1.18(K)).²

Renewal

When it expires

Attest to at least 40 hours of paid CNA-Med work in the 24 months before renewal, or retake and pass the Competency Evaluation. There is a 60-day grace period. The authority expires when the CNA certificate expires.²

If it expires

Expired under two years: active CNA, reinstatement application and fee. Expired over two years: new recommendation, approved training, application within one year and the written exam again.⁷

From another state

Military service members, veterans and spouses: Military training equivalents are accepted for the 1,000-hour work requirement and the training program. Military spouses stationed in Colorado are entitled to a temporary license (Rule 1.18(K)).²

City and county rules

Certified Nurse AideNo local license: certification is by the Colorado State Board of Nursing (DORA).¹

Certified Nurse Aide with Medication Aide Authority (CNA-Med)No local license.²

Laws and rules

The requirements above come from these laws and board rules.

• C.R.S. 12-255-201 to 12-255-215 (Nurse Aide Practice Act, part 2 of the Nurse and Nurse Aide Practice Act), as cited in 3 CCR 716-1
• C.R.S. 12-20-202(3) (Occupational Credential Portability Program), as cited in 3 CCR 716-1 Rule 1.10(E)
• 3 CCR 716-1, Rule 1.10 (certification as a nurse aide) and Rule 1.11 (approval of nurse aide training programs)
• 42 CFR 483.35(d), 483.151-483.156
• C.R.S. 12-255-208 (medication aide authority), as cited in 3 CCR 716-1 Rules 1.12 and 1.18
• 3 CCR 716-1, Rule 1.18 (CNA with Medication Aide Authority) and Rule 1.12 (approval of medication aide training programs)

Rule changes since January 2024

• March 17, 2026: Current version of 3 CCR 716-1 (Nursing Rules and Regulations) took effect 03/17/2026.⁸

Common questions

Certified nursing assistant (CNA) licenses in other states

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