How to get a Certified Nurse Aide license in Minnesota

Who needs a Certified Nurse Aide license

Nursing or nursing-related services in a nursing home or certified boarding care home, assigned by the director of nursing and supervised by a registered nurse.⁶

Work that does not need this license:

• Employees of Christian Science nursing homes are exempt.⁶

Other rules on who may do this work:

• A nursing home may hire someone not yet on the Registry if they enroll in an approved course at hire and finish training, testing and Registry listing within 4 months (not for agency staff or test-out/challenge candidates).⁷

Requirements for a Certified Nurse Aide license

Education or training

At least 75 clock hours²
Complete an MDH-approved Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Program (NATCEP) of at least 75 clock hours, including at least 16 hours of supervised practical training (performing tasks on an individual under the direct supervision of an RN or LPN); self-study hours do not count.²
Who may teach it: Programs and curricula must be MDH-approved (MDH Health Care Provider Directory lists training and test sites); aides hired by or with an offer from a certified nursing home or boarding care home before training cannot be charged for training or testing.⁸
Alternative: Test-out/challenge: you may take the knowledge and skills tests without an approved training program, but cannot work as a nurse aide until both are passed.⁷

Exam

Minnesota Nurse Aide Competency Test (knowledge test and skills test)³
Given by: D&SDT-Headmaster (tests given at Minnesota State colleges and universities or MDH-approved in-facility test sites)³
Passing score: 74%³
When you can take it: After completing an approved training program (the program enters you in Headmaster TMU), or at any time as a challenge candidate.³
Knowledge test: 70 questions, 120-minute testing period, given on-site or virtually; also offered in Spanish, Somali and Hmong³
Skills test: in person at a test site with an RN Test Observer and an Actor⁵
Retakes: 4 attempts at the knowledge test and 3 at the skills test; if you use them all up you must complete another approved training program before retesting. Cheating bars testing for 45 days.³
Time limit: up to 24 months³
Exam waived: No test for aides in good standing on another state's registry (interstate endorsement).⁶

Background check

Background check required⁴
Substantiated findings of maltreatment are entered on the Registry and bar work in nursing homes and certified boarding care homes.⁹

Social Security number

SSN required: the registry account must match your name, date of birth and Social Security number.¹⁰

How much a Certified Nurse Aide license costs

Each line is a separate charge as the board lists it. The board does not publish a combined total, so none is shown here.

How to apply

1. Find an MDH-approved training program (MDH Health Care Provider Directory, "nurse aide training sites"). If a certified nursing home or boarding care home has hired you or offered you a job, it may not charge you for training or testing.¹¹
2. Complete the program (at least 75 hours, 16 of them supervised practical training). The program enters you in Headmaster's TMU system for either the Minnesota State or the in-facility server; you then test in that server only.²
3. Register for the knowledge and skills tests: on the Minnesota State Nursing Assistant Testing site (college test sites) or with an MDH-approved in-facility test site. Challenge candidates use the Minnesota State site or Headmaster Form 1101.³
4. Pass both tests within your 24-month cycle (4 knowledge attempts, 3 skills attempts). MDH adds you to the Registry and notifies you by email or text.¹⁰
5. Create your account on the Minnesota Nurse Aide Registry (nar.web.health.state.mn.us) to see your certificate number and expiry date, print your certificate and renew.¹⁰

Apply online

nar.web.health.state.mn.us¹⁰

Temporary or provisional license

No temporary certificate; a nursing home may employ a trainee for up to 4 months while they train, test and get on the Registry.⁶

Processing time

New test passers are added by MDH and notified by email or text; MDH asks for up to 30 business days for renewal and interstate endorsement reviews.¹⁰

Renewal and continuing education

When it expires

Renew online before the expiry date (MDH suggests at least 60 days before) by submitting employment history and your latest pay stub; employers can also report staff.¹²

Required topics

Work requirement: at least one documented day (e.g. 8 consecutive hours) of paid nursing or nursing-related services in the previous 24 months; orientation, training and in-service hours do not count.¹²

If it expires

Expired less than 24 months: submit employment history and pay stub(s) through the registry; if approved the certificate becomes current.¹²
Expired more than 24 months: retest and pass both the knowledge and skills tests.¹²

Renew online

nar.web.health.state.mn.us¹²

Moving to Minnesota with a license from another state

These are the routes the Minnesota Nurse Aide Registry publishes for the Certified Nurse Aide license.

City and county rules

No local license: nurse aide listing is a statewide MDH registry.¹

Check a license or report a problem

Before you hire a nursing assistant in Minnesota, you can confirm the license is current on the board's own search. Every board we cover in Minnesota is on the Minnesota license lookup page.

Look up a license

nar.web.health.state.mn.us¹⁴

File a complaint

health.state.mn.us⁹

Laws and rules

The requirements above come from these laws and board rules.

• Minn. Stat. 144A.61 (nursing assistant training, competency evaluation and registry)
• Minn. Stat. 144A.611 (reimbursable expenses for nursing assistant training and competency evaluations)
• Minn. Stat. 144.057 (background studies on nursing home and other direct-contact personnel)
• 42 CFR 483.150-483.158 (nurse aide training, competency evaluation and registry)

Rule changes since January 2024

• August 5, 2024: Knowledge test pass mark set at 52 of 70 questions (74%); a fourth knowledge test attempt was added permanently.³

Common questions

Certified nursing assistant (CNA) licenses in other states

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