How to get a Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) license in South Carolina

South Carolina nursing assistant licenses

South Carolina 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 (CNA) license

Duties assigned by a licensed nurse; nurse aides working in South Carolina nursing homes must be certified.¹

Work that does not need this license:

• Licensed nurses, and nursing license applicants holding a Board of Nursing permit, do not need nurse aide certification.¹

Other rules on who may do this work:

• Nursing home staff enrolled in an SCDHHS-approved nurse aide training and competency evaluation program may work as aides for up to four months before certification.¹

Requirements for a Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) license

Education or training

At least 75 clock hours²
Complete a state-approved nurse aide training program using the curriculum prescribed by SCDHHS and hold its certificate of training. Federal minimum: 75 clock hours, including at least 16 hours of supervised practical training.²
Who may teach it: Training programs are approved by the S.C. Department of Health and Human Services; aides employed by or offered a job by a nursing facility when they start training may not be charged for it.²

Exam

Nurse aide competency evaluation (state-approved)¹
Retakes: Federal rule: you must be given at least three opportunities to pass; the State may set a maximum number of attempts, but no fewer than three.²

Background check

Background check required³
Fingerprints required³
Nursing home staff may not have a conviction or no-contest plea for child or adult abuse, neglect or mistreatment, or for Class A-D felonies or Class E/F felonies involving criminal sexual conduct, abuse of children, the elderly or infirm, or crimes against patients; facilities must check abuse registries before hiring.¹

How to apply

1. Enrol in a nurse aide training and competency evaluation program approved by SCDHHS (at least 75 hours, 16 supervised practical, under federal rules). If a nursing home hires you as a trainee, you may work as an aide for up to four months while enrolled.¹
2. Complete training, keep your certificate of training and pass the competency evaluation to be listed on the South Carolina Registry of Certified Nurse Aides.¹
3. Your employer has a criminal record check run through SLED before hiring you; you submit one set of fingerprints, which SLED uses for a national criminal records check.³

Temporary or provisional license

No temporary certificate; nursing homes may use an enrolled trainee as a nurse aide for up to four months.¹

Renewal and continuing education

When it expires

Federal rule: if you go 24 consecutive months without paid nursing or nursing-related work, you must complete a new training and competency evaluation program or a new competency evaluation, and the registry removes inactive entries after 24 months.²

Continuing education

At least 12 clock hours each renewal period⁵

Required topics

In-service training must include dementia management and resident abuse prevention.⁵

Approved courses

Provided by the employing nursing home.⁵

If it expires

After 24 consecutive months without paid nursing-related work, retrain and/or retest before working as a nurse aide.²

Medication Technician certification

In nursing homes, oral and topical medications, regularly scheduled insulin and prescribed anaphylactic treatments under established medical protocol; no sliding-scale insulin or other injectable medications. Trained and supervised by licensed nurses.⁴

Requirements

Education or training

Complete the SCDHHS Medication Technician Certification Program curriculum, training and competence requirements.⁴

Exam

SCDHHS medication technician certification testing⁴

Background check

Background check required³
Fingerprints required³

How to apply

1. Work in (or be hired by) a South Carolina nursing home and complete the SCDHHS Medication Technician Certification Program training and testing; you are then listed on the Medication Technician Registry.⁴

City and county rules

Certified Nurse Aide (CNA), listed on the South Carolina Registry of Certified Nurse AidesNo local license: nurse aide certification is a statewide SCDHHS registry listing.¹

Medication Technician certification (nursing homes), South Carolina Medication Technician RegistryNo local license: statewide SCDHHS Medication Technician Registry.⁴

Laws and rules

The requirements above come from these laws and board rules.

• S.C. Code Ann. Regs. 60-17 (Standards for Licensing Nursing Homes), §§ 101.L, 601.A, 603.C, 606
• S.C. Code § 44-7-2910 and § 44-7-2920 (criminal record checks for direct caregivers, incl. certified nurse assistants)
• 42 CFR 483.35(d), 483.95(g), 483.150-483.158 (nurse aide use, in-service training, training and competency evaluation, registry)
• S.C. Code § 40-33-43 (Medication Technician Certification Program; Medication Technician Registry)

Rule changes since January 2024

• May 23, 2025: The nursing home licensing rules (with the CNA definition and certification requirement) moved from R. 61-17 to R. 60-17 when DHEC's health functions transferred to the S.C. Department of Public Health.¹

Common questions

Certified nursing assistant (CNA) licenses in other states

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