Compliance guideRead at source, 28 September 2026

CNA Verification: How to Check the Nurse Aide Registry Before a CNA Starts (2026)

CNA verification means confirming on the state nurse aide registry that an aide has met the competency evaluation requirements and has no finding of abuse, neglect or misappropriation of resident property. For a Medicare or Medicaid certified nursing facility it is a federal rule: under 42 CFR 483.35(d)(4) the facility must receive registry verification before the person serves as a nurse aide, and under 483.35(d)(5) it must seek information from every state registry it believes holds a record. An aide with 24 consecutive months without paid nursing work must retrain or retest.

What the law requires before a CNA works

For a nursing facility certified for Medicare or Medicaid, 42 CFR 483.35(d) sets four rules that together make up CNA verification:

• Registry verification first (483.35(d)(4)). “Before allowing an individual to serve as a nurse aide, a facility must receive registry verification that the individual has met competency evaluation requirements.” Two exceptions: a full-time employee in a state-approved training and competency evaluation program, or someone who can prove they recently completed an approved program and is not yet on the registry. In that second case you must follow up to make sure they actually become registered.
• Every state that may hold a record (483.35(d)(5)). Before the aide serves, seek information from every state registry you believe will include information on them, not just your own.
• The 24-month rule (483.35(d)(6)). If there has been a continuous period of 24 consecutive months, since the aide last completed training and competency evaluation, in which they did no nursing or nursing-related work for pay, they must complete a new training and competency evaluation program or a new competency evaluation.
• The four-month limit (483.35(d)(1)). No one may work as a nurse aide for more than 4 months full time unless they are competent and have completed an approved program.

One more rule catches agency staffing. Under 483.35(d)(2) a facility may not use anyone on a temporary, per diem, leased or other non-permanent basis unless they meet the competency requirements. An agency CNA gets the same registry check as your own hire.

What a nurse aide registry shows

Every state must keep a nurse aide registry under 42 CFR 483.156. At minimum, each entry holds the aide’s full name, information to identify them, and the date they became eligible for placement on the registry. The state may include home health aides, if they are listed separately from nurse aides. The registry has to be “sufficiently accessible to meet the needs of the public and health care providers promptly,” and the state may not charge aides for being on it.

The part that matters most to an employer is the findings. Where the state survey agency has found abuse, neglect or misappropriation of property, the registry must record:

• Documentation of the state’s investigation, including the nature of the allegation and the evidence.
• The date and outcome of any hearing the aide chose to have.
• Any statement by the aide disputing the finding, which must be included in any response to an inquiry.

Findings go on the registry within 10 working days and stay there permanently, unless the finding was made in error, the aide was found not guilty in a court of law, or the state is notified of the aide’s death. The state must disclose finding information to anyone who asks.

Registry findings: abuse, neglect and misappropriation

A finding on the registry is not just a red flag. Under 42 CFR 483.12(a)(3), a facility must not employ or otherwise engage anyone who has had a finding entered into the state nurse aide registry concerning abuse, neglect, exploitation, mistreatment of residents or misappropriation of their property. The same rule bars anyone found guilty of those things by a court, or with a disciplinary action in effect against a professional license for them.

There is one narrow way off. Federal law (42 U.S.C. 1395i-3(g)(1)(D)) requires states to let an aide with a neglect finding petition to have their name removed, if the state determines the neglect was “a singular occurrence” and their employment and personal history show no pattern of abusive behavior or neglect. No petition can be decided before one year after the name was added. That route is for neglect only, not abuse or misappropriation.

The duty also runs the other way. Under 483.12(a)(4) the facility must report to the state nurse aide registry or licensing authorities any knowledge it has of court actions against an employee that would indicate unfitness to serve.

How to verify a CNA, step by step

• Ask for every state on the application: every state where the candidate has been certified, trained or worked as an aide, and any other names they have been listed under.
• Search your own state’s registry by certificate number or name. Match on more than a name, such as certificate number and date of birth where the registry shows them.
• Read the status and the findings, not just whether a record exists. An expired or inactive status, or any finding, stops the process until it is resolved.
• Check the 24-month line. Ask for the date of the last paid nursing or nursing-related shift. Near or past 24 months, confirm status with the registry before you offer.
• Search every other state the candidate named, as 483.35(d)(5) requires.
• Record what you checked: date, registry, result, and a printout or screenshot, so a surveyor can see verification came before the first shift.
• Finish the rest of the file: criminal history as your state requires, and an OIG exclusion check, which the registry does not replace.

CNA license lookup by state

Each state runs its own registry, sometimes through the health department, sometimes through the board of nursing, and sometimes through a testing contractor such as Prometric or Credentia. The links below are to official registry search pages, or to the state agency page that links to the search. We loaded each one on 28 September 2026. For any state not listed, see your state’s nurse aide registry through its health department or board of nursing; we list only pages we could confirm rather than guess at an address.

Names vary. Kentucky calls its aides State Registered Nurse Aides (SRNAs), for example. Several states have moved their registries between agencies or vendors in recent years; New Mexico’s moved to its Health Care Authority on July 1, 2024. Bookmark the page, but check the link still leads to the state’s own site before you rely on it.

Verifying an out-of-state CNA

There is no interstate compact for nurse aides. A CNA listed in another state is not on your state’s registry until your state adds them, usually by reciprocity or endorsement, so the federal rule means you need your state’s verification before they serve, plus a check of the state they came from. Illinois, for example, says it accepts reciprocity for people on other states’ registries whose certification is current and in good standing. How each transfer works, and what to ask the receiving registry, is on our CNA reciprocity page.

What CNA verification does not cover

• Criminal history. The registry records findings by the state survey agency, not convictions in general. Run the background check your state requires; see healthcare background checks.
• Federal program exclusion. An aide can be in good standing on a registry and still be on the HHS-OIG exclusion list.
• Skills. Certification proves competency at a point in time. Under 483.35(c) and (d)(7), you must still ensure competency and review every aide’s performance at least once every 12 months. Test it in the interview; see CNA interview questions.
• Other settings. The rules above are for Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing facilities. Hospitals, home health agencies and assisted living follow their own state rules, but a registry search takes minutes and is worth running for any aide role.

Common CNA verification mistakes

• Accepting the certificate. A card or certificate shows the aide passed once. Only the registry shows current status and findings.
• Checking only your state. A finding sits on the registry of the state that made it, which may not be yours.
• Verifying after the first shift. The rule is before the aide serves.
• Missing the 24-month lapse in a candidate who “has their CNA” but hasn’t worked a paid shift in two years.
• Skipping agency and per diem aides. 483.35(d)(2) applies to them too.

Verification is the easy part. Finding CNAs is harder.

A registry check takes minutes. Filling the shifts behind it is the constraint; see the CNA shortage for the workforce numbers and CNA recruitment for what works.

Related: CNA job description, nursing home staffing ratios and CNA staffing.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: 42 CFR 483.12, 483.35 and 483.156 (eCFR, current to 25 September 2026); 42 U.S.C. 1395i-3(g) (uscode.house.gov); the state nurse aide registry pages linked in the table, each loaded 28 September 2026; Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark. General information, not legal advice. Read at source 28 September 2026.