CNA Certification in Alaska: 140-Hour Training

How to become a CNA in Alaska: a 140-hour state training minimum, the Credentia competency exam — verified from Alaska Board of Nursing.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Alaska Board of Nursing — Nurse Aide Registry, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (official site) and last verified August 16, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

What the credential is: A CERTIFICATION ISSUED BY A LICENSING BOARD, and the title is protected by criminal statute. The Alaska Board of Nursing's own Nurse Aide Registry page states the arrangement: 'Certification of nurse aides and maintenance of the nurse aide abuse registry are responsibilities of the Board of Nursing. The Board also makes final certification decisions and takes disciplinary action against nurse aides who violate the law. The Nurse Aide Registry Program is staffed by the Division of Corporations, Business, and Professional Licensing.' The statute behind it is AS 08.68.331(a): the board 'shall issue certification as a nurse aide to qualified applicants', and may adopt regulations on the qualifications, on 'application, certification, renewal, and revocation procedures', and on 'maintenance of a registry of certified nurse aides.' THE TITLE BAR IS THE SHARP EDGE: AS 08.68.332 — 'A person may not use the title "certified nurse aide" or the abbreviation "C.N.A." unless the person is certified under this chapter', and 'A person who knowingly violates this Section is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.' THE REGISTRY IS SEPARATE FROM AND SUBORDINATE TO THE CERTIFICATE: 12 AAC 44.865(a) — 'The board will maintain a registry of certified nurse aides. The information contained in the registry is available to the public upon request. Within 30 days after the board issues an individual a certification... the board will place in the registry' the person's full name, identifying information and the date of issue. So in Alaska the certificate comes first and the registry entry follows it, which is the reverse of the registry-listing-only states. The operator is the state itself; the competency evaluation is contracted out, and 12 AAC 44.850(b) requires that it 'be administered and evaluated by a nationally recognized nurse aide credentialing service approved by the board.'
Five ways to qualify for the examination: The Board's Certified Nurse Aide by Examination instructions set out the routes in the state's own words — 'An applicant is eligible for the examination if the applicant meets ONE (1) of the following requirements': (1) 'Proof of successful completion, not earlier than two years immediately before the date of the completed application, of a state approved certified nurse aide training program with a minimum of 140 hours of training that includes a minimum of 60 hours of classroom instruction and 80 hours of clinical/skills training'; (2) 'Possession of an unencumbered nursing license, either current or lapsed, issued by a state or territory of the United States or by a province or territory of Canada'; (3) completion, again within the preceding two years, 'of one year or more of nursing education that includes both clinical and classroom instruction in nursing fundamentals from a nursing school approved by a state or territory of the United States or by a province or territory of Canada'; (4) 'Successful completion, not earlier than five years immediately before the date of the completed application, of a United States corpsman or medic training program and service in the United States military forces as a corpsman or medic not earlier than five years immediately before the date of application'; or (5) 'Successful completion of a nursing training program in a foreign country other than Canada', with transcripts and certified English translations where the originals are not in English. Every route still ends in the competency evaluation: 'An applicant who meets one of the above requirements of this section must also successfully complete the certified nurse aide competency evaluation as described in 12 AAC 44.850.'
Approval to test comes from the board, not the vendor: Alaska puts the state in front of the exam rather than behind it: 'Your nurse aide application must be approved before you will be allowed to sit for the examination. You will be notified in writing approximately two weeks after receipt of your completed application concerning the status of your application.' Then: 'After you have completed your nurse aide training program and have met all the application requirements with the Alaska Board of Nursing, you will be sent an Approval to Test letter (ATT) from the Alaska Board of Nursing with instructions on how to schedule your exam.' Only at that point does the candidate create a testing account with the board's contracted vendor, and even then 'Once your CNA365 registration application has been approved by the Alaska Board of Nursing, you will receive an emailed notification.' The board can also refuse the exam itself: it 'will deny permission to take the competency evaluation to an applicant who has committed an act or omission that would constitute grounds for denial of certification under 12 AAC 44.818, if the board determines that the gravity of the act or omission supports a denial of permission to take the competency evaluation.'
Fingerprints and a state and federal background check: Required on every route, and paid for separately. The Board's instructions: 'Submit one original 8" x 8" fingerprint card (FD-258). The card must be printed in black/pale blue ink, on cardstock and include the FBI privacy statement on the back. The fingerprint card submitted as part of this application should be sent directly to the Alaska Board of Nursing... who will submit it to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to perform a criminal background check through the State and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in accordance with AS 12.62.400 and 28 CFR 50.12(b).' A card is rejected — and a new card and fee may be required — for an incorrect type of card, incomplete or incorrect personal information or signatures, or improperly rolled prints. An adverse report may be challenged with the FBI, or with the Department of Public Safety for the Alaska record, 'no later than 30 days after you have been notified by DPS of an adverse report.' Grounds for denial are statutory: AS 08.68.334 lists obtaining certification by 'fraud, deceit, or intentional misrepresentation'; conviction of 'a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a certified nurse aide'; impersonating a nurse or other licensed health care provider; conduct 'that has resulted in a significant risk to the health or safety of a client or in injury to a client'; incapacity through professional incompetence, addiction or severe dependency, or physical or mental disability; knowing or repeated non-compliance with the chapter or a board order; and having 'misappropriated the property of, abused, or neglected a client.'
English proficiency for foreign-educated applicants: Written into both the examination and endorsement rules. If the applicant graduated from a foreign pre-licensure education programme not taught in English, one of three proofs is required: '(A) verification you have passed an English proficiency examination that includes components on reading, speaking, writing, and listening; (B) an evaluation of your nursing education by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools Credentials Evaluation Service (CGFNS), including a full education, course-by-course report that indicates your nursing education was taught in English; or (C) an official International Commission on Healthcare Professions (ICHP) certificate that verifies you have successfully completed the VisaScreen: Visa Credential Assessment Service.' The Board adds a specific exclusion: 'We are unable to accept the Online IELTS Indicator Test or the TOEFL at Home Test.'
Verification of training, sent by the school rather than the candidate: 'Complete Section I of the Verification of Nurse Aide Training form (#08-4069b). Submit the form to the school or facility where you completed your nurse aide training program. The training program will complete the form and return it to the Alaska Nurse Aide Registry. If utilizing nursing school training to meet requirements for examination, submit nursing school official transcripts in place of the Verification of Nurse Aide Training form.' On the endorsement route there is a second such form — Verification of Nurse Aide Certification (#08-4070c), sent to 'the Nurse Aide Registry for your initial and current state of certification', which then returns it to Alaska.
Name tag on the job: 12 AAC 44.885(a): a certified nurse aide, 'when working as certified nurse aide, shall conspicuously display on the individual's uniform or clothing a name tag or identification badge identifying the individual as a certified nurse aide', and a trainee must display a nameplate identifying them as a nurse aide trainee. Few states put this in rule; Alaska does.
Independent contractors need a business licence: A requirement most CNA candidates never see, and Alaska states it on its own certificate-holder information sheet: 'All certified nurse aides who are conducting business or offering services in Alaska and who are not considered an employee must obtain a business license. If you are unsure if you are an independent contractor or an employee, discuss this matter with the person for whom you are working or an attorney.'

Legal basis

Alaska Board of Nursing — Nurse Aide Registry, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development administers certified nursing assistant licensing in Alaska. Every figure below is verified against the board’s own official pages and dated. Who must personally hold a credential — the contractor, the business, or the individual worker — is set out under Requirements.

What it’s called

Alaska’s statutory term is ‘certified nurse aide’, abbreviated ‘C.N.A.’ in the statute itself (AS 08.68.332), and both the title and the abbreviation are protected by criminal law. ‘Certified nursing assistant’ is the common national phrasing and is what job postings say; Credentia’s Alaska candidate handbook is headed ‘Alaska Certified Nurse Aide’ but also refers to ‘a Alaska CNA certification’. What Alaska issues is a CERTIFICATION, not a licence — the Board of Nursing licenses registered nurses, practical nurses and advanced practice registered nurses and CERTIFIES nurse aides, so ‘Alaska CNA license’ is a folk term even though the credential behaves like one. ‘Nurse aide trainee’ is a defined working status with its own nameplate rule (12 AAC 44.885(b)), not a credential. ‘STNA’ is Ohio’s term and ‘LNA’ is used in some New England states; neither appears in Alaska law. Do not confuse the NURSE AIDE REGISTRY, which lists certificate holders and is maintained under AS 08.68.333 and 12 AAC 44.865, with the NURSE AIDE ABUSE REGISTRY the Board publishes separately for findings of abuse, neglect or misappropriation — the Board’s page names both. ‘CNA365’ is the testing vendor’s candidate account system, not a state credential, and ‘MY LICENSE’ is the state’s own licensing portal. No Alaska nurse aide source read on 2026-08-16 refers to a medication aide or medication assistant credential.

License types & fees

Type	Notes	Who Its For
Certified Nurse Aide (C.N.A.) certification by examination	This is a real state credential issued by a licensing board, not a registry entry. Alaska Statute 08.68.331(a): 'The board or the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, as designated by the board, shall issue certification as a nurse aide to qualified applicants.' The certification is biennial and, unusually for this occupation, carries continuing education. Five eligibility routes exist and all five end in the same competency evaluation — see requirements. Application fee $100, certification fee $100 and fingerprint processing $75, total $275.	An applicant who has not previously held a nurse aide certification, and who qualifies through Alaska-approved training, a nursing licence or nursing education, military corpsman or medic training, or foreign nursing training.
Certified Nurse Aide certification by endorsement	12 AAC 44.805 sets four conditions: training that 'meets minimum federal requirements of 42 C.F.R. 483.152'; an unencumbered out-of-state certification 'that is current on the date of the completed application'; successful completion of a competency evaluation; and, for graduates of a foreign pre-licensure programme not taught in English, one of three English-proficiency proofs. Same $275 in fees as the examination route. The application form adds a note for people whose out-of-state certification has expired: 'If applicant does not have a current certificate but has completed a CNA program in the last 2 years, they may be eligible for certification by exam.'	An applicant already holding an unencumbered nurse aide certification or registration from another U.S. state or territory, or a Canadian province or territory.
Temporary certification (pending the criminal justice report)	12 AAC 44.814: the board may issue a temporary certification to an endorsement applicant who meets 12 AAC 44.805 and 12 AAC 44.810(a) 'waiting for the report of state and national criminal justice information under 12 AAC 44.812', and likewise to an examination applicant who meets 12 AAC 44.800 and 12 AAC 44.810(a) and is waiting for the same report.	An applicant who has met the substantive requirements but whose fingerprint-based background report has not come back.
Emergency courtesy certification	12 AAC 44.806 lets the board issue an emergency courtesy certification when it 'has identified that an urgent situation exists', and lets it 'restrict the certification to only those certified nurse aide services required to respond to the urgent situation.' It 'is valid for the period specified by the board and may not exceed 120 consecutive days', renewable once for up to another 120 days provided the extra period 'expires within 18 months of the date the certification is first issued.' The rule closes the obvious loophole: the board will not issue, and a holder may not use, an emergency courtesy certification 'as a substitute for a temporary certification or other certification required under AS 08.68.'	An applicant certified elsewhere whom the board brings in to answer a declared health crisis.
Nurse aide trainee (a status, not a credential)	Alaska requires trainees to be visibly identified as such: 12 AAC 44.885(b) — 'An individual training to be a certified nurse aide, when working as a student, shall conspicuously display on the individual's uniform or clothing a nameplate that identifies that individual as a nurse aide trainee.' Certified aides carry the mirror duty under 12 AAC 44.885(a): a name tag or identification badge 'identifying the individual as a certified nurse aide.'	A student enrolled in an approved certified nurse aide training program.

Who does NOT need this license — exemptions

ALASKA’S BAR IS ON THE TITLE, NOT ON THE WORK, AND THAT IS THE THING MOST OFTEN GOT WRONG. AS 08.68.332(a): ‘A person may not use the title “certified nurse aide” or the abbreviation “C.N.A.” unless the person is certified under this chapter’, and knowingly violating it ‘is a class B misdemeanor.’ The unlicensed-practice provision the Board quotes on its own Nurse Aide Registry page is about NURSING, not aide work: ‘AS 08.68.360 states that the practice of professional or practical nursing for compensation by a person who is not licensed, or whose license is suspended, or revoked, or expired, is declared to be inimical to the public welfare and to constitute a public nuisance.’ No provision of AS 08.68.331 through 08.68.336 or of 12 AAC 44.800 through 12 AAC 44.895 makes it an offence to perform nurse aide duties without certification — all of AS 08.68 and 12 AAC 44 was read on 2026-08-16 and searched for such a bar and for any exemption clause, and neither exists. WHAT DOES CONSTRAIN EMPLOYERS IS FEDERAL: 42 C.F.R. 483.35(d)(1) provides that ‘A facility must not use any individual working in the facility as a nurse aide for more than 4 months, on a full-time basis, unless that individual — (i) Is competent to provide nursing and nursing related services; and (ii)(A) Has completed a training and competency evaluation program, or a competency evaluation program approved by the State as meeting the requirements of §§ 483.151 through 483.154; or (B) Has been deemed or determined competent as provided in § 483.150(a) and (b)’. That rule binds Medicare- and Medicaid-participating nursing facilities, not Alaskan employers generally, and Alaska has not restated it in its own regulations. TWO NARROW ALASKA-SIDE ACCOMMODATIONS EXIST AND BOTH ARE CERTIFICATES, NOT EXEMPTIONS: the temporary certification for an applicant waiting on a criminal justice report (12 AAC 44.814) and the emergency courtesy certification capped at 120 days and renewable once, which may not be used ‘as a substitute for a temporary certification or other certification required under AS 08.68’ (12 AAC 44.806). ON THE TRAINING SIDE, one exclusion applies to providers rather than to people: the board will not approve a programme offered in or by a nursing facility that CMS or the state survey agency has found ineligible to run one within the preceding 24 months (12 AAC 44.835(g)), unless another provider offers the programme in that facility and the survey agency has determined that no similar programme is offered within a reasonable distance, that the environment is adequate, and has notified the long term care ombudsman (12 AAC 44.835(h)).

Fees

STATE FEES ARE SET IN REGULATION AND ALASKA’S ARE AMONG THE HIGHEST IN THIS CLUSTER. 12 AAC 02.282, ‘Board of Nursing: fees for certified nurse aides’, establishes: ‘(1) nonrefundable application fee for initial certification, $100; (2) examination fee, as set by and paid directly to the contracted third-party vendor; (3) certification fee for all or part of the initial biennial nurse aide certification period, $100; (4) biennial nurse aide certification renewal fee, $100; (5) certified nurse aide training program approval fee, $500; (6) reexamination fee, as set by and paid directly to the contracted third-party vendor; (7) nonrefundable fingerprint processing fee, as set out under 12 AAC 02.105(19)’ — which is ‘$75’. THE BOARD’S OWN APPLICATION TOTALS, payable to ‘State of Alaska’: certification by EXAMINATION and by ENDORSEMENT are each ‘Nonrefundable Application Fee: $100.00; Certification Fee: $100.00; Nonrefundable Fingerprint Processing Fee: $75.00; Total Fees Due: $275.00.’ REINSTATEMENT after a lapse is ‘Reinstatement Fee: $100.00; Nonrefundable Fingerprint Processing Fee: $75.00; Total Fees Due: $175.00.’ RENEWAL is the $100 biennial fee. A SEPARATE SERVICE FEE the Board publishes on its certificate-holder sheet: ‘Verification of Alaska Certificate: $20.00 fee (include other state’s verification form).’ EXAM FEES ARE THE VENDOR’S and Alaska’s are low: Credentia’s Alaska handbook prices ‘Skills Evaluation ONLY $30; Written Examination ONLY $30; Oral Examination ONLY $30’, notes that ‘The fees listed have been established for the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program in Alaska’, and states ‘Fees are not refundable. If you do not bring proper identification, you will not be allowed to test, and your examination fee will not be refunded.’ Payment is by credit card, pre-paid credit card or electronic voucher, and fees are ’non-refundable and non-transferable once you’ve paid.’ TRAINING COST is set by the approved programme and is not published by the Board. The federal prohibition of charges at 42 C.F.R. 483.152(c) still applies to an aide employed by, or holding an offer from, a facility when the programme begins.

Exam

Two parts, and they may be taken separately. Credentia’s Alaska handbook: ‘There are two parts of the NNAAP Examination, the Written (or Oral) Examination and the Skills Evaluation. You do not need to take both of these on the same day, unless you register for the paper-pencil written/oral exam in place of the Online exam. You must pass both exams in order to be issued a Alaska CNA certification.’ WRITTEN — ‘The Written Examination has seventy (70) multiple-choice questions. You will have two (2) hours to complete the Written Examination. You will be told when fifteen (15) minutes are left to finish.’ ORAL — offered to candidates who have difficulty reading English: ‘The Oral Examination includes sixty (60) multiple-choice questions plus ten (10) reading comprehension/word recognition questions. If you want to take the Oral Examination, you must request it when you submit your registration form.’ SKILLS — ‘you will be asked to perform five (5) randomly selected Nurse Aide skills. You will be rated on these skills by a Nurse Evaluator’; ‘You must successfully complete five (5) out of the five (5) skills in the skill form to pass the Skills Evaluation. You will have 30 minutes to demonstrate all 5 skills. When 25 minutes have elapsed the Nurse Aide Evaluator will tell you that you have 5 minutes left.’ One of the randomly selected skills is a measurement skill, the ‘client’ is played by another candidate acting as an elderly person, and candidates must arrive 30 minutes early with two forms of signed identification, one of them photographic, an analog watch with a sweeping second hand, non-skid footwear and professional dress — ‘If you do not bring the above items with you on the day of testing, you will NOT be allowed to test, and your examination fee will NOT be returned.’ WHAT ALASKA’S OWN RULE REQUIRES OF ANY APPROVED EVALUATION (12 AAC 44.850(a)): an examination on the curriculum subjects that ‘must offer the applicant a choice between a written examination and an oral examination’; ‘a practical examination demonstrating the applicant’s clinical and practical nurse aide skills’; and notification to the applicant of performance ‘identifying those portions, if any, of the competency evaluation that the applicant did not pass.’ The written portion may be delivered online with remote proctoring, or on paper at a test site; ‘The skills examination must be done in person’ (Board instructions). ATTEMPTS — 12 AAC 44.850(c) lets a failed candidate ‘retake that portion of the competency evaluation that the applicant did not pass, upon payment of the examination fee’, and 12 AAC 44.850(d) sets the ceiling: ‘An applicant who does not successfully complete the competency evaluation after three attempts must complete a remedial course of training as required by the board. The applicant must provide proof of having fulfilled the requirements of the remedial course of training before the board will approve the applicant to retake the competency evaluation.’ IN-FACILITY TESTING is permitted at the board’s discretion: 12 AAC 44.850(e) — the board ‘may allow the competency evaluation to be conducted at a facility in which the nurse aide is or will be employed, if the facility meets the requirements for the written and skills portions of the evaluation and is approved by the board.’ A candidate who fails to appear twice loses the application — a VENDOR rule, not a Board one. Under the heading ‘Abandoned Applications’, Credentia’s Alaska handbook says: ‘If you no show for two successive examinations, your application to test will be removed and you will need to re-apply - both through CNA 365 and the Alaska Board of Nursing - before you can be approved to test again.’ Nothing to that effect appears in Alaska’s statutes, its regulations or any of the Board’s four nurse aide forms.

Renewal & continuing education

BIENNIAL, ON A FIXED STATEWIDE DATE, AND IT TURNS ON BOTH WORK AND CONTINUING EDUCATION. The Board’s certificate-holder information sheet states the calendar: ‘Certificates are issued for a two-year period and expire on March 31 of even-numbered years, regardless of the date of issuance, except certificates issued within 90 days of the expiration date are issued to the next biennial expiration date. One renewal notice will be sent via email or mail at least 60 days before certificate expiration to the last known email or mailing address of record. Failure to receive a renewal notice does not relieve a certificate holder from the responsibility of renewing a certificate on time.’ The regulation behind it, 12 AAC 44.815, requires a renewal application, the renewal fee set in 12 AAC 02.282, and ‘attestation that the applicant has met the continuing education requirements of 12 AAC 44.825 and the requirements of (c) or (d) of this section; documentation showing completion of continuing education and verification of employment will be required if the certified nurse aide is selected for audit.’ THE WORK TEST: ‘A nurse aide certification will be renewed if the applicant was employed in a state or territory of the United States, or in a province or territory of Canada, performing CNA duties for monetary compensation for 160 hours or more during the concluding certification period’ (12 AAC 44.815(c)). Note that out-of-state and Canadian work counts. MISS THE 160 HOURS AND YOU TEST AGAIN: ‘An applicant who was employed as a certified nurse aide for monetary compensation for less than 160 hours during the concluding certification period may not obtain the required experience after the applicant’s nurse aide certificate has lapsed and must successfully complete a competency evaluation under 12 AAC 44.850 before the certification will be renewed’ (12 AAC 44.815(d)). And where there was no paid CNA work at all and the training programme finished more than two years ago, 12 AAC 44.815(g) requires ‘another certified nurse aide training program approved under 12 AAC 44.835’ — the whole course again. NEW CERTIFICATE HOLDERS ARE EASED IN: an aide certified less than 12 months before the renewal period ‘is not required to satisfy the requirements of (c) and (d)’ (12 AAC 44.815(e)). RANDOM AUDIT IS REAL AND THE RECORDS DUTY IS FOUR YEARS: ‘The division will audit a percentage of the certificate renewals… You must save your documents for at least four years so you can respond to audits’ (12 AAC 02.960, as stated by the Board). Address, email and legal-name changes must be reported, the last ‘within 30 days of a legal name change.’ 24 CONTACT HOURS PER TWO-YEAR PERIOD — a genuine continuing education requirement, which most states do not impose on nurse aides at all. 12 AAC 44.825(a): ‘Except as provided in (b) of this section, an applicant for renewal of a nurse aide certification must have successfully completed 24 contact hours of continuing education during the concluding certification period.’ FIRST RENEWAL IS PRORATED: an applicant renewing for the first time ‘(1) must have successfully completed 12 contact hours of continuing education during the concluding certification period, if the applicant has been certified for at least one year during that period; and (2) is not required to complete continuing education requirements for the concluding certification period, if the applicant has been certified for less than one year during that period’ (12 AAC 44.825(b)). NO DOUBLE-COUNTING: ‘An applicant for renewal or reinstatement of a nurse aide certification may not submit credit for the same course more than once to meet the continuing education requirements for a certification period’ (12 AAC 44.825(d)). WHAT A CONTACT HOUR IS, in Alaska’s own definition (12 AAC 44.895(3)): ‘a minimum of 50 minutes of actual organized instruction’, with academic credit converting at ‘one quarter academic credit equals 10 contact hours’ and ‘one semester academic credit equals 15 contact hours.’ The Board’s certificate-holder sheet pairs the education with the work test in one place: 24 contact hours plus 160 hours of paid CNA duties for an aide certified two years or more; 12 contact hours plus 160 hours for an aide certified more than one year but less than two; and neither for an aide certified less than a year. Documentation is not filed with the renewal — it is attested to, and produced only on audit.

How to apply

Applications are handled by Alaska Board of Nursing — Nurse Aide Registry, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in Alaska

Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development — Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing publishes a public license search , searchable by Program (a selector; choose ‘Nurse Aides’ — a search that leaves it unselected covers every profession), License Number, License Type, Owner Last or Entity Name (with a ‘Starts With’ or ‘Contains’ choice), DBA (with a ‘Starts With’ or ‘Contains’ choice), City or Current Only (a toggle limiting results to certificates in effect). It covers Every profession the Division licenses, with certified nurse aides as one selectable programme. THE FIELD LIST ABOVE IS DATED. It was read from a copy of the search page captured on August 10, 2026 — not from a description of the tool, and not from the page as it stands today. The live address turns away anything that is not a person in a browser, so it cannot be re-read here to confirm the fields are still the same; treat the list as accurate to that date. PRACTICAL LIMITS: the search is submitted as a form rather than carried in the web address, so a result cannot be bookmarked, linked to or shared — the search has to be re-run each time; and the page has to be opened in a normal web browser, because the site turns away automated requests. The Board also publishes a SEPARATE Nurse Aide Abuse Registry for findings of abuse, neglect or misappropriation of property, which is not the same list as the certificate search. Underlying both is the statutory register: ‘The board will maintain a registry of certified nurse aides. The information contained in the registry is available to the public upon request’ (12 AAC 44.865(a)), with names removed once a certification has been lapsed for more than two years — so a search that finds nothing may mean a long-lapsed aide rather than an aide who was never certified. For an official paper answer the Board charges ‘Verification of Alaska Certificate: $20.00’.

Records come from Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development — Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing’s own system. LicensingAtlas does not hold license records and cannot confirm any individual’s status — the date on this page refers to the requirements described above, not to anyone’s credential.

Frequently asked questions

Does Alaska license or certify CNAs?

It certifies them, through the Board of Nursing, and the title is protected by criminal law. Alaska Statute 08.68.331(a) makes it the board’s duty to ‘issue certification as a nurse aide to qualified applicants’, and AS 08.68.332 provides that ‘A person may not use the title “certified nurse aide” or the abbreviation “C.N.A.” unless the person is certified under this chapter’, with knowing violation a class B misdemeanor. That is a stronger arrangement than the registry-listing states use: in Alaska the certificate is issued first and the registry entry follows, and the board ‘will place in the registry’ the aide’s name, identifying information and date of certification ‘within 30 days after the board issues an individual a certification.’

How many hours of CNA training does Alaska require?

140 hours — nearly double the federal minimum, and set in regulation. 12 AAC 44.835(c) requires an approved programme to ‘consist of at least 140 hours of training’ with ‘a minimum of 60 hours of didactic instruction’ and ‘a minimum of 80 hours of supervised skills and clinical training’. The 80 hours split again: 48 must be in a long-term care facility, an Alaska-licensed assisted living home with an RN or LPN on staff around the clock, or an acute care facility, and ‘at least 32 hours must be in learning and practicing the skills under the direct supervision of an approved instructor.’ Before touching a client a student must complete 16 hours of classroom training and 16 hours of specific skill training in communication, infection control, safety and emergency procedures, client rights, observation and documentation, vital signs, body function changes to report, and personal hygiene and grooming techniques. Class size is capped at 10 students per instructor in clinical work and 20 in the classroom.

Who gives the CNA exam in Alaska and what does it cost?

Credentia, administering the NNAAP examination under the Board of Nursing, and it is one of the cheapest exams in the country: ‘Skills Evaluation ONLY $30; Written Examination ONLY $30; Oral Examination ONLY $30.’ The written test is 70 multiple-choice questions in two hours; candidates who have difficulty reading English may take an oral test of 60 multiple-choice plus 10 reading-comprehension questions instead, requested at registration. The skills evaluation is five randomly selected skills in 30 minutes and you must pass all five. The board’s regulation does not name the company — 12 AAC 44.850(b) requires only that the evaluation be ‘administered and evaluated by a nationally recognized nurse aide credentialing service approved by the board.’

What does an Alaska CNA certification cost?

$275 for a first certification, whether by examination or by endorsement — ‘Nonrefundable Application Fee: $100.00; Certification Fee: $100.00; Nonrefundable Fingerprint Processing Fee: $75.00’ — plus the vendor’s $30-per-part exam fees. Renewal is $100 every two years; reinstatement after a lapse is $175 ($100 plus the $75 fingerprint fee); and an official verification of an Alaska certificate for another state costs $20. The state fee schedule is in regulation at 12 AAC 02.282, which also sets a $500 fee for approving a training programme.

How often does an Alaska CNA renew, and what is required?

Every two years, on a fixed date — certificates ’expire on March 31 of even-numbered years, regardless of the date of issuance’ — and renewal turns on both work and continuing education. An aide certified for two years or more must have completed 24 contact hours of continuing education and 160 hours performing CNA duties for monetary compensation; an aide certified for more than one year but less than two needs 12 contact hours and the same 160 hours; an aide certified for less than a year needs neither. The paid work may have been done in any U.S. state or territory or a Canadian province. Renewal is filed by attestation, but ‘documentation showing completion of continuing education and verification of employment will be required if the certified nurse aide is selected for audit’ — and the Board tells aides to keep their records for at least four years.

Do Alaska CNAs really need continuing education?

Yes, which makes Alaska unusual — most states impose no continuing education on nurse aides at all. 12 AAC 44.825(a): ‘an applicant for renewal of a nurse aide certification must have successfully completed 24 contact hours of continuing education during the concluding certification period’, halved to 12 contact hours for a first renewal after at least a year of certification, and waived entirely for a first renewal after less than a year. A contact hour is defined as ‘a minimum of 50 minutes of actual organized instruction’, with one quarter academic credit worth 10 contact hours and one semester credit worth 15. The same course may not be counted twice in a period.

What happens if an Alaska CNA certification lapses?

It depends entirely on how long. Twelve months or less and it can simply be renewed. Lapsed from one day up to two years, it is reinstated on the reinstatement application, the renewal and fingerprint fees, all the continuing education that would have been owed for the lapsed period, and the paid CNA hours that would have been owed — or, as a shortcut, on passing the competency evaluation within the preceding 24 months instead of the back education and hours. Between two and five years, the exam is required on top of the back education (at least 24 hours of it in the last two years) and the back work hours (at least 160 in the last two years). At five years there is a wall: ‘The board will not reinstate a nurse aide certification that has been lapsed for five years or more’, and the former holder must complete a state-approved training programme and apply for a new initial certification. The registry entry also disappears once a certification has been lapsed for more than two years.

Can a CNA certified in another state work in Alaska?

Yes, by certification by endorsement — a full application, not a registry transfer. 12 AAC 44.805 requires training meeting the federal standard at 42 C.F.R. 483.152, ‘possession of an unencumbered nurse aide certification or registration that is issued by a state or territory of the United States, or by a province or territory of Canada, and that is current on the date of the completed application’, a completed competency evaluation, and an English-proficiency proof for graduates of foreign programmes not taught in English. The fees are the same $275, and fingerprints and a state and federal background check are required. While the background report is outstanding the board may issue a temporary certification. If the out-of-state certificate has already expired but the training was completed within the last two years, the Board says the applicant ‘may be eligible for certification by exam’ instead.

Is it illegal to work as a nurse aide in Alaska without certification?

Alaska’s own bar is on the TITLE rather than on the work. AS 08.68.332 makes it a class B misdemeanor to knowingly use the title ‘certified nurse aide’ or the abbreviation ‘C.N.A.’ without being certified, and AS 08.68.360’s unlicensed-practice provision is about professional and practical NURSING. Nothing in AS 08.68.331 through 08.68.336 or in 12 AAC 44.800 through 12 AAC 44.895 makes performing nurse aide duties without a certificate an offence. What limits uncertified aide work in nursing homes is federal: 42 C.F.R. 483.35(d)(1) provides that a facility ‘must not use any individual working in the facility as a nurse aide for more than 4 months, on a full-time basis’ unless that person is competent and has completed an approved training and competency evaluation programme or been deemed competent. Alaska has not restated that rule in its own regulations.

Does an Alaska CNA have to wear a badge?

Yes, and so does a student. 12 AAC 44.885(a): a certified nurse aide at work ‘shall conspicuously display on the individual’s uniform or clothing a name tag or identification badge identifying the individual as a certified nurse aide.’ 12 AAC 44.885(b) applies the mirror rule to trainees, who must display ‘a nameplate that identifies that individual as a nurse aide trainee.’ Few states put this in regulation.

How many times can you fail the Alaska CNA exam?

Three, and then you owe remedial training before you may try again. 12 AAC 44.850(c) lets a candidate ‘retake that portion of the competency evaluation that the applicant did not pass, upon payment of the examination fee’, and 12 AAC 44.850(d) sets the limit: ‘An applicant who does not successfully complete the competency evaluation after three attempts must complete a remedial course of training as required by the board. The applicant must provide proof of having fulfilled the requirements of the remedial course of training before the board will approve the applicant to retake the competency evaluation.’ Separately — and this one is the testing company’s rule rather than the Board’s — Credentia’s Alaska handbook says that missing two scheduled exams in a row removes the application to test, and that the candidate must then re-apply both through the vendor’s system and to the Alaska Board of Nursing before being approved to test again.

How do you check whether an Alaska CNA certificate is valid?

Through the Division’s professional licence search, selecting ‘Nurse Aides’ as the programme. The lookup also accepts a certificate number, a name, a DBA, a city and a ‘Current Only’ toggle. It is submitted as a form rather than carried in the web address, so a result cannot be saved as a link, and the site has to be opened in an ordinary web browser. Two things to know before relying on a nil result: the Board removes from the registry the name of anyone whose certification has been lapsed for more than two years, and the Board publishes a separate Nurse Aide Abuse Registry for findings of abuse, neglect or misappropriation. An official written verification for another state costs $20.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Alaska.

Sources & verification

Last verified against these sources: August 16, 2026.

We re-fetch every cited source on a weekly schedule: see what changed at the agencies, or every correction we have ever made.

LicensingAtlas states licensing and certification requirements categorically from official sources. It is a reference, not legal or career advice, and requirements change frequently — confirm details with the issuing board before you act.