CNA Requirements in Illinois — Training, Exam & Registry

How to become a CNA in Illinois: a 120-hour state training minimum — verified from Illinois Department of Public Health.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Illinois Department of Public Health — Health Care Worker Registry (the Department states the registry 'is maintained by the Department of Public Health'). No board of nursing is involved. The written competency examination is administered for the Department by Southern Illinois University Carbondale under the Illinois Nurse Assistant/Aide Competency Examination (INACE) project; the Department's own regulation reserves scoring to itself: 'A facility may proctor the examination but shall not score it. Scoring will be done only by the Department or its designee' (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.400(a)(4)). (official site) and last verified August 14, 2026. Boards change fees and rules often — confirm before acting.

Requirements at a glance

What the credential is: Illinois is the clearest case in this cluster of a registry-listing state, and it says so twice in its own words. Its published answer to 'What is my CNA certificate number? Can I get a copy of my certificate?' is: 'There is no CNA certificate or license number for CNAs in Illinois. The State does not issue credentials, numbers, certificates, or licenses to CNAs.' Its CNA Facts page repeats it and explains what the status actually is: 'Since June 1992, CNA training programs have not been required to issue certificates and the state does not issue credentials, certificates or license to CNAs. Any certificate received may be issued by the training program or the testing center as a recognition of work accomplished. However, being an Illinois Certified Nurse Assistant/Aide is a condition that the CNA must keep through their work efforts not through an issued document.' The registry itself is the record: 'The Health Care Worker Registry lists individuals with a background check conducted pursuant to the Health Care Worker Background Check Act (225 ILCS 46). It shows training information for certified nursing assistants (CNA) and other health care workers... It is maintained by the Department of Public Health.' And the registry is the ONLY acceptable proof: 'The information on the registry is the only means a health care employer may use to obtain this verification', with the Department telling applicants asked for a certificate number to 'enter "Not Applicable" or "N/A."' The training programs are approved by the same Department under 77 Ill. Adm. Code 395, the Long-Term Care Assistants and Aides Training Programs Code.
The path most people take: Complete a Department-approved Basic Nursing Assistant Training Program (a minimum of 120 hours), demonstrate competence in the Department's 21 approved performance skills inside that program, and pass the Department's written competency examination. The regulation states completion as a two-part test: 'A student shall be considered to have successfully completed the BNATP when the student has: 1) Successfully completed a minimum of 62 hours of theory, 18 hours of laboratory (skills) training, and 40 hours of clinical instruction... and 2) Demonstrated competence in the Department-approved performance skills' — followed by 'A student shall pass the Department-established written competency examination' (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.173). The program, not the student, files the paperwork: 'The program sponsor shall submit, within 30 days after program completion, an official roster of all students who have successfully completed the training program' (395.175).
The background check comes before the classroom: Illinois puts a fingerprint-based criminal history check ahead of enrolment, not employment. 'An educational entity, other than a secondary school, conducting a nurse aide training program shall initiate a fingerprint-based criminal history records check required by this Act prior to entry of an individual into the training program... Students who do not have a completed fingerprint-based background check shall have one initiated before the first day of classes' (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.171(a)). Enrolment is conditional on the result: 'An individual shall not be allowed to enroll in a training program unless the individual has had: 1) A criminal background check that reveals no disqualifying convictions, unless a waiver has been granted; 2) No administrative findings of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of property', though 'students may continue through the program, including clinical rotations, for up to 3 months while the results of the background check are pending' (395.171(c)). A disqualifying conviction ends it immediately — 'An individual who is found to have a disqualifying conviction shall be immediately disenrolled from a program' — unless a waiver is granted, in which case 'the individual may re-enroll' (395.171(d)). The Department also requires the program to counsel every applicant about the Act and list the disqualifying offences before they enrol.
The waiver — the reason a conviction is not automatically the end: Illinois runs a formal waiver process rather than a flat bar. 'Individuals with disqualifying convictions... as listed in the act, are prohibited from working in any of the above positions unless a waiver has been granted by the Department of Public Health', and the CNA Facts page restates it for both long-term care and other health care employers: 'If an individual has disqualifying convictions, he or she may not work as a CNA (or in any other position giving direct care) unless the CNA has requested and received a waiver of those disqualifying convictions.' The Department publishes a Waiver Application, waiver instructions and a waiver FAQ. This record does not list the disqualifying offences: the Department maintains a dedicated page for them, and the underlying list lives in the Health Care Worker Background Check Act and the Health Care Worker Background Check Code.
Extra conditions that apply only in a licensed long-term care facility: The Department publishes a second, longer list for long-term care employment specifically. In addition to the background check with no disqualifying convictions and no administrative finding of abuse, neglect or misappropriated property in Illinois or any other state, the person 'Must be at least 16 years of age, of temperate habits and good moral character, honest, reliable and trustworthy'; 'Must be able to speak and understand English or a language understood by a substantial percentage of a facility's residents'; 'Must provide evidence of prior employment or occupation, if any, and residence for two years prior to present employment as a nursing assistant'; and 'Must have completed at least eight years of grade school or provide proof of equivalent knowledge.' Two timing rules also apply to someone hired before qualifying: they 'Must work as a nurse aide in training and be in an approved CNA program within 45 days of being hired, if not a CNA when hired', and 'Must be on the registry as a CNA within 120 days of being hired' — with a carve-out for someone attending a college, vocational technical school or high school program, who 'must be within 120 days of completing the program and competency test. Written proof of attendance is required.'
Three attempts, and a twelve-month clock: 'A student who has completed an approved BNATP shall be allowed three opportunities to pass the written competency examination within 12 months after the program completion date. Students who do not pass the competency examination after three attempts or before the 12-month period has elapsed will be required to retake the BNATP' (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.400(b), amended effective March 25, 2025). Note the clock is as binding as the attempt count — running out of months has the same consequence as failing three times. The Department states the same rule on its CNA Facts page: 'If the individual fails the competency test three times, he or she must take another Illinois approved CNA training program before taking the written test again.'
The employer's continuing duty, which is what keeps your status alive: In Illinois the CNA does not file anything to stay current — the employer does. 'Health care employers are required to obtain access to the Department's Web portal and the Health Care Worker Registry's Web application. The health care employer shall indicate employment dates and termination dates of the CNAs hired and separated from employment... If the CNA continues to work at that facility, the health care employer must provide verification no less than annually. The health care employer enters these dates directly into the registry's Web application. This employment information is what keeps the CNA active on the registry.' The Department gives the deadline and the penalty: 'The law requires an employer to enter employment and termination dates within 30 days after hiring or terminating an employee... An employer's failure to comply with this law constitutes a licensing violation and may result in a fine of up to $500.' If your employer has not done it, the Department's published advice is to raise it with the employer's human resources department first.
Medication Aide — a boundary, not a step: No Medication Aide or Certified Medication Aide credential is named on the Illinois Health Care Worker Registry pages, the CNA Facts page, the Department's CNA FAQ publication or 77 Ill. Adm. Code 395 — all searched on 2026-08-14. What Illinois does stack on top of the CNA is the CNA II (through the Advanced Nursing Assistant Training Program) and, alongside it, the shorter Certified Nursing Assistant Intern role, both described in license_types. This record makes no claim about medication administration by nursing assistants in Illinois.

Legal basis

Illinois Department of Public Health — Health Care Worker Registry (the Department states the registry ‘is maintained by the Department of Public Health’). No board of nursing is involved. The written competency examination is administered for the Department by Southern Illinois University Carbondale under the Illinois Nurse Assistant/Aide Competency Examination (INACE) project; the Department’s own regulation reserves scoring to itself: ‘A facility may proctor the examination but shall not score it. Scoring will be done only by the Department or its designee’ (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.400(a)(4)). administers certified nursing assistant licensing in Illinois. 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

Illinois says ‘Certified Nursing Assistant’ and abbreviates it CNA, and the regulation’s own definition ties the title to the training program: a BNATP is ‘a Department-approved course curriculum that prepares individuals for employment as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs)’ (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.50). But ‘certified’ here does not mean a certificate exists — ‘The State does not issue credentials, numbers, certificates, or licenses to CNAs’ — so ‘Illinois CNA license’, ‘CNA certificate number’ and ‘CNA certification number’ are all terms with no Illinois referent. The Department’s own pages also use ’nursing assistant’, ’nurse aide’ and ’nursing assistant/aide’ interchangeably with CNA, and the registry’s public site still speaks of the ‘Illinois Nurse Aide Registry’ even though the modern name is the HEALTH CARE WORKER REGISTRY — a broader database that also carries home health aides, personal care assistants, direct support persons, psychiatric rehabilitation services aides and others. Four more Illinois-specific initialisms travel with this credential: BNATP (Basic Nursing Assistant Training Program, the CNA I course), ANATP (Advanced Nursing Assistant Training Program, the CNA II course), INACE (the Illinois Nurse Assistant/Aide Competency Examination) and HCWR (the registry). CNA II is a real, separate Illinois tier; ‘CNA I’ is the label the recertification rule uses for the ordinary CNA. ‘Certified Nursing Assistant Intern’ is a fourth, narrower Illinois role and is NOT a CNA.

License types & fees

Type	Notes	Who Its For
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA I) — a listing on the Health Care Worker Registry, not a document	Earned by completing a Department-approved Basic Nursing Assistant Training Program (BNATP) — a minimum of 120 hours — and passing the Department's written competency examination. There is no expiry date and no renewal filing; the status is kept alive by working. It also does not arrive as paper: 'Since June 1992, CNA training programs have not been required to issue certificates and the state does not issue credentials, certificates or license to CNAs.'	A person who wants to work as a nursing assistant or aide in an Illinois licensed or certified skilled nursing facility, intermediate care facility or home health agency: 'Nursing assistants/aides working in licensed and or certified skilled nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities and home health agencies must be certified.'
Certified Nursing Assistant II (CNA II) — a second, higher tier	The ANATP is 'a Department-approved course curriculum that prepares individuals for certification as Certified Nursing Assistant II (CNA II)' (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.50). It is a separate 120 hours — '80 hours of theory/laboratory instruction; and 40 hours of clinical practicum', with clinical barred until theory and lab are finished (395.230). Its examination differs from the CNA I exam in a way worth noticing: the ANATP exam 'will be the Department-approved examination with written and performance skills components' (395.405(a)), where the CNA I exam is written only. 'A student who has successfully passed the written competency exam will be known as a Certified Nursing Assistant II (CNA II)' (395.405(d)). This record covers CNA I; the CNA II tier is named here because the same registry carries it and the recertification rules interlock (395.265(b)(2): 'A CNA II shall first recertify as a CNA I').	A CNA who completes a Department-approved Advanced Nursing Assistant Training Program (ANATP).
Certified Nursing Assistant Intern — a narrower, facility-based role, not a CNA	Far shorter than a BNATP: 'at least 8 hours of classroom education' plus 'at least 24 hours of on-the-job training' under the direct observation of an advanced practice registered nurse or a qualifying registered nurse, conducted at the licensed facility where the intern will work (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.500). The scope is capped by rule — an intern may feed, dress, bathe partially, shave with an electric razor, transfer with a gait belt and perform the Heimlich manoeuvre, but 'shall not perform any of the following on a resident: 1) Shaving with a nonelectric razor. 2) Nail care. 3) Perineal care. 4) Transfer using a mechanical lift. 5) Passive range of motion.' Interns are covered by the same background-check law and appear on the same registry.	A person hired by an Illinois licensed facility who completes the facility's Certified Nursing Assistant Intern Program.
Equivalency routes onto the registry (each still ends in the written examination)	Illinois publishes four alternatives to the BNATP, all of which the Department says still require the written competency test — except reciprocity. A nursing student may qualify by 'written verification that the individual has successfully completed the fundamentals of nursing and at least 40 hours of supervised clinical experience in an accredited nurse training program.' Military training qualifies with 'a copy of a diploma or certificate showing evidence of 40 hours of clinical experience; or Form DD 214 showing completion of hospital corpsman or medical service specialist or equivalent training.' A foreign-trained nurse must file translated diplomas and transcripts showing hours per course. An out-of-state CNA transfers by reciprocity — see the reciprocity field. Each route has its own application form published by the Department.	Nursing students, foreign-trained nurses, military-trained personnel, and out-of-state CNAs.

Who does NOT need this license — exemptions

The registry requirement attaches to WHERE you work and WHO you are, and Illinois publishes two clean carve-outs plus a set of timing allowances. THE LICENSED-NURSE CARVE-OUT, stated by the Department and unusual enough to be worth quoting: ‘If a registered nurse (RN) or a licensed practical nurse (LPN) has a current, valid Illinois license and is in good standing, he or she can work as a CNA without being on the registry.’ Every neighbouring case fails, and the Department spells each one out: ‘An RN or LPN with a current, valid license from another state cannot work as an Illinois CNA until the registry shows that the individual has met the training requirements’; ‘An Illinois RN or LPN with an inactive license cannot work as an Illinois CNA until the registry shows that the individual has met the training requirements’; and a foreign-trained nurse who has not sat a US licensure examination ‘cannot work as an Illinois CNA until the registry shows that the individual has met the training requirements.’ THE STUDENT ALLOWANCE: ‘Nursing students who have not completed all their training to be an LPN or RN can apply to be an Illinois CNA while continuing to go to school’ — a route onto the registry rather than an exemption from it. TIMING ALLOWANCES FOR SOMEONE ALREADY HIRED: in a licensed long-term care facility a new hire who is not already a CNA ‘Must work as a nurse aide in training and be in an approved CNA program within 45 days of being hired’ and ‘Must be on the registry as a CNA within 120 days of being hired.’ The federal ceiling the Department restates alongside it is longer but narrower: ‘a facility must not use any individual as a nurse aide in the facility on a full-time basis for more than four months unless the individual has completed a state-approved nurse aide training and competency evaluation (NATCEP) or competency evaluation (CEP)’, and from January 1, 1991 no temporary, per diem or leased worker may be used as a nurse aide at all without having completed one. Trainees are also limited by competence rather than the clock: ‘Nursing assistant students should not perform any duties for which they have not been trained and found to be proficient by an instructor’, and must work ‘under the general supervision of a license practical nurse or a registered nurse.’ WHAT THIS RECORD DOES NOT CLAIM: the Health Care Worker Background Check Act reaches well beyond CNAs — ‘home health care aides, nurse aides, personal care assistants, private duty nurse aides, day training personnel, or an individual working in any similar health-related occupation where he or she provides direct care’ — and this record covers only the CNA certification, not who else that Act sweeps in.

Fees

ILLINOIS CHARGES NO REGISTRY FEE — there is no application fee to be listed as a CNA, because there is nothing to apply for once the program files your roster. The fees are examination fees, charged by the university that runs the examination, on a schedule effective July 1, 2023: Initial Exam Fee (12 Month Period) $85; Failed Exam Retake (within 12 months of program completion) $85; No-show Exam Reschedule (within 12 months of program completion) $55; Out-of-State CNA Application $25. ‘NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES. All purchases are final.’ Recertification is priced the same: ‘Recertifications or qualifying exam with IDPH approval is the same fee schedule as above.’ The regulation makes payment a precondition for a lapsed aide: ‘Fees for the competency evaluation shall be paid before the lapsed nursing assistant may take the exam’ (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.265(c)). THE RECIPROCITY FEE HAS A DOCUMENTED HISTORY AND A PAYMENT RULE THAT CATCHES PEOPLE OUT: IDPH’s FAQ dates it ‘Effective July 1, 2019’, and the INACE page’s live text states: ‘As of July 1, 2023, a $25.00 fee has been instituted for the reciprocity process.’ It cannot be paid electronically or by personal cheque: ‘You will have to submit your application by mail along with a money order for $25.00 payable to SIUC or Nurse Aide Testing… Our office cannot accept a personal check or cash’, and ‘If you send in the application without the payment, it will be rejected.’ NOT SET BY THE STATE: training tuition, which each approved program sets. THE FEE IS STATED BY BOTH SOURCES: the Department’s own CNA FAQ publication (revised August 2019) states the $25 transfer fee, and the INACE project’s out-of-state application page states it as well — the two official sources agree on the fee. (A passage on the INACE page warning that IDPH’s website might omit the fee exists only inside an HTML comment in the page source — it renders to no reader and is not treated as published content here.) The fee is real and both official sources state it.

Exam

For CNA I the state examination is WRITTEN ONLY — the skills half happens inside the training program, not at a test centre, and this is the single most misunderstood fact about Illinois. The rule: ‘The basic nursing assistant proficiency examination will be the Department-approved written competency examination developed from the curriculum outlined in Section 395.300’, drawn ‘from a pool of standardized written test questions, only a portion of which are used in any one examination’, and ‘available in both Spanish and English’ (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.400(a)). The language choice belongs to the candidate: ‘It is the student’s choice to take the exam in English or Spanish’ (395.173(b)). The skills side is a program requirement — a student must have ‘Demonstrated competence in the Department-approved performance skills’ (395.173(a)(2)) — and the Department’s own registry site describes the overall standard as ‘a competency test covering 21 mandated manual skills and a written competency test.’ Those 21 skills are listed by rule as the ‘Approved Performance Skills’ (395.50): wash hands; perform oral hygiene; shave a resident; perform nail care; perform perineal care; give a partial bath; give a shower or tub bath; make an occupied bed; dress a resident; transfer a resident to a wheelchair using a transfer belt; transfer a resident using a mechanical lift; help a resident to ambulate with a transfer belt; feed a resident; calculate intake and output; place a resident in a side-lying position; perform passive range of motion; apply and remove personal protective equipment; measure temperature, pulse and respiration; measure and record blood pressure; measure and record height; and measure and record weight. HOW IT RUNS: the training program submits the graduate’s information electronically to the INACE project, the candidate then verifies eligibility, creates an account and buys a seat; there are approximately 50 test sites across Illinois and the exam may be taken as a computer-based test subject to local availability. WHO MAY SIT IT: ‘An individual who has completed an approved Basic Nurse Assistant Training Program and who has met all other requirements of the HCWR may take the competency exam. Individuals placed on the HCWR based on reciprocity from another state are not required to take the Illinois written competency exam.’ RESULTS: the Department’s FAQ says official INACE results appear on the registry ‘approximately two weeks after testing’ with a competency code (P = passed; F1, F2 for failures; NS for a no-show; R for reciprocity), while the INACE project says results for a recertifying CNA are ‘posted to the Registry the Monday following the date of the competency test’ — a difference the state does not reconcile. The CNA II examination is different again: it ‘will be the Department-approved examination with written and performance skills components’ (395.405(a)).

Renewal & continuing education

There is no renewal cycle, no expiry date and no renewal filing — and Illinois says so: ‘CNA certification does not expire.’ What replaces renewal is a continuous work test: ‘a CNA will lose his/her active CNA certification status if he/she goes for a period of 24 consecutive months after his/her last competency evaluation without providing nursing or nursing-related services for pay under the supervision of a licensed nurse. To maintain an active CNA certification, a CNA must work at least one 8-hour shift within a 24-month period, performing nursing or nursing-related services for pay under the supervision of a licensed nurse. A CNA who continuously works in such a capacity will continue to retain an active CNA certification regardless of how many years that individual works.’ The regulation states the same threshold as hours rather than shifts: not providing services ‘for pay for at least eight hours (consecutive or non-consecutive) over a consecutive 24-month period’ (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.265(a)). TWO TRAPS THE DEPARTMENT PUBLISHES ITSELF. (1) Private duty does not count: ‘For work history to count towards maintaining an active CNA certification, the CNA must be performing nursing or nursing-related duties for pay under the supervision of a licensed nurse. Private duty work does not meet that requirement.’ (2) An ‘Active’ label on your registry profile is not proof your certification is active: ‘A notation of “Active” next to your last employment verification does not necessarily mean that your CNA certification is still active. Our system looks to see if there is any work history or any employment verification added within the last 24 months—regardless of type of position; if so, it will indicate “Active.” An employer, however, is required to check all work history to ensure there is no gap of more than 24 months during which you did not perform nursing or nursing-related duties under the supervision of a licensed nurse. If there is such a gap, your CNA certification is not active.’ Keeping the record straight is the employer’s job, entered within 30 days of hire or termination and verified at least annually. NONE is published as a condition of keeping CNA status. What Illinois requires instead of coursework is work — the eight-hours-in-24-months rule in renewal_cycle. Searched on 2026-08-14 and found to impose no continuing-education requirement on the individual CNA: 77 Ill. Adm. Code 395 in full (the Long-Term Care Assistants and Aides Training Programs Code, including Subpart A on program approval, 395.173 on successful completion, 395.265 on recertification, and Subpart C on the competency examination), the Department’s Health Care Worker Registry page, its CNA Facts page, and its ‘FAQs: CNAs & Other Workers’ publication. Part 395 governs TRAINING PROGRAMS and their instructors; it sets continuing requirements for approved instructors and evaluators, not for certified aides. NOT SEARCHED, and named rather than assumed: 77 Ill. Adm. Code 300 (the Skilled Nursing and Intermediate Care Facilities Code) and the other facility-licensure Parts, which is where a facility-side in-service duty would sit if Illinois imposes one. So this field records the absence of an aide-side continuing-education requirement in the tiers read, and makes no claim either way about an employer’s in-service obligation.

How to apply

Applications are handled by Illinois Department of Public Health — Health Care Worker Registry (the Department states the registry ‘is maintained by the Department of Public Health’). No board of nursing is involved. The written competency examination is administered for the Department by Southern Illinois University Carbondale under the Illinois Nurse Assistant/Aide Competency Examination (INACE) project; the Department’s own regulation reserves scoring to itself: ‘A facility may proctor the examination but shall not score it. Scoring will be done only by the Department or its designee’ (77 Ill. Adm. Code 395.400(a)(4)).. Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in Illinois

Illinois Department of Public Health (the Health Care Worker Registry’s own public site) publishes a public license search , searchable by last name (required), first name or middle name. It covers Every worker on the Illinois Health Care Worker Registry, not only CNAs — training information, background-check status and administrative findings of abuse, neglect or misappropriation of property. This is the only proof Illinois recognises: ‘The information on the registry is the only means a health care employer may use to obtain this verification.’ HOW IT BEHAVES. Last name is required and partial names work — the Department’s instruction is to ’type just the first few letters of the last name and the first few letters of the first name’. You cannot search by Social Security number: ‘The ability to search by social security number has been removed in an effort to prevent identity theft. However, once the individual is selected you may type in their social security number and verify that it is the correct number’ — so an employer confirms identity on the profile page rather than in the search box. Illinois expects that screen to be printed and filed: ‘please print the screen with that individual’s specific information, showing that the social security number has been verified… This screen print should be kept in the individual’s employment file.’ The credential detail sits near the bottom of a profile under ‘Certification Program Information’, where ‘Date Training Successful Completed’ names the program and ‘Date of Competency Evaluation’ carries a code — P for passed, F1/F2 for failures, NS for a no-show, R for reciprocity granted. Two practical limits: results are produced by submitting the form, so an individual result has no web address of its own and cannot be bookmarked or forwarded, and a stale-looking ‘Active’ next to an employment verification is not the same thing as active certification (see renewal_cycle). Alternatives to the screen are published: a written request to the Health Care Worker Registry, 525 W. Jefferson St., Fourth Floor, Springfield, IL 62761; email; or the registry help desk on 844-789-3676. The Department also publishes an approved-training-program lookup on the same site.

Records come from Illinois Department of Public Health (the Health Care Worker Registry’s own public site)’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 Illinois issue a CNA certificate or license number?

No, and the state is unusually direct about it: ‘There is no CNA certificate or license number for CNAs in Illinois. The State does not issue credentials, numbers, certificates, or licenses to CNAs.’ If an application form asks for a certificate number, the Department’s instruction is to ’enter “Not Applicable” or “N/A.”’ Your status lives on the Health Care Worker Registry, and that registry is the only proof Illinois recognises — employers are required by law to check it rather than to accept a document. Any certificate you were handed came from your training program or the testing centre ‘as a recognition of work accomplished’, not from the state.

How many hours is CNA training in Illinois?

120 hours minimum — well above the federal floor of 75. The Illinois Administrative Code sets the split precisely: ‘a minimum of 62 hours of theory instruction, 18 hours of laboratory (skills) instruction, and 40 hours of clinical instruction.’ Inside that total sit three more mandatory blocks: at least 12 hours of theory on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, at least four hours of CPR theory with certification required before the course ends, and 16 hours covering communication, infection control, safety and emergency procedures, resident independence and resident rights that must be taught ‘prior to any direct contact with a resident’. There is also a calendar floor — the content ‘shall be presented in a minimum time frame of four weeks, but cannot exceed 120 days’, so an Illinois program cannot be compressed into a week.

Is there a skills test for the Illinois CNA exam?

Not as a separate state exam — and this is where Illinois differs from most states. The state examination for a CNA is written only: ‘The basic nursing assistant proficiency examination will be the Department-approved written competency examination.’ The hands-on half happens inside your training program, where you must have ‘Demonstrated competence in the Department-approved performance skills’ before you finish. Those are the 21 skills the rule lists, from washing hands and oral hygiene through transfers with a belt or a mechanical lift to measuring blood pressure. The Department’s registry site describes the combination as ‘a competency test covering 21 mandated manual skills and a written competency test’. (The higher CNA II examination does have a performance-skills component.)

What does the Illinois CNA exam cost?

$85 for the initial examination, on a fee schedule effective July 1, 2023. A retake after a failure is also $85 and a reschedule after a no-show is $55, both within 12 months of program completion. All purchases are final — ‘NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES.’ Illinois charges no separate registry or application fee, because there is nothing to apply for: your training program files the roster and the registry entry follows. Training tuition is set by each approved program, not by the state. Transferring in from another state is $25, paid by money order.

Does an Illinois CNA certification expire?

No. ‘CNA certification does not expire.’ What can end it is not working: you lose active status if you go 24 consecutive months after your last competency evaluation without providing nursing or nursing-related services for pay under a licensed nurse’s supervision. The threshold is small — one 8-hour shift in 24 months keeps you current — but two details trip people up. Private duty work does not count, and neither does any work that is not under a licensed nurse’s supervision. Nor do you file anything: your employer enters your employment and termination dates on the registry within 30 days and verifies your employment at least annually, and that entry is what keeps you active.

What happens if I have not worked as a CNA in Illinois for more than two years?

Your status ends and the registry shows you as ‘Inactive’ — the regulation’s word is stronger, saying the certification ‘is revoked’. Either way you cannot work as a CNA until you recertify. You do not have to retrain: ‘A nursing assistant whose certification has lapsed… may apply to retake the written competency evaluation to reinstate certification’, with the examination fee paid first. You file the online recertification form with the university that runs the exam and then call to leave your name and Social Security number, which the project states is a required step. You then get one year and three attempts; fail all three and you must complete an approved training program before testing again.

I am a CNA in another state — can I work in Illinois without retesting?

Yes, if your home-state registration is current and clean. You must be ‘deemed competent on another state’s registry’, hold documentation showing the federal training requirements at 42 CFR 483.151 and 483.152 were met, and have no administrative findings of abuse, neglect or misappropriation of property and no disqualifying convictions on any state’s registry. Then: ‘DO I NEED TO RETEST IF I TRANSFER MY CNA CERTIFICATION INTO ILLINOIS? No.’ The process is old-fashioned — the Out-of-State CNA Application goes in the post with a $25 money order or cashier’s cheque; personal cheques and cash are refused and an application without payment is rejected. Check that you are actually active in your home state first, or the application cannot be processed.

Can a nurse work as a CNA in Illinois without being on the registry?

Only one kind of nurse. ‘If a registered nurse (RN) or a licensed practical nurse (LPN) has a current, valid Illinois license and is in good standing, he or she can work as a CNA without being on the registry.’ Every close variation fails: an RN or LPN licensed in another state cannot, an Illinois RN or LPN whose licence is inactive cannot, and a nurse trained abroad who has not taken a US licensure examination cannot — each must appear on the registry as having met the training requirements first. Nursing students are in a different position again: they can apply to become an Illinois CNA while still in school, using verification of the fundamentals of nursing plus at least 40 hours of supervised clinical experience, and they still take the written test.

Can I start working before I finish CNA training in Illinois?

Yes, on a clock. In a licensed long-term care facility a new hire who is not already a CNA must be in an approved program within 45 days of being hired and must be on the registry as a CNA within 120 days of being hired; a student in a college, vocational technical school or high school program must be within 120 days of finishing the program and the competency test, with written proof of attendance. Federal rules cap it separately: a facility ‘must not use any individual as a nurse aide in the facility on a full-time basis for more than four months’ without a completed training and competency evaluation program, and since 1991 no temporary, per diem or leased worker may be used as a nurse aide at all without one. Trainees may only do what they have been trained and found proficient in, under a licensed nurse’s supervision.

How do I check someone's Illinois CNA status?

Search the Health Care Worker Registry on the Department’s own public site. Last name is required and partial spellings work — the Department tells you to type just the first few letters of each name. You cannot search by Social Security number any more: that was ‘removed in an effort to prevent identity theft’, but you can enter the number on the person’s profile to confirm you have the right record. For employment checks Illinois expects the verified screen to be printed and kept in the employment file. The credential detail is near the bottom of the profile under ‘Certification Program Information’, where the competency code reads P for passed, F1 or F2 for failures, NS for a no-show, and R for reciprocity. One caution: an ‘Active’ label beside an employment verification does not by itself mean the certification is active — an employer must check the whole work history for a gap of more than 24 months.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Illinois.

Sources & verification

Last verified against these sources: August 14, 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.