CNA Certification in Michigan: 75-Hour Training

How to become a CNA in Michigan: a 75-hour state training minimum, the Headmaster competency exam — verified from Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA).

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Community and Health Systems (BCHS) — Nurse and Medication Aide Section. BCHS took the registry in-house on July 26, 2023: 'On July 26, 2023, the Michigan Department of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Community and Health Systems, has taken over the Nurse Aide Registry from Headmaster, L.L.P.' (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: Michigan issues a CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION as a nurse aide and separately maintains a public registry — both run by the Bureau of Community and Health Systems inside LARA. The administrative rules are titled, in full, 'DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS, BUREAU OF COMMUNITY AND HEALTH SYSTEMS, NURSE AIDE, NURSE AIDE TRAINER, AND NURSE AIDE TRAINING PROGRAM, CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION AND PERMIT PROGRAM,' promulgated 'By authority conferred on the department of licensing and regulatory affairs by section 21923 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.21923.' LARA describes the registry side this way: 'The Michigan Nurse Aide Registry is maintained by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Community and Health Systems. The registry contains a list of all active nurse aide registrations and some lapsed registrations based upon our records retention schedule. If there is a substantiated finding of abuse, neglect or misappropriation of resident property the finding will be permanently displayed on the registry.' WHO RUNS IT CHANGED RECENTLY AND IT MATTERS: 'On July 26, 2023, the Michigan Department of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Community and Health Systems, has taken over the Nurse Aide Registry from Headmaster, L.L.P. The new software system used to maintain the nurse aide registry by the Bureau is called MI-NATES: Michigan Nurse Aide, Training, and Enforcement System.' Headmaster still runs the EXAM; it no longer runs the registry.
Who may work as a CNA: Only an active certificate holder. LARA: 'Only individuals with an active registration status can work as a certified nurse aide. An individual cannot work as a certified nurse aide if their registration status is lapsed, expired, inactive, voluntarily surrendered, or revoked.' The registry search repeats the warning to employers: nurse aides and medication aides 'are prohibited from working in that capacity with a certificate that is lapsed, expired, inactive, suspended, voluntarily surrendered, or revoked.' The one exception is the four-month temporary-nurse-aide window described in license_types.
Step 1 — training: Complete a Michigan-permitted nurse aide training program. The hour structure is set by rule and is unusually specific — see training_hours. LARA maintains an online database of actively permitted programs, plus 'some lapsed or inactive programs based upon our records retention schedule,' searchable at the same address as the registry, and a map of permitted programs built with the Center for Shared Solutions.
Step 2 — the competency examination: Michigan does not run the test. 'The state of Michigan does not conduct testing of nurse aide candidates. The Bureau of Community and Health Systems contracts with Headmaster, L.L.P. to conduct Nurse Aide Certification Exams.' After completing an approved program, 'a candidate must sign in with Headmaster to schedule a written/oral exam and clinical skills demonstration exam.' Rule limits: 'The maximum number of state-approved testing attempts is 3. After 3 failed attempts an applicant shall successfully complete another nurse aide training program before re-testing' (R 400.311(2)), and 'An applicant shall successfully complete a state-approved testing program within 24 months after completing the nurse aide training program' (R 400.311(3)).
Step 3 — apply through MI-NATES and pay $40: The application is electronic only and runs through the state's single sign-on. LARA's own sequence: create a MILogin account at MILogin - Login (michigan.gov); request access to MI-NATES and set up your user profile; then 'Submit a new nurse aide application and pay the $40 registration fee via the MI-NATES System.' MI-NATES is used for 'Electronic Submission and Payments for Nurse Aide Applications and Renewals,' 'Printing your Certificate of Registration' and 'Reviewing or Updating Your Registration Information.' PROCESSING: 'The department shall process a completed application within 30 calendar days,' and an application is not complete until both the form with required documents and the fee are received; if it is incomplete LARA notifies the applicant within 30 days and the applicant has 30 days to respond, 'Failure to submit requested information will result in closure of the application' (R 400.313(1)-(3)). A separate rule closes the loop on timing: 'In order to be certified, an applicant shall successfully complete a state-permitted training program and a state approved testing program within the previous 24 months' (R 400.313(4)). A refusal is not appealable but is refilable: 'This action is not subject to an administrative appeal hearing. The applicant may resubmit an application correcting those items that resulted in the certificate not being issued' (R 400.313(6)).
Age: Michigan sets no minimum age to train or test — only to be employed. LARA: 'An individual under the age of 18 may be employed as a nurse aide in a nursing home or health care facility provided employment is compliant with the Youth Employment Standards Act, 1978 Public Act 90. Of special note, under the general duty clause of the act, minors under the age of 16 years may not be exposed to communicable or contagious diseases, bloodborne pathogens, AIDS, HIV, or hepatitis. Minors aged 16-17 years may work where exposure to bloodborne pathogens is likely provided the employer is compliant with MIOSHA Standard 554.' And the closing line, which is the part people get wrong: 'There is no age requirement for training and testing, only employment.'
Duties once certified: Rule R 400.320 lists them: practise 'only with a valid and active certificate'; provide nursing or nursing-related services under facility policies, the plan of care and delegated duties 'unless superseded by a verifiable written or verbal order or direction from a licensed health care professional'; provide services 'free from abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of property'; treat residents 'with dignity and respect'; cooperate with a department investigation; not financially exploit a resident and have no financial relationship with one absent a family relationship — 'A nurse aide shall not accept, take, or borrow money, possessions, or valuables from a resident, even with the consent of the resident'; and 'Update the department within 30 calendar days after a name or address change.'

Legal basis

Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Community and Health Systems (BCHS) — Nurse and Medication Aide Section. BCHS took the registry in-house on July 26, 2023: ‘On July 26, 2023, the Michigan Department of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Community and Health Systems, has taken over the Nurse Aide Registry from Headmaster, L.L.P.’ administers certified nursing assistant licensing in Michigan. 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

Michigan uses CNA and CERTIFIED NURSE AIDE as its own terms — LARA’s registry FAQ is titled ‘Michigan Certified Nurse Aide Registry FAQ’s’ and its pages talk about ‘a certificate of registration as a nurse aide,’ ’the Michigan Nurse Aide Registry’ and ‘certified nurse aide.’ What the state issues is precisely a CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION: the rule set is the ‘NURSE AIDE, NURSE AIDE TRAINER, AND NURSE AIDE TRAINING PROGRAM, CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION AND PERMIT PROGRAM,’ and the certificate carries a name, a certificate number and an expiration date. ‘Michigan CNA license’ is a folk term — LARA licenses health facilities, but certifies nurse aides. MI-NATES is the name of the SYSTEM, not of the credential: ‘Michigan Nurse Aide, Training, and Enforcement System.’ TWO NAMING TRAPS WORTH KNOWING. First, HEADMASTER AND D & S DIVERSIFIED TECHNOLOGIES are the same organisation and it is the exam vendor, not the registry — it ran the registry until July 26, 2023 and no longer does, which is why LARA’s FAQ has to answer ‘I passed testing with Headmaster, where can I find my nurse aide certificate (CNA) and why am I not listed on the Nurse Aide Registry?’ Second, the CERTIFIED MEDICATION AIDE (CMA) is a different Michigan credential on the same system with its own registry entry, its own trainers and its own training programs; the registry search lists Nurse Aide, Nurse Aide Trainer, Nurse Aide Training Program, Medication Aide, Medication Aide Trainer and Medication Aide Training Program as six separate registration or permit types. NURSE AIDE TRAINER is a third thing — a PERMIT, not a certificate, held by the registered nurse who teaches the course.

License types & fees

Type	Notes	Who Its For
Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) certificate of registration — examination route	Michigan issues an actual certificate, not merely a registry entry. Rule R 400.313(5): on determining compliance 'the department shall issue a certificate that identifies all the following: (a) Name of the person. (b) Certificate number. (c) Expiration date.' LARA's FAQ is blunt that passing the exam is not the finish line: 'Passing testing is one portion of obtaining a certification. A CNA must also create a MILogin account which allows them to create a profile in MI-NATES, pay the application fee, then receive a certification and be placed on the registry.' The certificate is self-serve: 'Login to your MI-NATES account, select Nurse Aide, then click the button labeled View/Print Certificate.' Fee $40; valid 2 years.	A person who has completed a Michigan-permitted nurse aide training program and passed both parts of the state competency examination.
Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) certificate of registration — reciprocity from an approved state	Filed the same way, through MI-NATES, with the same $40 fee. The gate is which state you came from — see reciprocity for the list and the three criteria Michigan applies. Rule R 400.311(4) states the exemption from the ordinary training-plus-testing requirement: it 'does not apply if an applicant meets either of the following: (a) Has an active nurse aide certificate issued by another state, is in good standing in that state, and that state's training program is recognized by the department. (b) Has successfully completed a nurse aide training program in another state that is recognized by the department and the applicant has successfully completed this state's approved testing program.'	A person who trained and tested in one of the 39 states Michigan has determined meet or exceed its requirements, and who holds that state's nurse aide certification in good standing.
Temporary nurse aide employment (not a credential — a four-month window)	This is a federal allowance, not a Michigan credential, and LARA describes it twice on its own page. 'A graduate nurse aide awaiting an exam from Headmaster can work in a facility as a temporary nurse aide for up to four months if they have graduated from a state permitted nurse aide training program. If they have not passed testing with Headmaster within four months, the individual is no longer eligible to work in a facility as a nurse aide.' And, citing 42 CFR 483.35(d): 'After graduation, if the subsequent competency testing has not been taken and passed within four months of the start of temporary nurse aide employment, the individual is no longer eligible to work in any skilled nursing facility as a nurse aide until placement on the state nurse aide registry is achieved.'	A graduate of a Michigan-permitted nurse aide training program who has not yet passed the competency examination and is not yet on the registry.
Certified Medication Aide (CMA) — a separate credential on the same system, not covered here	The registry search offers Nurse Aide, Nurse Aide Trainer, Nurse Aide Training Program, Medication Aide, Medication Aide Trainer and Medication Aide Training Program as separate registration/permit types. This record documents the NURSE AIDE certificate only. One crossover fact LARA does state: 'Working as a CMA a minimum of 40 hours providing nursing or nursing-related services would satisfy this CNA renewal requirement.'	Named only because MI-NATES, the registry search and the same LARA section cover both, and because CMA hours can satisfy the CNA renewal work requirement.

Who does NOT need this license — exemptions

MICHIGAN’S CARVE-OUTS ARE NARROW AND MOSTLY TIME-LIMITED. (1) THE FOUR-MONTH TEMPORARY NURSE AIDE WINDOW, under 42 CFR 483.35(d) rather than under Michigan law: ‘a graduate of a state-permitted nurse aide training program who is not yet on the state nurse aide registry can work in a skilled nursing facility as a temporary nurse aide for up to four months without having taken and passed Headmaster’s Michigan competency testing. After graduation, if the subsequent competency testing has not been taken and passed within four months of the start of temporary nurse aide employment, the individual is no longer eligible to work in any skilled nursing facility as a nurse aide until placement on the state nurse aide registry is achieved.’ Note the trigger is the start of temporary employment, not graduation. (2) THE TRAINING-AND-TESTING EXEMPTION FOR OUT-OF-STATE AIDES, R 400.311(4): the requirement to complete a Michigan training program and Michigan testing ‘does not apply if an applicant meets either of the following: (a) Has an active nurse aide certificate issued by another state, is in good standing in that state, and that state’s training program is recognized by the department. (b) Has successfully completed a nurse aide training program in another state that is recognized by the department and the applicant has successfully completed this state’s approved testing program.’ That is an exemption from the Michigan course, not from certification — the MI-NATES application and $40 fee still apply. (3) NO AGE FLOOR ON TRAINING OR TESTING: ‘There is no age requirement for training and testing, only employment’ — the constraint on under-18s sits in employment law (Youth Employment Standards Act, 1978 PA 90) and MIOSHA Standard 554, not in the certification rules. WHAT IS NOT AN EXEMPTION AND IS OFTEN ASSUMED TO BE: there is no route onto the Michigan registry by holding a nursing licence, no route by military service, and no route by prior health care employment that appears anywhere on LARA’s Nurse Aide Registry page, in R 400.311, R 400.313 or R 400.315 as read on 2026-08-14. Michigan’s only alternative to its own training-plus-testing sequence is the approved-state reciprocity route. Nor is there a listed exemption for a lapsed aide returning after more than two years — that person ‘must be removed from the registry’ and re-enter as a new initial applicant. A verifier should treat these as searched negatives rather than as gaps.

Fees

$40 TO GET THE CERTIFICATE, $40 TO RENEW IT — the only two state fees on the nurse aide pathway that LARA publishes. Initial certification: ‘Submit a new nurse aide application and pay the $40 registration fee via the MI-NATES System.’ Renewal: ‘Pay the renewal fee ($40).’ Reciprocity applicants pay the same $40 registration fee through MI-NATES. Payment is electronic, inside MI-NATES; the renewal rule requires ‘Electronic payment of the fee’ (R 400.315(4)(a)). NOT A STATE FEE AND NOT SET BY LARA: what the contracted testing vendor charges for the written/oral and clinical skills examinations, and what a training program charges in tuition. LARA does not publish either figure on its Nurse Aide Registry page, and this record does not state one. REIMBURSEMENT IS SOMEONE ELSE’S DEPARTMENT, AND LARA SAYS SO: ‘The Bureau of Community and Health Systems is not involved in CNA reimbursements. In accord with the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 483.152(c), 483.154(c)(2)&(3), and 483.156(b)(4), nurse aides working or have an offer to work in a nursing home, county medical care facility, or hospital long term care unit can be reimbursed for nursing aide training, testing, and registration costs,’ with the detail routed to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. ONE MORE CHARGE WITH A DOLLAR FIGURE IS A PENALTY RATHER THAN A FEE: failing to report a change of name or address within 30 calendar days breaches R 400.320(g); the rules do not attach an amount to it and none is stated here.

Exam

Two parts, both from the state’s contracted vendor: ‘a written/oral exam and clinical skills demonstration exam.’ A candidate signs in with the vendor to schedule after completing a Michigan-permitted training program. THE TWO HARD LIMITS ARE IN RULE, NOT IN VENDOR POLICY: ‘The maximum number of state-approved testing attempts is 3. After 3 failed attempts an applicant shall successfully complete another nurse aide training program before re-testing’ (R 400.311(2)); and ‘An applicant shall successfully complete a state-approved testing program within 24 months after completing the nurse aide training program’ (R 400.311(3)). A third timing rule bites at the application stage: ‘In order to be certified, an applicant shall successfully complete a state-permitted training program and a state approved testing program within the previous 24 months’ (R 400.313(4)). Passing the examination does not put you on the registry — the MI-NATES application and the $40 fee do. WHILE YOU WAIT: a graduate of a permitted program may work as a temporary nurse aide for up to four months under 42 CFR 483.35(d); miss the four months and ’the individual is no longer eligible to work in a facility as a nurse aide.’ Michigan publishes no passing score, question count or time limit on the pages read, and this record states none.

Renewal & continuing education

EVERY TWO YEARS, AND FROM 2026 THERE ARE THREE THINGS TO SATISFY RATHER THAN TWO. Rule R 400.315(2): ‘An initial or renewal certificate issued after the effective date of these rules is valid for 2 years unless otherwise specified on the certificate.’ R 400.315(4) sets the conditions: ‘(a) Electronic payment of the fee. (b) An attestation that within the last 24-consecutive-month renewal period the individual worked a minimum of 40 hours as a certified nurse aide providing nursing or nursing-related services for monetary compensation. (c) Beginning not less than 12 months after the effective date of these rules, an attestation that the individual has completed at least 12 hours annually of continuing education within the renewal period.’ LARA has now fixed the start date for that third condition: ‘In accordance with CNA Admin Rule R 400.315, CNAs are required to obtain continuing education (CE) for certificate renewal. CE requirements go into effect on March 23, 2026. Any CNA whose expiration date is on or after March 23, 2026, must meet the requirements prior to their expiration date in order to renew their certificate.’ MECHANICS: renewal is filed in MI-NATES and ‘Renewals can be initiated no earlier than 45 days prior to the certificate expiration date.’ LARA emails a renewal notice ‘45 days before the expiration date listed on the certificate,’ but only reaches you if ‘your contact information is accurate in the MI-NATES system.’ THE DATE ARITHMETIC IS THE TRAP: ‘A renewal certificate is good for 24 months from the last certificate’s expiration date’ — renewing early does not push the next expiry further out. ‘If a renewal is not submitted timely, or is incomplete, the certificate will lapse the day after the expiration date. An individual may not work as a CNA with a lapsed or expired certificate.’ WHAT WORK COUNTS: 40 hours as a CNA providing nursing or nursing-related services for monetary compensation in the 24-month period. Medication aide hours count too — LARA: ‘Working as a CMA a minimum of 40 hours providing nursing or nursing-related services would satisfy this CNA renewal requirement.’ The department reserves the right to check: it ‘has the authority to require additional information and documentation to verify information within this rule including, but not limited to, proof of employment and continuing education’ (R 400.315(6)). 12 HOURS A YEAR — 24 HOURS PER TWO-YEAR RENEWAL — AND IT IS NEW AS OF MARCH 23, 2026. LARA: ‘Effective March 23, 2026, an attestation must be provided indicating that at least 12 hours annually of continuing education (CE) have been completed within the two-year renewal period [Rule 400.315]. Continuing education must ensure the continuing competence of the nurse aide and must include abuse, neglect, and care plan training.’ Its own FAQ states the same duty as a cycle total: renew by ‘attesting that you have completed your required 24 hours of continuing education and that you have worked as a nurse aide for at least 40 hours for pay during your last renewal cycle.’ Both are LARA’s own words and they reconcile — 12 hours annually across a 24-month renewal period is 24 hours. The rule text behind it is R 400.315(4)(c) and (5): the attestation covers ‘at least 12 hours annually of continuing education within the renewal period,’ and ‘Continuing education must ensure the continuing competence of the nurse aide and must include abuse, neglect, and care plan training.’ THREE REQUIRED SUBJECTS, THEN, RATHER THAN A FREE CHOICE: abuse, neglect and care plan training. THE STATE PROVIDES ONE COURSE ITSELF, FREE: ‘The Bureau of Community and Health Systems has created a Care Plan Educational Video training module that is accepted for CNA CE in Michigan and is worth 1 nursing contact hour. This activity is virtual/asynchronous (self-learning) and is available at no cost to participants.’ To earn the hour, ‘participants must watch the Care Plan Educational Video in its entirety, must take and pass the quiz, and submit the survey at the end of the video.’ LARA states its approval provenance: ‘This nursing continuing professional development activity was approved by the Wisconsin Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation with an expiration date of May 1, 2027.’ A NOTE ON THE START DATE, RECORDED BOTH WAYS: the rule says the CE attestation applies ‘Beginning not less than 12 months after the effective date of these rules,’ and the rules carry the history line ‘2023 MR 6, Eff. March 23, 2023’ — which sets a floor of March 23, 2024, not a fixed date. LARA has since published March 23, 2026 as the operative start. The two are consistent because the rule says ’not less than,’ and this record follows LARA’s published date. SEPARATELY, A DUTY ON EMPLOYERS RATHER THAN AIDES: long term care facilities must ‘Conduct a performance review of all nurse aides at least once every 12 months’ and provide in-service education that must ‘Ensure the continuing competence of all employed nurse aides’ and ‘be a minimum of 12 hours per year’ under 42 CFR 483.95. That is the facility’s obligation; it is not the same thing as the aide’s renewal CE, though the hour figure is coincidentally identical.

How to apply

Applications are handled by Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Bureau of Community and Health Systems (BCHS) — Nurse and Medication Aide Section. BCHS took the registry in-house on July 26, 2023: ‘On July 26, 2023, the Michigan Department of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Community and Health Systems, has taken over the Nurse Aide Registry from Headmaster, L.L.P.’. Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in Michigan

Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Community and Health Systems publishes a public license search , searchable by registration/permit type (Nurse Aide, Nurse Aide Trainer, Nurse Aide Training Program, Medication Aide, Medication Aide Trainer, Medication Aide Training Program, or all), registration/permit number, last name, first name, program name, city or status. It covers One statewide search across people and programs: nurse aides, nurse aide trainers, nurse aide training programs, medication aides, medication aide trainers and medication aide training programs. Results show the registration or permit number, last and first name, program name, city and status, and the whole result set can be exported to Excel. It is a genuinely open register — filtering to active nurse aides returned 52,689 people when this record was compiled — and there is no Social Security number or date-of-birth gate, so anyone can look up a name. LARA states what the register does and does not hold: it ‘contains a list of all active nurse aide registrations and some lapsed registrations based upon our records retention schedule,’ and ‘If there is a substantiated finding of abuse, neglect or misappropriation of resident property the finding will be permanently displayed on the registry.’ What it does NOT hold is a work history: ‘The State of Michigan does not maintain a history of lapsed or expired registrations. A lapsed record may be stored in our system up to 7 years, however, the details regarding specific lapsed and active time periods are not maintained.’ The page carries a standing warning that lapsed, expired, inactive, suspended, surrendered or revoked status bars the person from working in that capacity, and a disclaimer that ‘All users have the responsibility to determine whether information obtained from this site is still accurate, current, and complete.’ For state surveys, LARA accepts the register itself as proof: ‘Verification of current Michigan CNA certification via the nurse aide registry is sufficient documentation during onsite inspections by the State of Michigan.’ The same address also serves as the lookup for permitted training programs. Results come from submitting the search form rather than from opening a web address, so an individual person’s result has no address that can be linked or bookmarked.

Records come from Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Community and Health Systems’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 Michigan certify or just register nursing assistants?

Both, in one act. Michigan issues a certificate of registration as a nurse aide — the rule requires the department to issue a certificate showing your name, certificate number and expiration date — and it lists you on the Michigan Nurse Aide Registry at the same time. You can print the certificate yourself from your MI-NATES account. Passing the exam alone does not do it: LARA’s FAQ answers the common complaint directly — ‘Passing testing is one portion of obtaining a certification. A CNA must also create a MILogin account which allows them to create a profile in MI-NATES, pay the application fee, then receive a certification and be placed on the registry.’

How many training hours does Michigan require for a CNA?

75 hours, and Michigan tells you how they must be split. Rule R 400.335(1)(d) requires a permitted program to ‘Provide a course consisting of 16 classroom hours, 16 clinical hours, and any combination of 43 classroom, laboratory, or clinical hours, for a total of 75 hours of training.’ Two structural rules travel with that: ‘A minimum of 16 classroom hours are required before the student’s direct contact with a resident,’ and ‘Clinical and laboratory hours must be done in-person, but classroom hours may be in-person or virtual’ — with a required mechanism for student feedback and trainer interaction if the classroom is virtual.

Who gives the Michigan CNA exam?

Headmaster, L.L.P., also known as D & S Diversified Technologies, under contract to the Bureau of Community and Health Systems. LARA is explicit that the state does not test: ‘The state of Michigan does not conduct testing of nurse aide candidates.’ After finishing a Michigan-permitted training program you sign in with the vendor to schedule ‘a written/oral exam and clinical skills demonstration exam.’ The same company used to run Michigan’s registry as well, but stopped on July 26, 2023, when BCHS took it in-house — which is why passing the exam no longer puts you on the register by itself.

How much does a Michigan CNA certificate cost?

$40 to get it and $40 to renew it, both paid electronically inside MI-NATES. Reciprocity applicants from an approved state pay the same $40 registration fee. What the testing vendor charges for the written/oral and clinical skills exams, and what a training program charges in tuition, are separate and are not published by LARA. Nurse aides working in, or holding an offer from, a nursing home, county medical care facility or hospital long-term care unit may be reimbursed for training, testing and registration costs under federal rules — but LARA points that question to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services: ‘The Bureau of Community and Health Systems is not involved in CNA reimbursements.’

How many times can you take the Michigan CNA exam?

Three. Rule R 400.311(2): ‘The maximum number of state-approved testing attempts is 3. After 3 failed attempts an applicant shall successfully complete another nurse aide training program before re-testing.’ There is also a clock: you must pass ‘within 24 months after completing the nurse aide training program,’ and at the application stage you must have completed both the permitted training program and the approved testing program within the previous 24 months.

Do Michigan CNAs need continuing education?

Yes, starting March 23, 2026 — this is new. LARA: ‘Effective March 23, 2026, an attestation must be provided indicating that at least 12 hours annually of continuing education (CE) have been completed within the two-year renewal period,’ which its FAQ states as ‘24 hours of continuing education’ per renewal cycle. The content is not a free choice: CE ‘must ensure the continuing competence of the nurse aide and must include abuse, neglect, and care plan training.’ The state supplies one of those subjects itself at no cost — the Bureau’s Care Plan Educational Video is accepted for Michigan CNA CE and is worth one nursing contact hour, provided you watch it in full, pass the quiz and submit the survey.

How do you renew a Michigan CNA certificate?

In MI-NATES, no earlier than 45 days before it expires, paying $40 and making two attestations: that you worked at least 40 hours as a CNA providing nursing or nursing-related services for pay during the 24-month renewal period, and — from March 23, 2026 — that you completed the required continuing education. LARA emails a reminder 45 days out, but only to the address in your MI-NATES profile. Watch the arithmetic: ‘A renewal certificate is good for 24 months from the last certificate’s expiration date,’ so renewing early does not extend the next expiry. Medication aide hours count toward the work requirement.

What happens if a Michigan CNA certificate lapses?

It depends entirely on whether you are inside two years. The certificate lapses the day after the expiration date and you may not work with it. Lapsed under 24 months: you follow the ordinary renewal process, but the 40 hours of work must have fallen inside the 24 months before the certificate expired and cannot be more than 24 months before the day you file the late renewal. Lapsed over 24 months, or unable to attest to the work at all: ‘An individual must be removed from the registry and must retake a state-approved nurse aide training program and competency examination,’ then apply as a brand-new initial certification. And Michigan will not reconstruct your past for you — ‘The State of Michigan does not maintain a history of lapsed or expired registrations.’

Can you transfer a CNA certification from another state to Michigan?

Only from one of 39 states Michigan has approved. LARA publishes the list under ‘The following States meet or exceed the Michigan requirements’ and then states the consequence itself: ‘A candidate that did not undergo training and testing from a State listed above is not eligible for reciprocity.’ Ten states are absent from the list — Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. What Michigan is measuring is whether the other state’s scheme is consistent with the federal regulations, requires at least 75 course hours before the competency examination, and does not let candidates exempt out of the hours or the testing. If your state qualifies, you file through MI-NATES like any new applicant and pay the same $40.

Can you work as a nurse aide in Michigan before you pass the exam?

For up to four months, if you have graduated from a state-permitted training program. LARA, citing 42 CFR 483.35(d): a graduate not yet on the registry ‘can work in a skilled nursing facility as a temporary nurse aide for up to four months without having taken and passed Headmaster’s Michigan competency testing.’ The clock runs from the start of that temporary employment, not from graduation, and when it runs out ’the individual is no longer eligible to work in any skilled nursing facility as a nurse aide until placement on the state nurse aide registry is achieved.’

How do employers check a Michigan CNA's status?

Through the public Michigan Nurse Aide Registry, which needs nothing more than a name. You can filter by registration or permit type — nurse aide, nurse aide trainer, nurse aide training program, medication aide, medication aide trainer or medication aide training program — or search by registration number, last name, first name, program name, city or status, and export the results to Excel. LARA accepts it as proof during its own inspections: ‘Verification of current Michigan CNA certification via the nurse aide registry is sufficient documentation during onsite inspections by the State of Michigan.’ What it will not tell you is whether someone has ever lapsed — LARA gives employers the same answer it gives former aides: that history is not maintained.

Is a finding of abuse or neglect permanent in Michigan?

Abuse and misappropriation are; neglect may not be. LARA: ‘Nurse aides that have been found to have abused or misappropriated the property of a resident will be revoked on the nurse aide registry permanently and the finding will be permanently listed on the registry. The only exception is for neglect.’ A neglect revocation runs for a minimum of one year, after which the aide ‘may petition the Bureau by sending a request to the manager of the Nurse and Medication Aide Section to have the negative finding removed from the registry. The request will be reviewed within 30 days,’ and the request goes through MI-NATES. By rule, findings go on the registry within 10 business days and stay permanently ‘unless the finding was made in error, the individual was found not guilty in a court of law, or the department is notified of the individual’s death.’

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Michigan.

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.