CNA Certification in New Mexico — Requirements & Fees

How to become a CNA in New Mexico: a 75-hour state training minimum — verified from New Mexico Health Care Authority (NMHCA).

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from New Mexico Health Care Authority (NMHCA), Division of Health Improvement — Certified Nurse Aide Registry. The Division describes its own role in one line: it 'Operates the Certified Nurse Aide Registry (NAR) and Training program.' Day-to-day testing and the registry software are run by a contractor: 'The New Mexico Health Care Authority (NMHCA) has approved D&S Diversified Technologies, LLP (D&SDT)-HEADMASTER, LLP to provide tests and scoring services for nurse aide testing.' Before July 1, 2024 the same unit sat inside the New Mexico Department of Health. (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: New Mexico CERTIFIES nurse aides and lists them on a state registry — both halves are real here, which is not true of every state. The Health Care Authority's own definition: 'A certified nurse assistant is a certified healthcare paraprofessional that performs basic day-to-day tasks to support the entire medical team in properly caring for ill, injured, or disabled people.' The registry it sits on is defined in the state-linked candidate handbook: 'The New Mexico Nurse Aide Registry (NMNAR) lists the names of nurse aides who, through training, testing, and experience, meet federal and/or state requirements to work as nurse aides in New Mexico. The Registry includes substantiated findings of nurse aide abuse, neglect, misappropriation of resident property, or exploitation involving a nurse aide at a New Mexico Health Care Authority (NMHCA) licensed medical facility.' WHO RUNS IT: the New Mexico Health Care Authority's Division of Health Improvement, which lists among its functions that it 'Operates the Certified Nurse Aide Registry (NAR) and Training program.' Testing and the registry system are contracted out — 'The New Mexico Health Care Authority (NMHCA) has approved D&S Diversified Technologies, LLP (D&SDT)-HEADMASTER, LLP to provide tests and scoring services for nurse aide testing' — and applications, renewals and reciprocity all run through that contractor's TMU system. NO BOARD OF NURSING IS INVOLVED: the New Mexico Board of Nursing licenses nurses; the nurse aide credential comes from the Health Care Authority. A RECENT AND IMPORTANT CHANGE: 'On July 1st, 2024 two major changes occurred: Our unit moved from under the Department of Health (DOH) to the newly formed Health Care Authority (HCA) [and] We transitioned from our old registry vendor, Prometric, to our new vendor Headmaster.' Anything published before mid-2024 that names the Department of Health or Prometric is describing the old arrangement.
The path, in the state's own order: The Health Care Authority sets it out in numbered steps: meet basic eligibility; complete a state-approved CNA training program; schedule certification testing; pass the competency examination; be placed on the New Mexico Nurse Aide Registry; work; renew. In its words: 'A nursing assistant must complete a State-approved CNA training program. The program consists of a minimum of 75 clocked training hours, including theory and lab hours plus a clinical rotation. Upon successfully completing a training program, the candidate is eligible to schedule for the State competency evaluation. The State competency evaluation is administered through Headmaster LLP. The evaluation consists of two tests, a knowledge test and a clinical skills test.' The training program itself enrolls you in the testing system: 'After completion of training, your instructor will create your account in TMU, which will grant you access to scheduling for the the New Mexico CNA Competency Exam.'
Age: 16 to test. The state-linked candidate handbook is unambiguous: 'The minimum age requirement to test in New Mexico is 16.' The Health Care Authority's own eligibility list is looser and points at the school rather than the state: 'Must be at least 16–18 years old (varies by training program).' Both are recorded because they are both the state's; the 16 floor is the testing rule, the 16–18 range describes what individual training programs set.
High school diploma: Not a state requirement. The Health Care Authority lists it as a preference, not a condition: 'Have a high school diploma or GED (not always required, but preferred). High school-based training programs are available that do not require a current diploma or GED.'
Criminal-history screening and health screening: The Health Care Authority lists 'Pass a criminal background check and health screening (TB test, immunizations)' under basic eligibility, and flags the varies-by-program caveat over that whole eligibility block. The screening itself is an EMPLOYMENT screen run under a separate New Mexico scheme, not a certification exam: the Division of Health Improvement 'Operates the Caregivers Criminal History Screening Program (CCHSP) which provides criminal background checks on potential caregivers' and also 'Operates the Employee Abuse Registry (EAR)... which provides background checks for all caregivers, ensuring they have not been disqualified by a substantiated case of ANE. Individuals placed on the EAR are not eligible for hire as caregivers.' The governing rule is 8.370.5 NMAC (Caregivers Criminal History Screening Requirements), which reaches 'all applicants, caregivers, hospital caregivers, and care providers in New Mexico' and defines a caregiver as 'any person whose employment or contractual service with a care provider includes direct care or routine and unsupervised physical or financial access to any care recipient serviced by that provider.' The phrase 'nurse aide' does not appear in that rule; it catches nurse aides through the caregiver definition, not by name. No New Mexico source read states a list of convictions that specifically bars nurse aide CERTIFICATION, and this record therefore states none.
Testing deadline after training — three attempts, 24 months: 'You have three (3) attempts to pass the exam's knowledge and skill test portions within 24 months from your date of nurse aide training program completion. If you do not complete testing within 24 months from completion of training, you must retrain to become eligible to further attempt New Mexico nurse aide examinations.' The Health Care Authority states the same limit in shorter form — 'New Mexico allows up to 3 attempts for each section; within 2 years of completing training' — and adds that a partial failure is retested in part, not in whole: 'If you fail one section, you can retake just that section individually, subject to additional testing fees.'
Who pays for the examination: Often not the candidate. 'The State of New Mexico will pay test fees for candidates who have been offered employment or are currently employed by a Medicaid certified nursing facility. In order for the State to pay the test fees, the employer must verify the candidate's employment prior to submission. If the candidate is not eligible for state payment, they must pay their own test fees by credit card on the NM TMU website.' Some schools prepay: 'Some training programs pre-pay testing fees for their graduating students... Before scheduling a test, verify with your instructor if the training program has already prepaid for your test.'
Nursing facility employment before certification — the four-month rule: New Mexico's Medicaid rule for nursing facilities sets the outer limit on working uncertified: 'A NF cannot employ individuals as nurse aides for more than four months unless they have completed a nurse aide training and competency evaluation program (NATCEP)' (8.312.2.21(A) NMAC). The same rule bars shortcuts around it — 'A NF must not use temporary nurse aides who have not completed a NATCEP or a CEP' — and requires that students 'do not perform any services for which they have not been trained and found proficient by instructors' and that 'all students in NATCEP programs are under the general supervision of licensed or registered nurses when they perform services.' Note that this rule states the limit in MONTHS where the federal frame is usually quoted in days.
Medication Aide — a boundary, not a step: No New Mexico source read on 2026-08-16 establishes a Medication Aide or Certified Medication Aide credential riding on this registry: the Health Care Authority's Certified Nurse Aide Registry page, its Division of Health Improvement page, the state-linked New Mexico Nurse Aide Candidate Handbook and the state's testing-system application list were all searched and none names one. This record therefore claims neither the existence nor the absence of such a credential in New Mexico; it covers the nurse aide certification only.

Legal basis

New Mexico Health Care Authority (NMHCA), Division of Health Improvement — Certified Nurse Aide Registry. The Division describes its own role in one line: it ‘Operates the Certified Nurse Aide Registry (NAR) and Training program.’ Day-to-day testing and the registry software are run by a contractor: ‘The New Mexico Health Care Authority (NMHCA) has approved D&S Diversified Technologies, LLP (D&SDT)-HEADMASTER, LLP to provide tests and scoring services for nurse aide testing.’ Before July 1, 2024 the same unit sat inside the New Mexico Department of Health. administers certified nursing assistant licensing in New Mexico. 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

New Mexico’s own words are ‘certified nurse aide’ and ‘certified nurse assistant’ — the Health Care Authority’s program is the ‘Certified Nurse Aide Registry’, its email address is [email protected] , and its definition sentence begins ‘A certified nurse assistant is a certified healthcare paraprofessional…’. The initialism CNA is the state’s, not just the public’s. Three more names travel with it. NMNAR — the New Mexico Nurse Aide Registry, the list your certification sits on; the Health Care Authority also abbreviates it NAR. NATCEP — the Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Program, the federal-law name for the approved course, used throughout New Mexico’s Medicaid rule at 8.312.2.21 NMAC and in the Health Care Authority’s own NATCEP-loss and waiver material. TMU — TestMaster Universe, the contractor’s system at nm.tmutest.com where every New Mexico application, test booking, renewal and registry search happens; a New Mexico aide will hear ’log in to TMU’ far more often than any official-sounding name. ‘CNA license’ is the folk term: New Mexico issues a certification with a certification number and an expiry date, not a licence, and no board licenses nurse aides here. NAMES THAT ARE NOW WRONG: the Department of Health and Prometric. Both were correct until July 1, 2024 and are still printed on a lot of material — the Health Care Authority’s own notice reads ‘Our unit moved from under the Department of Health (DOH) to the newly formed Health Care Authority (HCA)’ and ‘We transitioned from our old registry vendor, Prometric, to our new vendor Headmaster.’ D&S Diversified Technologies, D&SDT, D&SDT-HEADMASTER and Headmaster LLP all refer to the same current contractor.

License types & fees

Type	Notes	Who Its For
New Mexico certified nurse aide (CNA) — certification, listed on the New Mexico Nurse Aide Registry (NMNAR)	New Mexico issues a CERTIFICATION with a number and an expiry date, not merely a registry listing: 'Once you pass, TMU places you on the New Mexico Nurse Aide Registry. Your name and certification number will be visible on the registry, showing your active status along with your issue and expiration dates.' The Health Care Authority defines the occupation as 'a certified healthcare paraprofessional that performs basic day-to-day tasks to support the entire medical team in properly caring for ill, injured, or disabled people.' Certification runs 24 months.	A person who has completed a New Mexico state-approved nurse aide training program and passed both parts of the state competency evaluation.
Training waiver routes to the competency examination — LPN/RN nursing student, graduate nurse, foreign-trained nurse, military-trained	Four separate applications on the state's testing system, each described as an application 'to bypass the New Mexico Health Care Authority (NMHCA) training requirement.' NURSING STUDENT: 'Select this route if you have successfully completed the required basic coursework and first round of clinicals in a New Mexico state-approved nursing program within the past 24 months.' GRADUATE NURSE: for someone who 'successfully completed a New Mexico state-approved RN/LPN program but ha[s] not yet been licensed.' FOREIGN-TRAINED NURSE: 'Select this route if you are an LPN or RN trained in another country. You must have a valid nursing license from your country and be in good standing on the applicable registry.' MILITARY: 'if you have obtained nurse aide-related skills and training through military service within the past 24 months.' Every one of the four carries the same clock: 'You must complete your testing within six months of your eligibility to test.' A waiver removes the training requirement, never the examination.	People whose nursing or military training substitutes for the state-approved nurse aide training program.
Reactivation by examination (certification lapsed more than 24 months, with recent nursing-related work)	A separate application on the state's testing system. The applicant must 'submit a letter from your employer on company letterhead' listing the employee's name, title, hire date(s) and 'a detailed list of employee's job duties.' Once the Health Care Authority approves eligibility, testing must be completed within six months. This is the only route back for a long-lapsed aide who is still working; someone long-lapsed who has NOT worked must retrain — see lapse_rule.	Someone whose New Mexico certification lapsed more than 24 months ago 'but who have been working in a nursing-related field for at least 24 months.'
Reciprocity placement from another state's registry	An application, not an automatic transfer, and it adds a credential rather than moving one: 'Reciprocity grants dual certification. Each state's certification is independent from the other. It is the CNA's responsibility to maintain their certifications for each state.' New Mexico charges nothing for it. See reciprocity.	A nurse aide 'current and in good standing on a nurse aide registry in a state other than New Mexico.'

Who does NOT need this license — exemptions

New Mexico publishes no occupational exemption list of the kind a trade licence carries. The certification requirement is a condition of being EMPLOYED as a nurse aide in a certified nursing facility, so the boundary is drawn by the employer and the setting rather than by the task. The nearest thing to a carve-out is the four-month allowance in the state’s Medicaid nursing-facility rule: ‘A NF cannot employ individuals as nurse aides for more than four months unless they have completed a nurse aide training and competency evaluation program (NATCEP)’ (8.312.2.21(A) NMAC) — a window to get trained and tested, not a permanent exemption, and the same rule closes the obvious workaround: ‘A NF must not use temporary nurse aides who have not completed a NATCEP or a CEP.’ Students in an approved program are a second, narrower case: a nursing facility ‘must ensure that students in the NATCEP programs do not perform any services for which they have not been trained and found proficient by instructors’ and that ‘all students in NATCEP programs are under the general supervision of licensed or registered nurses when they perform services for eligible recipient or member residents.’ A THIRD EXCLUSION IS EMPLOYMENT-SIDE RATHER THAN CERTIFICATION-SIDE: ‘A NF must not employ individuals who have been convicted by the court of abuse or neglect of any NF residents or misappropriation of any NF residents’ property’ (8.312.2.21(B) NMAC). WHAT NEW MEXICO DOES NOT SAY: no source read on 2026-08-16 states that a nursing student, a licensed nurse, a home care worker outside a certified facility, or an assisted-living or personal-care aide is exempt from — or subject to — this certification. The renewal rules point in an interesting direction on that question without answering it: work in a ’nursing home, hospital, hospice, home health agency, or ICF/MR facility’ COUNTS toward renewal, while work as a ‘private-duty aide, doctor’s office aide, laboratory aide, personal care home assisted living aide, or personal care home residential living aide’ does not — which is a statement about what keeps a certification alive, not about where one is required. That distinction is left standing rather than collapsed.

Fees

TESTING (paid before a test date can be scheduled, and often paid by the state or the employer rather than the candidate): Clinical Skills Test $100; Written (knowledge) Test $40; Oral/audio knowledge test $45, which the state-linked handbook shows as the $40 knowledge fee plus a $5 audio charge. Taking both parts for the first time is therefore $140. RENEWAL: ‘The renewal fee is $25.00.’ Self-payers are charged tax on top — the state-linked handbook’s renewal screen says ’the non-refundable renewal fee of $25.00 + a 4.875% non-refundable New Mexico Gross Revenue Tax Fee’ — and there is ’no renewal fee for state-funded facilities.’ RECIPROCITY: nothing. ‘There is no fee associated with requesting reciprocity in New Mexico.’ TEST REVIEW: $25, and the two official statements of it differ. The testing system’s own request form says the candidate ‘must submit the $25 non-refundable test review fee and a detailed explanation’. The state-linked candidate handbook calls the same money a deposit and says it can come back: ‘If, after investigation, the review finding is in your favor, you will be refunded the $25 test review deposit. If the findings of the review are not in your favor, the $25 test review deposit will stand, and the fee is non-refundable.’ Results are emailed within ten business days. PETITION TO REMOVE A NEGLECT FINDING FROM THE REGISTRY: the request ‘shall be accompanied by a payment of $40.00 or a sworn statement of indigence on a form provided by the authority’ (8.370.25.23(B) NMAC). WHO PAYS THE TEST FEES: ‘The State of New Mexico will pay test fees for candidates who have been offered employment or are currently employed by a Medicaid certified nursing facility’, with the employer verifying the employment first. NOT SET BY THE STATE: training tuition. The Health Care Authority publishes the list of approved programs and tells candidates to ‘reach out to each training program independently for specific pricing and information on course lengths and dates.’ FORFEITURE RULES ARE REAL HERE: arriving late, arriving without a valid signed US government-issued photo ID, arriving with a name that does not match the record, or arriving with guests, children or non-service animals all mean ‘you will not be admitted to the exam, and any exam fees paid will NOT be refunded.’

Exam

Two parts, both required, and the state’s own summary is ‘The evaluation consists of two tests, a knowledge test and a clinical skills test.’ KNOWLEDGE TEST: ‘The Knowledge Test consists of 60 multiple-choice questions. Questions are selected from subject areas based on the New Mexico Health Care Authority (NMHCA)-approved New Mexico test plan and include questions from all required categories as defined in federal regulations.’ You get ‘sixty (60) minutes to complete the 60-question exam’, delivered on a computer at the test site — ‘All test sites in New Mexico utilize electronic TMU testing using Internet-connected computers’ — and the pass mark is stated plainly: ‘You must have a score of 74% or better to pass the knowledge portion of the exam.’ The published subject-area counts add to the 60: Aging Process and Restorative Care 6, Basic Nursing Skills 6, Care Impaired 2, Communication 6, Data Collection 4, Disease Process 5, Infection Control 6, Mental Health 3, Personal Care 4, Resident Rights 6, Role and Responsibility 6, Safety 6. LANGUAGE AND AUDIO: ‘In addition to English, the knowledge and audio knowledge exams are available in Spanish’, and a candidate ‘can select English or an NMHCA-approved alternate language from a drop-down list. During the exam, you can switch back and forth between your preferred language and English.’ An audio (oral) form is available for an extra charge — ’there is an extra $5 charge for the audio version ($45 total), and you must request an Audio version before you submit your testing fee payment’ — with the questions ‘read to you neutrally and can be heard through wired headphones or earbuds plugged into the computer.’ SKILL TEST: performed for an RN Test Observer with a live resident actor for most tasks. ‘Each of your randomly selected three (3) or four (4) tasks will have scenarios associated with them’, and ‘You will be allowed thirty (30) minutes to complete your three or four tasks. After fifteen (15) minutes have elapsed, you will be alerted when 15 minutes remain.’ The pass standard is step-level, not a percentage of tasks: ‘You must correctly perform all of the critical steps (in bold font) and 80% of all non-key steps on each task assigned to pass the Skill Test.’ The first task is always drawn from a mandatory set of four — assisting with a bedpan, catheter care for a female resident, a PPE-and-urinary-drainage-bag task, or perineal care for a female resident — each with hand washing embedded, and ‘You will also receive an additional two (2) or three (3) randomly selected tasks.’ Catheter care and perineal care are demonstrated on a manikin; everything else is performed on a live actor. Steps that are ‘only verbalized or simulated WILL NOT COUNT.’ ATTEMPTS: three, within 24 months of finishing training, and a failed half can be retaken by itself.

Renewal & continuing education

Every 24 months, and what New Mexico asks for is WORK, verified by an employer — not coursework. ‘To maintain eligibility to work, you must renew your eligibility every twenty-four months. To be eligible to renew, you must work for pay as a nurse aide performing nursing or nursing-related services at least eight (8) consecutive hours during the previous twenty-four months.’ The Health Care Authority states the same threshold as ‘at least 8 paid hours of CNA work within the past 24 months.’ THE WINDOW: ‘Renewal requests may be submitted starting 30 days prior to the certification expiration date or up to 30 days past the expiration date’ — so there is a 30-day grace period, and it is hard-edged: ‘If a CNA goes past the 30-day grace period for renewal, they will need to retake the state competency exam to renew their certification.’ HOW IT WORKS: you list your hours and employer in your own account, ‘An email verification link will be sent to the employer contact you choose from the list of employers. When the employer verifies your work experience, your eligibility will be extended an additional twenty-four months.’ WHAT WORK COUNTS — and the exclusions matter: qualifying settings are given as ’nursing home, hospital, hospice, home health agency, or ICF/MR facility’, while ‘Employment as a private-duty aide, doctor’s office aide, laboratory aide, personal care home assisted living aide, or personal care home residential living aide does not qualify for recertification.’ Agency staff have a special instruction: ‘If you work for an employment agency, you must submit your employment verification request to a facility at which you have worked hours through your agency. Employment agencies are not listed in the list of employers and cannot verify your employment.’ If a former employer will not confirm the work, there is a state fallback: ‘you should choose the HCA Renewal – Documentation Required option, and the New Mexico Health Care Authority (NMHCA) will review and approve your verification.’ A DISCIPLINARY BAR RIDES ON RENEWAL: ‘Nurse aides with misconduct restrictions on the Registry are not eligible for renewal.’ NOTICES ARE ELECTRONIC ONLY: ‘Renewal notifications/alerts are sent via email and text message 30 days before your certification expires. No renewal certifications are sent via USPS mail’ — which is why the state repeats that keeping your contact details current in your account is your responsibility. THE TWO OFFICIAL NEW MEXICO SOURCES SAY DIFFERENT THINGS, AND BOTH ARE RECORDED. The Health Care Authority’s Certified Nurse Aide Registry page lists continuing education inside its renewal instructions: ‘Certification is valid for 2 years. To renew: Must show at least 8 paid hours of CNA work within the past 24 months. Must complete 12 hours of in-service/continuing education training each year (24 total hours per renewal cycle).’ The state-linked New Mexico Nurse Aide Candidate Handbook, which is the document that actually walks a nurse aide through renewal screen by screen, states only the work requirement — ‘To be eligible to renew, you must work for pay as a nurse aide performing nursing or nursing-related services at least eight (8) consecutive hours during the previous twenty-four months’ — and its renewal flow asks for hours worked and an employer verification, never for course certificates. Neither 8.312.2.21 NMAC nor 8.370.25 NMAC imposes continuing education on the aide; the New Mexico Medicaid nursing-facility rule instead puts the obligation on the FACILITY: ‘A NF must furnish regular performance reviews and in-service education to ensure that individuals who serve as nurse aides are competent to perform nurse aide services’ (8.312.2.21(A)(4) NMAC). The honest reading is that the 12-hours-a-year figure describes the annual in-service training a nursing facility must provide, which the Health Care Authority has folded into its renewal list; but the Health Care Authority states it as a renewal condition, so a nurse aide should treat the in-service record as something the employer is expected to have. This record reports both and resolves neither.

How to apply

Applications are handled by New Mexico Health Care Authority (NMHCA), Division of Health Improvement — Certified Nurse Aide Registry. The Division describes its own role in one line: it ‘Operates the Certified Nurse Aide Registry (NAR) and Training program.’ Day-to-day testing and the registry software are run by a contractor: ‘The New Mexico Health Care Authority (NMHCA) has approved D&S Diversified Technologies, LLP (D&SDT)-HEADMASTER, LLP to provide tests and scoring services for nurse aide testing.’ Before July 1, 2024 the same unit sat inside the New Mexico Department of Health.. Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in New Mexico

D&S Diversified Technologies / Headmaster LLP, operating the TestMaster Universe (TMU) system under approval from the New Mexico Health Care Authority publishes a public license search , searchable by name, Social Security number, registration number or misconduct. It covers New Mexico Nurse Aide Registry entries. The Health Care Authority designates this tool as the place to check: ‘The Welcome | NM TMU (tmutest.com) website serves as the primary source for verification of the credentials issued by the State of New Mexico. This site is only to check the NAR.’ It also draws the line around what the lookup does NOT tell you, in its own words: ‘You are not able to check criminal background, dependent adult abuse, child abuse, sex offenders, or professional licensing statuses from the TMU site.’ The four search types above were read from the live search form’s own options. A second, separate control on the same page offers a downloadable misconduct list. TWO THINGS TO EXPECT BEFORE CLICKING. First, the search asks you to prove you are a person — an anti-robot challenge sits between the form and the result. Second, a result is produced by submitting the form rather than by loading an address, so a search result has no web address of its own: it cannot be bookmarked, emailed or cited, and you have to run the search yourself each time. For the same reason an automated watch on this address can only ever see the empty form. Anyone leaving New Mexico who needs a document rather than a screen uses the verification-form route instead: the other state supplies the form, and New Mexico’s registry coordinator verifies, dates, signs and seals it and mails it to that state directly.

Records come from D&S Diversified Technologies / Headmaster LLP, operating the TestMaster Universe (TMU) system under approval from the New Mexico Health Care Authority’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

Is a New Mexico CNA a licence, a certification, or just a registry listing?

A certification. New Mexico both certifies the aide and lists them on a registry, and the certification has its own number and dates: ‘Once you pass, TMU places you on the New Mexico Nurse Aide Registry. Your name and certification number will be visible on the registry, showing your active status along with your issue and expiration dates.’ It is not a licence and no board of nursing is involved — the credential comes from the New Mexico Health Care Authority’s Division of Health Improvement, which ‘Operates the Certified Nurse Aide Registry (NAR) and Training program.’ If you find material naming the Department of Health or Prometric, it is out of date: the unit moved to the Health Care Authority and the vendor changed to Headmaster on July 1, 2024.

How many training hours does New Mexico require for a CNA?

75 hours minimum, with at least 16 of them clinical. The figure is in New Mexico’s own rule — ‘The NATCEP program must have a minimum duration of 75 hours’ (8.312.2.21(A) NMAC) — and the Health Care Authority repeats it as ‘a minimum of 75 clocked training hours, including theory and lab hours plus a clinical rotation’, adding ‘At least 16 hours of supervised clinical training in a nursing facility.’ Expect the course you actually take to be longer: the Health Care Authority says ‘New Mexico programs usually range from 75–185 hours.’ The state does not publish a classroom-versus-lab split beyond the 16 clinical hours, and it does not set tuition — it tells candidates to contact each approved program directly about price and length.

Who gives the New Mexico CNA exam, and what is on it?

D&S Diversified Technologies / Headmaster, approved by the Health Care Authority, delivering the test through the TMU system. There are two parts and you must pass both. The knowledge test is ‘60 multiple-choice questions’ in 60 minutes on a computer, and ‘You must have a score of 74% or better to pass’ — it is available in English and Spanish, and an audio version can be added for $5. The skill test is watched by an RN Test Observer: you get three or four randomly selected tasks with 30 minutes to do them, the first always drawn from a mandatory set (bedpan, catheter care, a PPE and urinary-drainage-bag task, or perineal care), each with hand washing built in. The pass standard is step-level rather than a score: ‘You must correctly perform all of the critical steps (in bold font) and 80% of all non-key steps on each task assigned.’ Steps that are only talked through do not count.

How many times can you take the New Mexico CNA exam?

Three attempts at each part, and a two-year deadline from finishing your course: ‘You have three (3) attempts to pass the exam’s knowledge and skill test portions within 24 months from your date of nurse aide training program completion. If you do not complete testing within 24 months from completion of training, you must retrain.’ Failing one half does not send you back to the beginning — ‘If you fail one section, you can retake just that section individually, subject to additional testing fees.’

What does it cost to become a CNA in New Mexico?

Testing is $140 for both parts the first time — $100 for the clinical skills test and $40 for the written knowledge test — with an oral/audio version of the knowledge test at $45. But many candidates pay nothing: ‘The State of New Mexico will pay test fees for candidates who have been offered employment or are currently employed by a Medicaid certified nursing facility’, and some training programs prepay for their graduates, so check before you pay. Renewal is $25 (plus New Mexico gross receipts tax if you pay it yourself; nothing at a state-funded facility). Reciprocity is free. A test review costs $25. Training tuition is set by the individual approved program, not by the state.

How do you renew a New Mexico CNA certification — is there continuing education?

You renew every 24 months, and the core test is work rather than coursework: ‘you must work for pay as a nurse aide performing nursing or nursing-related services at least eight (8) consecutive hours during the previous twenty-four months’, with an employer confirming it by email through your account. Where you did that work matters — nursing home, hospital, hospice, home health agency or ICF/MR facility count, while private duty, a doctor’s office, a laboratory, or personal care home assisted-living or residential-living work do not. On continuing education New Mexico’s two official sources differ, and it is worth knowing both: the Health Care Authority’s renewal list says you ‘Must complete 12 hours of in-service/continuing education training each year (24 total hours per renewal cycle)’, while the state-linked candidate handbook’s renewal instructions ask only for the work hours and the employer verification. New Mexico’s nursing-facility rule puts an in-service duty on the FACILITY — ‘A NF must furnish regular performance reviews and in-service education’ — which is the likeliest reading of that 12-hour figure.

What happens if a New Mexico CNA certification expires?

You get 30 days, then you are testing again. ‘Renewal requests may be submitted starting 30 days prior to the certification expiration date or up to 30 days past the expiration date’, and past that, ‘If a CNA goes past the 30-day grace period for renewal, they will need to retake the state competency exam.’ How much retesting depends on how long it has been. Lapsed under 24 months: retest only, no retraining, and you have 24 months from the expiry date to pass both parts. Lapsed over 24 months but still working in a nursing-related field for at least 24 months: apply for Reactivation by Exam with an employer letter on letterhead setting out your dates and duties, then test within six months of approval. Lapsed over 24 months with no nursing-related work: you must complete a New Mexico state-approved training program again before you can test.

I am a CNA in another state — can I transfer to New Mexico?

Yes, by a free reciprocity application, provided you are ‘current and in good standing on a nurse aide registry in a state other than New Mexico.’ You file the Reciprocity Form on the state’s testing system with a government photo ID, your Social Security card and your current out-of-state certification, and the Health Care Authority decides whether you can be added to the New Mexico registry. One thing to understand before you file: this does not move your credential, it gives you a second one. ‘Reciprocity grants dual certification. Each state’s certification is independent from the other. It is the CNA’s responsibility to maintain their certifications for each state.’ Going the other way, New Mexico does not send anything on its own initiative — you obtain the verification form from the state you are moving to, fill in the top, and New Mexico’s coordinator verifies, seals and mails it to that state.

How do you check whether someone is on the New Mexico Nurse Aide Registry?

Use the registry search on the state’s testing system, which the Health Care Authority designates as ’the primary source for verification of the credentials issued by the State of New Mexico.’ You can search by name, Social Security number, registration number, or misconduct, and there is a separate misconduct list you can download. Two practical notes: an anti-robot challenge sits between the form and the result, and the result has no address of its own, so it cannot be bookmarked or forwarded — you run the search yourself each time. The Health Care Authority also draws the boundary of what the tool does not cover: ‘You are not able to check criminal background, dependent adult abuse, child abuse, sex offenders, or professional licensing statuses from the TMU site.’

Can you work as a nurse aide in New Mexico before you are certified?

Only briefly, and only while you are getting certified. New Mexico’s Medicaid rule for nursing facilities sets the limit: ‘A NF cannot employ individuals as nurse aides for more than four months unless they have completed a nurse aide training and competency evaluation program (NATCEP)’, and the same rule closes the workaround — ‘A NF must not use temporary nurse aides who have not completed a NATCEP or a CEP.’ Students in an approved program may only do what they have been trained and found proficient in, and must be under the general supervision of a licensed or registered nurse.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in New Mexico.

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.