CNA Requirements in Oregon — Training, Exam & Registry

How to become a CNA in Oregon: the Headmaster competency exam — verified from Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN). Unusually for this cluster.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN). Unusually for this cluster, the nurse aide credential in Oregon comes from the board of nursing itself rather than from a health department or a registry contractor: 'The Oregon State Board of Nursing shall establish standards for certifying and may certify as a nursing assistant any person who' meets the statutory conditions (ORS 678.442(1)), and 'In accordance with federal regulations, the Board maintains a CNA Registry' (OAR 851-062-0012). The Board also approves the training programs (ORS 678.444) and sets the curriculum. (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: Oregon issues a CERTIFICATE, from a board of nursing, and it protects the title by statute. ORS 678.442(1) directs that 'The Oregon State Board of Nursing shall establish standards for certifying and may certify as a nursing assistant any person who: (a) Submits an application; (b)(A) Shows completion of an approved training program for nursing assistants; (B) Has military training or experience that the board determines is substantially equivalent...; or (C) Has other health care education, training or experience that the board determines is sufficient; and (c) Passes a board approved examination.' ORS 678.448 then closes the title: 'an individual may not use the title "Certified Nursing Assistant," "nursing assistant" or "nurse aide" or the abbreviation "CNA" unless the individual: (a) Has successfully completed a program approved by the Oregon State Board of Nursing under ORS 678.444; and (b) Is certified under ORS 678.442.' The registry is a second thing you must be on, not an alternative to the certificate: 'An individual must have an active Oregon CNA certification and be listed on the Oregon CNA Registry before performing CNA authorized duties' (OAR 851-062-0020(1)), and the Registry itself carries 'Identifying demographic information on each CNA; Date of initial and most recent certification; Board sanctions against a CNA certificate; and Findings of resident abuse, neglect or misappropriation of resident property, made by the Department of Human Services against a CNA' (OAR 851-062-0012). ONE LEVEL, SINCE JULY 1, 2025: the Board retired the CNA 1 and CNA 2 designations on that date. WHAT A CNA MAY DO, in four lines the Board added in 2025: 'In the process of client care the CNA must (1) Follow the plan of care as directed and supervised by the licensed nurse. A CNA may not work independently; (2) Report to the licensed nurse any observed changes in the client's condition; (3) Record observations and measurements, duties completed, and client statements about condition or care; and (4) Apply safety concepts in the workplace' (OAR 851-063-0021).
What goes in the initial application: OAR 851-062-0050(1): the Board's initial application form; payment of the fees in OAR chapter 851 division 2; 'Proof of passing the Board-approved NA competency examination'; 'Completion of a national fingerprint criminal history background check as described in OAR 851-001-0115'; and ONE of four qualifying routes — proof of completion of a nursing assistant training program approved by the Board (or, for non-Oregon programs, by the appropriate agency in that state or territory); 'A Joint Services transcript and DD214 form'; 'Proof of an active RN, PN or Vocational Nurse (VN) license in good standing'; or 'Proof of current enrollment in a nursing education program approved by the Board' or the equivalent out-of-state agency. TWO DEADLINES THAT CATCH PEOPLE: 'Incomplete applications expire 12 months after the initial submission date', and the Board warns that fingerprint results 'can take up to 4 weeks to be received from the FBI' while test results 'can take up to 7 business days to reach OSBN.'
Fingerprints: A national fingerprint-based criminal background check is part of initial certification, reinstatement and disciplinary reinstatement (OAR 851-001-0115, cited throughout division 62); ordinary two-year RENEWAL takes a state records check instead. The Board names the vendor and the procedure: 'The state of Oregon contracts with Fieldprint Inc. to collect digital fingerprint images from applicants for the background check. Fieldprint Inc has collection sites in every state. Applicants may have their fingerprints imaged by appointment only at any Fieldprint site across the country', registering at fieldprintoregon.com with the code FPORBoardNursingDAS. The order matters: 'Do not submit fingerprints before application.' The fee is $58 (OAR 851-002-0055).
Minimum age: There is none, and the Board says so directly. Asked 'Does an individual seeking a CNA or CMA certificate need to be at least 18 years old?', the Board answers: 'No. The Board does not set an age requirement for nursing assistant certification or medication aid certification.'
Working before certification — the eight-week and 120-day limits: Two separate clocks, and they belong to different parties. THE FACILITY'S: 'The Department of Human Services may impose civil penalties or revoke the license of any long term care facility that employs an untrained nursing assistant for a period of more than eight weeks without providing for the training prescribed by the board', with the same power given to the Oregon Health Authority over health care facilities (ORS 678.440(4)-(5)). THE INDIVIDUAL'S TITLE: 'An individual who has successfully completed a program approved by the board under ORS 678.444 and who is employed by a nursing facility, as defined by the board by rule, may use the title "nursing assistant" or "nurse aide" for a period of up to 120 days beginning on the date the nursing facility hired the individual' (ORS 678.448(3)) — a permission to use the NAME while certification is pending, not a permission to work uncertified indefinitely. A student in a Board-approved program 'may perform nursing assistant duties with appropriate supervision' (OAR 851-062-0020(2)) and may use the title 'student nursing assistant' (ORS 678.448(2)).
Nurses working as CNAs: An RN or LPN is not automatically a CNA in Oregon, and the rule says so twice: 'An RN, LPN or student nurse must have active CNA certification before being identified as a CNA and performing CNA authorized duties', and 'An RN or LPN employed as a CNA must not perform duties outside of the CNA authorized duties while working as a CNA' (OAR 851-062-0020(5)-(6)). The Board charges $60 for 'Certification for RN or LPN' and accepts an active RN, PN or VN licence in good standing as the qualifying route in place of a training program.
Where the clinical hours must happen: 'The supervised clinical experience must occur in a hospital, licensed nursing facility, licensed residential care facility, or licensed assisted living facility. An RN must be on duty during all scheduled supervised clinical experience hours' (OAR 851-061-0090(2)(c)). For on-line programs the laboratory portion must be delivered 'no later than two weeks after the successful completion of the on-line portion of the curriculum', and both the lab and the clinical hours are in-person regardless of how the didactic hours are taught.
A pass-rate rule that can close your school: Worth knowing before enrolling, because Oregon publishes the threshold: the Board may withdraw approval of a nursing assistant education program if 'The pass rate for graduates of the program falls below 70% for the first-time candidates taking the Board-approved competency examination for two consecutive 12-month periods or below 85% for the first attempt and all subsequent attempts of all exam-takers for the most recent 12 months' (OAR 851-061-0050(4)(c)). Programs must also demonstrate compliance at least every two years, and the Board must deny or withdraw approval from a program offered by or in a nursing facility that in the previous two years operated under a nurse-staffing waiver, was subject to an extended or partial extended survey, faced denial of payment, a temporary manager or termination, or was assessed a civil money penalty affecting federal NATCEP eligibility.
Address, employer and name of record: Oregon puts an unusual reporting duty on the individual: 'Any CNA or CMA actively performing CNA or CMA authorized duties must report current employer(s) and employer's mailing address(es) to the Board. All employers, where the CNA or CMA is working within the authorized duties, must be reported. The CNA or CMA must update every change in employer and employer's mailing address to the Board no later than 30 days after the change' (OAR 851-062-0011(3)). Contact information — mailing address of record, primary phone and e-mail — must be kept current at all times, and the consequence is spelled out: a Notice of Proposed Disciplinary Action sent by certified or registered mail to the address of record 'is sufficient notice even if the CNA or CMA fails to respond to the postal service "return receipt" and never receives the Notice.'

Legal basis

Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN). Unusually for this cluster, the nurse aide credential in Oregon comes from the board of nursing itself rather than from a health department or a registry contractor: ‘The Oregon State Board of Nursing shall establish standards for certifying and may certify as a nursing assistant any person who’ meets the statutory conditions (ORS 678.442(1)), and ‘In accordance with federal regulations, the Board maintains a CNA Registry’ (OAR 851-062-0012). The Board also approves the training programs (ORS 678.444) and sets the curriculum. administers certified nursing assistant licensing in Oregon. 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

Oregon’s statutory noun is ’nursing assistant’, its certificate is a NURSING ASSISTANT CERTIFICATE, and the everyday name is CNA — all three are official here, and ORS 678.448 protects ‘Certified Nursing Assistant’, ’nursing assistant’, ’nurse aide’ and ‘CNA’ alike, reserving every one of them to a person who has completed a Board-approved program and is certified. The Board’s rules and forms shift between ‘NA certification’ and ‘CNA certification’ for the same thing. THE NAME THAT IS NOW WRONG IS ‘CNA 2’: ‘As of July 1, 2025… the CNA1 and 2 designations have been retired and there is one level of CNA in Oregon.’ What replaced the second tier is not a title at all but a list of ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED DUTIES that an RN at your employment site teaches and validates. Two protected titles exist for people still in training: ‘student nursing assistant’ (ORS 678.448(2)) and ‘student medication aide’ (ORS 678.447(2)). CMA is the Certified Medication Aide, a separate Oregon certificate on the same registry, whose titles ‘medication aide’, ‘Certified Medication Aide’ and ‘CMA’ are protected by ORS 678.447. TMU is TestMaster Universe, the Board’s testing system at or.tmutest.com, where an Oregon candidate schedules both parts of the exam. ‘CNA license’ is folk usage — Oregon issues a certificate — although the Board’s own systems muddy this by filing CNAs alongside nurses under ‘License Lookup’ and ‘All License Type Renewal.’

License types & fees

Type	Notes	Who Its For
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) — one level, since July 1, 2025	THE HEADLINE OREGON FACT: there is no longer a CNA 1 and a CNA 2. The Board states it in its own words: 'One Level of CNA in Oregon: As of July 1, 2025, after almost three years of public process work and input from employers, CNAs, and educators, the CNA1 and 2 designations have been retired and there is one level of CNA in Oregon.' Anything describing Oregon's CNA 2 as a live credential is out of date. The certificate is valid for two years, and the rule makes the certificate itself the permission: 'An individual must have an active Oregon CNA certification and be listed on the Oregon CNA Registry before performing CNA authorized duties' (OAR 851-062-0020(1)). Passing the course and the exam is not enough on its own — 'Successful completion of a Board-approved nursing assistant training program and competency examination alone does not qualify an individual for Oregon CNA certification. All application requirements must be met before certification is issued.'	A person who has completed a Board-approved nursing assistant training program (or a recognised substitute) and passed the Board-approved competency examination.
Additional authorized duties added at the employment site — what replaced the CNA 2	Not a separate certificate and not something the Board issues. 'A CNA may add a duty listed in section (2) of this rule as an individual authorized duty when an RN representing the CNA employment site teaches performance of the authorized duty and validates that the CNA is competent to perform the duty. Once authorized, the CNA may be assigned to perform the additional authorized duty by nurses in the employing organization' (OAR 851-063-0035(1)). The eligible list is long and specific — obtaining a urine specimen from a catheter port, chlorhexidine baths, changing a wound VAC canister, clean intermittent straight catheterisation for a chronic condition, administering enemas, infant feeding and breast-milk handling, adding fluid to established tube feedings, adjusting oxygen rate of flow, running an EKG, scanning a bladder, suctioning nose or oral pharynx, and more. Three duties need an outside credential first: phlebotomy (a current certification from a nationally recognised certifying organisation or a phlebotomy-specific military education program), child safety seat checks (a national child passenger safety certification program) and telemetry monitoring (a dysrhythmia recognition course). THE PORTABILITY TRAP, in the Board's own Q&A: 'If it is a new employer, you will need to complete training and competency evaluation again. If it is the same employer, but a different location, it will be up to the employer to determine.'	A certified CNA whose employer wants them to perform a duty beyond the base list.
Certified Medication Aide (CMA) — a separate certificate on top of the CNA	Named because it shares the same registry — 'A CMA must have a current Oregon CMA certificate and be listed on the Oregon CNA Registry prior to performing medication aide duties' (OAR 851-062-0080) — and because its numbers differ from the CNA's at every point: an 80-hour program (45 didactic, 11 supervised laboratory, 24 hours of 1:1 supervised clinical), $60 certification by examination, $15 renewal, and eight hours of continuing education 'related to medication aide authorized duties' at every two-year renewal rather than the CNA's two hours of cultural competency every 48 months. The title is separately protected by ORS 678.447. This record covers the nursing assistant credential only.	A person holding a current Oregon CNA certification who completes an approved medication aide program and passes the Board-approved medication aide examination.
Temporary certificate for a military spouse or domestic partner, and the Governor-declared-emergency limited certificate	MILITARY SPOUSE (OAR 851-062-0054): issued on a completed application and $50 fee, military orders assigning the member to Oregon, a current unencumbered CNA certification in another state, and Board verification. It expires on whichever comes first of Oregon ceasing to be the duty station, the home-state certificate expiring, two years, or the end of the marriage or partnership — and 'This temporary certificate is not renewable.' EMERGENCY LIMITED CERTIFICATE (OAR 851-062-0061, authorised by ORS 678.442(5)): during a Governor-declared emergency the Board may certify a nursing assistant authorised elsewhere, with the application fee WAIVED, on primary source verification of an active unencumbered certification. It too expires on the earliest of the emergency ending, the home certificate expiring, or two years, and it is not renewable — 'The individual must apply for permanent Oregon certification by endorsement in order to continue performing nursing assistant duties in Oregon.'	The spouse or domestic partner of an active-duty service member stationed in Oregon; and, during a declared emergency, a nursing assistant certified in another jurisdiction.

Who does NOT need this license — exemptions

Oregon draws its exemptions in the certification rule itself, and there are two clean ones plus a boundary that surprises people. FIRST, STUDENTS: ‘A student nursing assistant in a Board-approved training program may perform nursing assistant duties with appropriate supervision’ (OAR 851-062-0020(2)), and ORS 678.448(2) lets that person use the title ‘student nursing assistant.’ SECOND, RN-DELEGATED TASKS: ‘An unlicensed person who is performing tasks that have been delegated by a Registered Nurse according to OAR 851-047-0000 through OAR 851-047-0040 is exempt from the certification requirement’ (OAR 851-062-0020(3)) — this is the provision that covers a great deal of in-home and community work in Oregon, and it turns on a nurse’s delegation rather than on the worker’s job title. THIRD, A TIME-LIMITED TITLE ALLOWANCE RATHER THAN AN EXEMPTION: a program graduate hired by a nursing facility ‘may use the title “nursing assistant” or “nurse aide” for a period of up to 120 days beginning on the date the nursing facility hired the individual’ (ORS 678.448(3)); the facility separately risks civil penalties or licence revocation if it employs an untrained nursing assistant ‘for a period of more than eight weeks without providing for the training prescribed by the board’ (ORS 678.440(4)-(5)). THE BOUNDARY THAT SURPRISES PEOPLE, and the Board states it plainly: community-based care is no longer inside the CNA duty rules at all. Answering a question about home health and hospice, the Board wrote: ‘Community based care settings are no longer included in Div. 63 since they are governed by the Oregon Department of Human Services, Residential Care and Adult Foster Home Divisions.’ So a worker in an adult foster home or a community-based care setting is regulated by a different agency under different rules, and this record makes no claim about what that agency requires. WHAT OREGON DOES NOT EXEMPT: nurses. An RN or LPN who wants to work as a CNA must hold the CNA certificate.

Fees

OREGON PUBLISHES A COMPLETE FEE SCHEDULE IN RULE, at OAR 851-002-0040 (Nursing Assistant Schedule of Fees): Certification by Examination (inclusive of examination fees) — $106; Certification by Endorsement — $60; Re-Examination, Manual Skills — $45; Re-Examination, Written — $25; Oral Administration of Written Examination (non-ADA) — $35; Written Verification of Certification — $10; Renewal — $60; Reinstatement — $60; Surcharge to Support the Workforce Data Analysis Fund at Renewal — $4; Certification for RN or LPN — $60; Temporary Certificate for Active Armed Forces Military Spouse or Domestic Partner — $50; Delinquent Fee — $5. TWO MORE FROM THE MISCELLANEOUS SCHEDULE (OAR 851-002-0055): Fingerprinting — $58; Predetermination — $75. THE MEDICATION AIDE SCHEDULE IS SEPARATE AND MUCH CHEAPER (OAR 851-002-0050): Certification by Examination $60, Certification for RN or LPN $20, Renewal $15, Reinstatement $30, Re-Examination $25. TWO GENERAL RULES SIT ON TOP: ‘The fees paid to the Oregon State Board of Nursing are refundable at Board discretion. The licensing/certification fee pays for processing the application, and the license/certificate is valid until the expiration date’, and a military exemption — ‘As required by ORS 408.450, if allowed by Department of Defense policy, no fees will be assessed while any person holding a license or certificate with the board is on active duty with the Uniformed Services of the United States’, with written notice to the Board within 60 days of honorable discharge to restore the former status without fee or penalty. ⚠️ AN OFFICIAL OREGON PAGE SAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT, AND BOTH ARE THE STATE’S. The Oregon Secretary of State’s Business Xpress License Directory entry for ‘Nursing Assistants, Certified’ (last updated 05/12/2026) shows a fee table reading ‘License Fee $0.00’ with no description and no exemptions. That cannot be reconciled with the rule schedule above, which is the Board’s own and which the Board’s application directions use (‘Retest of Manual/Skills $45, Retest of Written/Knowledge Test $25’). This record follows the rule and reports the directory entry as a conflict rather than silently discarding it. NOT SET BY THE STATE: training tuition. Programs must publish ‘Fees, tuition, and other program costs (books, clothing, etc.) itemized separately’ in a student enrolment agreement, along with a cancellation and refund policy that must refund tuition and fees in full if the program closes mid-course, and must refund all but a cancellation fee capped at ten percent if the student cancels in writing three days before classes or before online access begins (OAR 851-061-0030(3)(i)).

Exam

Two parts — a knowledge (written) test and a manual skills test — both required, taken through the Board’s testing system after the application is filed. The Board’s own sequence is: apply and pay through the OSBN system, then ‘Sign in to TMU and select date’, then ‘Step 6: Pass both tests.’ WHAT THE RULE CONTROLS (OAR 851-062-0055): ‘Reference materials, including dictionaries, may not be used during testing’; ‘Language translation aids must not be used for exam purposes. This includes translators, documentation or electronic devices that translate one language to another’; and a walk-out counts against you — ‘If a candidate decides not to complete the examination after receiving the knowledge test booklet or the skill test instructions, the attempt will be scored as a failure.’ Results are ‘mailed or emailed to the applicant at the applicant’s address of record and will not be released by telephone’, and ‘Failure to take the examination or to reschedule the examination in advance will result in re-examination fees unless the absence has been excused by the testing service.’ ACCOMMODATIONS: an applicant with a disability must file the Board’s accommodation request form and have primary source documentation sent directly to the Board by the diagnosing provider or learning specialist, naming the disability and diagnosis, the diagnostic study used, the accommodation needed and the provider’s original signature and title; someone who has been ill or under a temporary activity restriction ‘must arrange for the healthcare provider to send the Board a medical release for full return to normal activity before taking the manual skills portion of the exam.’ RETAKES: you re-apply and pay through your OSBN account, not through the testing system directly — ‘Costs: Retest of Manual/Skills $45, Retest of Written/Knowledge Test $25.’ There is a wait built into the process: ‘It can take up to 5 business days for TMU to upload test results to OSBN. Do not contact OSBN about a failed test results until after 5 business days.’ A REINSTATEMENT CANDIDATE HAS ONE SHOT BEFORE RETRAINING: someone reinstating a certificate expired more than two years must pass the Board-approved exam, and ‘Applicants who do not pass the examination are required to complete a training program prior to a retake’ (OAR 851-062-0071(3)). NOT PUBLISHED BY THE BOARD, and searched for on 2026-08-16 across OAR 851-062, the Board’s CNA exam, endorsement and retake directions, the Board’s CNA FAQ and the state’s testing-system pages: the number of questions, the time allowed, and the passing score for either part. Those figures are left empty rather than imported from another state’s booklet.

Renewal & continuing education

Every two years, and Oregon’s renewal is a paperwork exercise rather than a work test — there is no hours-worked requirement here at all, which sets it apart from most of this cluster. ‘An NA certificate is valid for two years from the date it is issued. Certificate holders must apply for renewal by 11:59 p.m. on the date of their license expiration to be considered timely’ (OAR 851-062-0070(1)). What the renewal application must contain: the Board’s renewal form; payment of the applicable fees ($60 plus the $4 Workforce Data Analysis Fund surcharge); ‘Completion of state records criminal background check as described in OAR 851-001-0115’; and ‘Every 48 months or every other renewal cycle, the applicant must attest to completion of two hours of cultural competency continuing education.’ TIMING: ‘A renewal application may be submitted no more than 90 days before the expiration of the certificate’, and ‘Once a certificate has been expired for more than 90 days, an individual will need to apply for reinstatement.’ Incomplete renewal applications expire 12 months after submission. AN EXTRA STEP THE RULE DOES NOT MENTION BUT THE BOARD’S OWN GUIDE DOES: before the renewal application can be completed you must finish an Oregon Health Authority survey inside the licensing system, and ‘It can take up to 90 minutes for the OHA computer to sync with our computer to show the survey as complete.’ Renewals are processed automatically once paid — ‘your expiration date will change as soon as you complete the payment’ — and the updated certificate can be looked up, printed or emailed from the Board’s verification portal. The statute behind the cycle: ‘The board shall establish by rule a procedure for the biennial renewal of nursing assistant certificates. The certificate renewal procedure must be substantially like the procedure established for the licensing of nurses under ORS 678.101’ (ORS 678.442(3)). TWO HOURS OF CULTURAL COMPETENCY CONTINUING EDUCATION EVERY 48 MONTHS — that is the CNA requirement, and the Board states it twice. In rule: ‘Every 48 months or every other renewal cycle, the applicant must attest to completion of two hours of cultural competency continuing education’ (OAR 851-062-0070(2)(d)). In the Board’s CNA FAQ, answering ‘What continuing education (CE) is required for the renewal of the CNA certificate?’: ‘CNAs must obtain two hours of cultural competency continuing education every 48 months after initial certification.’ The Board’s renewal guide adds where to get it: ‘Two hours of Cultural Competency Continuing Education can be completed through an organization of your choice. It can be free or completed through your employer. Oregon Health Authority maintains a list of suggested courses.’ The same two hours are required outright — not on the 48-month cycle — when reinstating a certificate expired more than 90 days but no more than two years (OAR 851-062-0071(1)(d)). WHAT IS NOT REQUIRED, stated affirmatively by the Board: ‘Are CNAs required to have Basic Life Support (BLS) training and/or first aid training to renew the certificate? A: No. This is not a requirement for renewal.’ A SECOND CONTINUING-EDUCATION ITEM APPEARS IN THE BOARD’S APPLICATION GUIDES BUT NOT IN THE CNA RULE, AND BOTH ARE RECORDED: the Board’s All License Type Renewal Application Guide lists ‘One hour of Pain Management Continuing Education through Oregon Pain Management Commission’s Module, if you have not completed in the last 36 months’, and its CNA-by-Endorsement directions make that same hour an eligibility condition — ‘Applicants must: Complete 1 hour pain management training from OR Pain Management Commission within the last 36 months and…’. Neither OAR 851-062-0070 nor the Board’s CNA FAQ names pain management among the CNA’s renewal requirements. This record reports both and resolves neither; an applicant should plan on the module. THE CERTIFIED MEDICATION AIDE IS DIFFERENT AND SHOULD NOT BE CONFLATED: a CMA must ‘Attest to completion of eight hours of continuing education within the past two years related to medication aide authorized duties’ (OAR 851-062-0110(2)(d)).

How to apply

Applications are handled by Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN). Unusually for this cluster, the nurse aide credential in Oregon comes from the board of nursing itself rather than from a health department or a registry contractor: ‘The Oregon State Board of Nursing shall establish standards for certifying and may certify as a nursing assistant any person who’ meets the statutory conditions (ORS 678.442(1)), and ‘In accordance with federal regulations, the Board maintains a CNA Registry’ (OAR 851-062-0012). The Board also approves the training programs (ORS 678.444) and sets the curriculum.. Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in Oregon

Oregon State Board of Nursing (the portal is branded ‘Oregon State Board of Nursing License Verification Portal’ and is hosted for the Board by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing) publishes a public license search , searchable by name (last name, first name, licence type, with an option to search maiden or other names), licence number plus licence type or NCSBN ID. It covers Every credential the Board issues, with CNA and CMA on the same list as the nursing licences — the licence-type menu read from the live form offers APRN-CNS, APRN-CRNA, APRN-NP, CMA, CNA, DE-CNA, LPN, LPN-E, NI, RN and RN-E. The Board directs its own certificate holders here after renewal: ‘you can look up/print/save a pdf/email a copy of your updated license on our webpage.’ The same page links three further public records — a list of civil penalties the Board has imposed on imposters and facilities, a CNA Abuse Registry, and the OBRA Federal CNA Registry. TWO THINGS TO EXPECT BEFORE CLICKING. First, it asks you to prove you are a person: ‘Security verification: please check the box below. You may be asked to complete a second verification step.’ 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 an automated watch on this address can only ever see the empty form. One limit the page states itself: ‘Disciplinary documents are only available on this site for actions taken after August 2010.’ Anyone who needs a document rather than a screen can buy a Written Verification of Certification from the Board for $10. A separate service exists for employers: the Board runs an Employer Verification Subscription Service for CNAs, distinct from the Nursys service it uses for nurses.

Records come from Oregon State Board of Nursing (the portal is branded ‘Oregon State Board of Nursing License Verification Portal’ and is hosted for the Board by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing)’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 Oregon still have CNA 1 and CNA 2?

No. The Oregon State Board of Nursing states it flatly: ‘One Level of CNA in Oregon: As of July 1, 2025, after almost three years of public process work and input from employers, CNAs, and educators, the CNA1 and 2 designations have been retired and there is one level of CNA in Oregon.’ What replaced the second tier is not a certificate but a list of ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED DUTIES an employer’s registered nurse teaches and validates — things like adjusting oxygen flow rate, running an EKG, scanning a bladder, discontinuing a urethral catheter or assisting with established tube feedings. If you trained as a CNA 2, the Board’s advice is that ‘The skills you learned during your CNA2 training are still useful’, but the authorisation now travels with the employer, not with you: change employers and ‘you will need to complete training and competency evaluation again.’

Is an Oregon CNA a licence or a certification?

A certification, issued by the Oregon State Board of Nursing — which makes Oregon unusual, since most states run the nurse aide credential out of a health department or a registry contractor. ORS 678.442 empowers the Board to ‘certify as a nursing assistant’ someone who applies, shows an approved training program (or equivalent military or other health care training), and passes a Board-approved examination. Two things are required to work, not one: ‘An individual must have an active Oregon CNA certification and be listed on the Oregon CNA Registry before performing CNA authorized duties.’ The titles are protected by statute — nobody may call themselves a ‘Certified Nursing Assistant’, ’nursing assistant’, ’nurse aide’ or ‘CNA’ without both an approved program and certification.

How many training hours does Oregon require for a CNA?

At least 105, and Oregon puts the split in the rule: ‘At least 37 hours of classroom instruction, which may be provided via a live virtual platform’; ‘At least 28 hours of supervised laboratory instruction with return student demonstrations of learned skills’; and ‘At least 40 hours of supervised clinical experience.’ An on-line program must reach the same totals — only the didactic portion converts to an equivalent, and the 28 laboratory hours must follow within two weeks of finishing the online part. The clinical hours have to happen in a hospital, licensed nursing facility, licensed residential care facility or licensed assisted living facility, and ‘An RN must be on duty during all scheduled supervised clinical experience hours.’ Note that 105 is well above the federal 75-hour floor, so any page quoting 75 hours for Oregon is quoting the federal minimum instead.

What does it cost to become a CNA in Oregon?

$106 for certification by examination, and the Board notes that figure is ‘inclusive of examination fees.’ Add fingerprinting at $58. Certification by endorsement from another state is $60, as is certification for an RN or LPN. If you fail a part, a manual skills retest is $45 and a written retest is $25. Renewal is $60 plus a $4 workforce data surcharge; reinstatement is $60; a written verification of your certification is $10; a late renewal carries a $5 delinquent fee. Training tuition is separate and set by the program, though Oregon requires programs to itemise ‘Fees, tuition, and other program costs (books, clothing, etc.)’ in a student enrolment agreement and to publish a refund policy. Be aware that the Oregon Secretary of State’s licence directory lists this credential’s fee as $0.00 — that entry does not match the Board’s own fee rules, and the Board’s rules are what you will pay.

Who gives the Oregon CNA exam and what is on it?

The Board contracts the testing out to D&S Diversified Technologies / Headmaster, and candidates schedule both parts through its TestMaster Universe system at or.tmutest.com after applying and paying through the Board’s own portal. There are two parts — a knowledge test and a manual skills test — and you must pass both. Oregon’s rules are strict about what you may bring: ‘Reference materials, including dictionaries, may not be used during testing’, and ‘Language translation aids must not be used for exam purposes. This includes translators, documentation or electronic devices that translate one language to another.’ Walking out counts against you — abandoning the exam after receiving the knowledge booklet or the skills instructions ‘will be scored as a failure’ — and results come by mail or email only, never by phone. The Board does not publish the number of questions, the time allowed or the passing score, so this page does not state them.

How do you renew an Oregon CNA certificate, and what continuing education is required?

Every two years, by 11:59 p.m. on your expiration date, and — unusually for this credential — Oregon asks for no minimum hours worked. What it asks for is the renewal form, the fee, a state records criminal background check, and, ‘Every 48 months or every other renewal cycle… two hours of cultural competency continuing education’, which the Board says ‘can be free or completed through your employer.’ You may file up to 90 days early, and once you pay ‘your expiration date will change as soon as you complete the payment.’ One step catches people out: before the renewal application opens you must complete an Oregon Health Authority survey inside the licensing system, and it can take up to 90 minutes for the two systems to sync. Basic Life Support and first aid are NOT required — the Board says so directly. The Board’s renewal guide also lists one hour of Pain Management continuing education through the Oregon Pain Management Commission’s module if you have not done it in the last 36 months; that hour is not in the CNA renewal rule but it is in the Board’s guide and in its endorsement requirements, so plan on it.

What happens if an Oregon CNA certificate expires?

There are three rungs. Within 90 days past expiry you are still renewing (with a $5 delinquent fee). More than 90 days but no more than two years, you apply for REINSTATEMENT: the Board’s reinstatement form, the $60 fee, a national fingerprint-based criminal background check, and two hours of cultural competency continuing education — required outright here, not on the usual 48-month cycle. More than two years, you must also pass the Board-approved exam again, and there is a catch on the second try: ‘Applicants who do not pass the examination are required to complete a training program prior to a retake.’ A certificate that was revoked or voluntarily surrendered goes through a different door entirely — disciplinary reinstatement, which requires proof of completing a training program after the revocation, passing the exam after applying, and a fingerprint check.

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

Yes, by endorsement, for $60. An active out-of-state certification does two things: it satisfies the examination requirement (’the active certification may be considered proof of completion of the Board-approved competency examination’), and your out-of-state training program counts if it was approved by the appropriate agency in that state or territory. You still need the application, the fees and a national fingerprint check through Fieldprint. The Board’s endorsement directions add one requirement the rule does not: one hour of pain management training from the Oregon Pain Management Commission within the last 36 months. Military applicants can endorse on a DD214 and Joint Services transcript, and an active RN, LPN or vocational nurse licence in good standing or current enrolment in an approved nursing program will also qualify. Two temporary options exist while you wait: a $50 non-renewable certificate for the spouse or domestic partner of an active-duty member stationed in Oregon, and, during a Governor-declared emergency, a limited certificate with the application fee waived.

How old do you have to be to become a CNA in Oregon?

There is no minimum. Asked directly whether an applicant must be at least 18, the Board answers: ‘No. The Board does not set an age requirement for nursing assistant certification or medication aid certification.’ Individual training programs and employers may set their own limits.

Who can work as a nursing assistant in Oregon without being certified?

Two groups, plus one time-limited allowance. A student in a Board-approved training program ‘may perform nursing assistant duties with appropriate supervision’ and may use the title ‘student nursing assistant.’ And ‘An unlicensed person who is performing tasks that have been delegated by a Registered Nurse according to OAR 851-047-0000 through OAR 851-047-0040 is exempt from the certification requirement’ — a provision that covers much in-home and community work, and that turns on a nurse’s delegation rather than on a job title. Separately, a program graduate hired by a nursing facility may use the title ’nursing assistant’ or ’nurse aide’ for up to 120 days from the hire date while certification is processed, and a long-term care facility risks civil penalties or licence revocation if it employs an untrained nursing assistant ‘for a period of more than eight weeks without providing for the training prescribed by the board.’ Note what is NOT exempt: an RN or LPN who wants to work as a CNA must hold the CNA certificate, and must not perform duties outside the CNA’s authorized list while doing that job.

How do you check whether someone holds an Oregon CNA certificate?

Use the Oregon State Board of Nursing License Verification Portal, where CNAs and CMAs appear on the same licence-type menu as nurses. You can search by name (with an option to include maiden and other names), by licence number plus type, or by NCSBN ID. Expect a security-verification checkbox before the results appear, and note that a result has no address of its own — you cannot bookmark or forward it, so anyone needing proof on paper buys a Written Verification of Certification from the Board for $10. The portal also carries a limit worth knowing: ‘Disciplinary documents are only available on this site for actions taken after August 2010.’ The same page links a CNA Abuse Registry and the OBRA Federal CNA Registry, and the Board runs a separate Employer Verification Subscription Service for CNAs.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in Oregon.

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.