CNA Requirements in South Dakota — Training, Exam & Registry

How to become a CNA in South Dakota: a 75-hour state training minimum — verified from South Dakota Board of Nursing.

Source-verified

Requirements below are drawn from South Dakota Board of Nursing — the same board that licenses registered nurses and licensed practical nurses runs the nurse aide credential here. "The board shall operate the certified nurse aide and medication aide registry" (ARSD 20:48:16:01). South Dakota is therefore a board-of-nursing state rather than a health-department or Medicaid-agency state, and the Board does more than list people: it approves the training programs, selects the skills to be tested, scores the skills checklists itself, and may contract with a testing agency for the knowledge exam. (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: South Dakota REGISTERS certified nurse aides, and the registering body is the Board of Nursing. "The board shall operate the certified nurse aide and medication aide registry" (ARSD 20:48:16:01), and "The board shall register an individual seeking initial registration as a certified nurse aide" who meets five conditions (ARSD 20:48:16:12). The Board explains who must hold it and what the title means: "Registration by the board is required for nurse aides who practice in licensed skilled nursing facilities and in some assisted living centers, registered nurse aides use the 'Certified Nurse Aide', abbreviated 'CNA'. Only individuals listed on the registry may use the title of 'CNA'." The umbrella term the rules use is broader: "'Nursing assistant,' an unlicensed individual trained to assist a licensed nurse and function in a supportive role, regardless of title, and to whom a nursing task may be delegated" (ARSD 20:48:01:01(6)) — so every certified nurse aide is a nursing assistant, but not every nursing assistant is registered. The authority for all of it is SDCL 36-9-21(5), which directs the Board to promulgate rules on "the training, registration, and supervisory requirements for unlicensed personnel performing delegated nursing functions under the supervision of a licensed nurse."
The five conditions for initial registration: ARSD 20:48:16:12: "The board shall register an individual seeking initial registration as a certified nurse aide if the individual: (1) Applies on the form provided by the board; (2) Submits an affidavit that the applicant has committed no act of misconduct as set forth in § 20:48:16:04; (3) Provides verification of having completed a board-approved nurse aide training program in accordance with § 20:48:18:01; (4) Passes a board-approved skills evaluation in accordance with §§ 20:48:16:10 to 20:48:16:11; and (5) Provides evidence of passing a board-approved certified nurse aide knowledge exam in accordance with § 20:48:16:09." If the applicant does not meet them, "the board must deny the application." A route exists for training the Board did not approve: "An applicant who completed training that was not approved by the board shall make a request for an equivalency determination on a form provided by the board."
The Board's own step list, in order: "To be added to the Board's CNA registry, a person must complete a 75-hour Board-approved nurse aide training program (NATP), a skills evaluation, and pass the CNA knowledge exam. Follow these steps to qualify to become registered: Complete the Board's Online Application. Complete a 75-hour Board-approved nurse aide training program (NATP) and a Skills Evaluation... After steps 1 and 2 are completed, your instructor will assist you to register to take the Board's approved CNA Knowledge Exam through Headmaster's SD TMU... TMU will notify you of your CNA Knowledge exam results. You must get 75% to pass; if needed, you may retake the exam two times. After passing the CNA Knowledge Exam, and if all other registration requirements are met, the Board will add you to the Board's CNA registry. You and your employer may verify your registration status on the Board's CNA Verification website. Registration is valid for 2 years." Note the order South Dakota uses: the application comes FIRST, before the course, and the skills evaluation is taken as part of the training programme rather than afterwards at a test centre.
Screening happens at the training-program door: South Dakota puts its abuse screen at admission to the course rather than at registration. The Board may approve a training programme only if the applicant "Has written admission criteria that screens students for findings of and convictions for emotional and psychological abuse, neglect, exploitation, or physical abuse, as defined in SDCL 22-46-1" and "Prohibits enrollment of students who have been found to have violated, or have been convicted of, offenses pursuant to SDCL 22-46-2 and 22-46-3" (ARSD 20:48:18:02(1)-(2)). At registration the equivalent step is a sworn statement rather than a records check — an affidavit of no misconduct under § 20:48:16:04.
The misconduct list that keeps you off, or takes you off, the registry: ARSD 20:48:16:04 lets the Board deny an applicant or remove a registrant "upon proof that the applicant or registered certified nurse aide or a medication aide has: (1) Committed fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation in procuring or attempting to procure registration; (2) Been convicted of a crime that directly relates to the practice of nursing; (3) Committed an alcohol or drug related act or offense that interferes with the ability to practice as a registrant safely; (4) Negligently, willfully, or intentionally acted in a manner inconsistent with the health or safety of a person entrusted to the registrant's care; (5) Had any license or registration denied, revoked, or suspended or had other disciplinary action taken; (6) Violated any provision of chapter 36-9 or this article; (7) Practiced with a lapsed registration; (8) Engaged in unsafe practice, substandard care, or unprofessional or dishonorable conduct; (9) Violated confidentiality, patient privacy, consent, or disclosure of patient information; (10) Engaged in sexual harassment, sexual contact, or exercised influence within the registrant-patient relationship for the purpose of engaging a patient in sexual activity; (11) Had a finding of emotional and psychological abuse, neglect, or physical abuse, as defined in SDCL 22-46-1; or (12) Engaged in misappropriation of resident property, as defined in § 44:73:01:01." Note subdivision (7): working on a lapsed registration is itself a ground for discipline. The executive director may also suspend immediately — "The executive director may issue an order of emergency suspension to an individual who is registered by the board as a certified nurse aide or a medication aide if the continued practice by the individual constitutes an imminent threat to the public's welfare" (ARSD 20:48:16:07).
Two sixty-day reporting duties: A change of name must be reported "within sixty days" with "a certified copy of the legal instrument or other written evidence that authenticates the name change" (ARSD 20:48:16:05). Separately, an applicant or registrant must report within sixty days of the event: "(1) A change of address; and (2) A complaint pending with, or discipline issued by, another licensing board" (ARSD 20:48:16:06). The second is unusual — South Dakota wants to hear about a pending complaint in another state, not only a completed disciplinary action.
Who supervises the work, and what may be delegated: A registered nurse "is responsible for the nature and quality of nursing care that a client receives under the nurse's direction. A licensed nurse may delegate selected nursing tasks to a nursing assistant. A nursing assistant may not substitute for the licensed nurse in the performance of nursing functions. A nursing assistant may not redelegate a delegated task" (ARSD 20:48:04.01:01). Delegation is conditional on the nurse's own judgement: the task must be one that "can be properly and safely performed by a nursing assistant without jeopardizing the client's welfare", must not "require a nursing assistant to exercise nursing judgment", and the nurse "verifies that the nursing assistant is competent to perform the nursing task." In a nursing facility, a nurse may delegate only to someone who is registered as a CNA or who is inside the four-month training window (ARSD 20:48:04.01:23). ONE NARROW TASK WAS ADDED IN AUGUST 2026, and it is unusual enough to name: a registered nurse 'may delegate the insertion and removal of a gastrostomy tube to a nursing assistant, for a specific client', if the client 'resides in a shared living home', the plan of care includes the procedure 'on a routine, scheduled basis', it 'has been routinely performed on the client without complications', and the nurse performs 'a monthly comprehensive nursing assessment of the client' and 'determines if the stoma is stable with no known or anticipated complications' (ARSD 20:48:04.01:24, effective August 3, 2026). The general delegation and supervision criteria still apply on top of those conditions.
What the registry holds about you: ARSD 20:48:16:01 lists eight items: "(1) Full name of the registrant, including maiden name and any surnames used; (2) Last known home address; (3) Registration number; (4) Date the registry status expires; (5) Date of birth; (6) Most recent employment; (7) Date of successful completion of the board-approved training program, examination, and skills evaluation results; and (8) Disciplinary proceedings against the registrant."
Medication Aide, Diabetes Aide, Dialysis Technician — boundaries, not steps: The Board distinguishes four nursing-assistant roles and registers only two of them. The Registered Medication Aide is registered, but only where required — "Registration by the board is only required for medication aides in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living centers, and hospitals." The DIABETES AIDE is not: "When a licensed nurse is not available to administer SQ insulin, an RN may delegate the insulin administration, and other diabetes care tasks, to an educated and trained diabetes aide. Registration by the board is not required for diabetes aides." Neither is the DIALYSIS TECHNICIAN: "South Dakota requires that a licensed nurse educate and train dialysis technicians, delegate specific dialysis tasks, and supervise dialysis technicians. Registration by the board is not required for dialysis technicians." This record covers the certified nurse aide only.

Legal basis

South Dakota Board of Nursing — the same board that licenses registered nurses and licensed practical nurses runs the nurse aide credential here. “The board shall operate the certified nurse aide and medication aide registry” (ARSD 20:48:16:01). South Dakota is therefore a board-of-nursing state rather than a health-department or Medicaid-agency state, and the Board does more than list people: it approves the training programs, selects the skills to be tested, scores the skills checklists itself, and may contract with a testing agency for the knowledge exam. administers certified nursing assistant licensing in South Dakota. 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

South Dakota’s registered title is “certified nurse aide”, abbreviated CNA, and it is protected: “Only an individual registered as a certified nurse aide in this state may use the title ‘certified nurse aide’ and the abbreviation ‘CNA’” (ARSD 20:48:16:12); the Board restates it as “Only individuals listed on the registry may use the title of ‘CNA’.” What South Dakota grants is REGISTRATION on the Board of Nursing’s certified nurse aide and medication aide registry — not a licence. The rules reserve “licensee” for a different group entirely: “‘Licensee,’ an individual who holds a license issued by the board or privilege to practice as a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, certified registered nurse anesthetist, or clinical nurse specialist” (ARSD 20:48:01:01(5)), which does not include aides. THE BROADER TERM IS “NURSING ASSISTANT”, and in South Dakota it is a category rather than a credential: “‘Nursing assistant,’ an unlicensed individual trained to assist a licensed nurse and function in a supportive role, regardless of title, and to whom a nursing task may be delegated” (ARSD 20:48:01:01(6)). The Board groups four roles under that heading and registers only two — certified nurse aide and registered medication aide (RMA) — while the diabetes aide and the dialysis technician need no registration. “Certified nursing assistant” is the phrase most job listings use; South Dakota’s own rules say “certified nurse aide”. “NATP” is the Nurse Aide Training Program, the course rather than the credential. And the Board’s site labels one of its nurse aide sections “SD TMU Resources”. South Dakota’s RULES never define that abbreviation — neither ‘TMU’ nor ‘TestMaster’ appears anywhere in ARSD article 20:48 — but the Board’s own page does: “Headmaster’s uses a software platform called TMU, which stands for TestMaster Universe.” It is the vendor’s scheduling and results system, not a South Dakota credential.

License types & fees

Type	Notes	Who Its For
Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) registration	The Board describes the scope of the requirement in its own words: "Registration by the board is required for nurse aides who practice in licensed skilled nursing facilities and in some assisted living centers, registered nurse aides use the 'Certified Nurse Aide', abbreviated 'CNA'. Only individuals listed on the registry may use the title of 'CNA'." The rule protects the title in the same terms: "Only an individual registered as a certified nurse aide in this state may use the title 'certified nurse aide' and the abbreviation 'CNA'" (ARSD 20:48:16:12). Registration requires a board-approved 75-hour training program, a knowledge exam and a skills evaluation.	A nurse aide who practises in a licensed skilled nursing facility, and in some assisted living centers.
Working as a nurse aide before registration — a four-month allowance, not a credential	A nurse may delegate nursing tasks in a nursing facility to an individual who "Has worked less than four months in the nursing facility and is enrolled as a student in a board-approved nurse aide training program or has completed the program and is awaiting registration by the board as a certified nurse aide" (ARSD 20:48:04.01:23(2)). The alternative in the same rule is registration itself — subdivision (1), "Is registered with the board as a certified nurse aide in accordance with chapter 20:48:16." So in South Dakota the four-month window is written as a condition on the NURSE'S authority to delegate, not as a licence exemption for the aide.	A person working in a nursing facility who is still in training or waiting for the Board to act.
Certified Nurse Aide registration by endorsement	The Board lists three conditions: "Completed a Nurse Aide Training Program (NATP) that was at least 75 hours in length. Actively registered as a CNA on another state's CNA registry. Not have any findings or convictions of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of property." The rule states the same in three subdivisions: apply on the board's form, submit "an affidavit that the applicant has committed no act of misconduct as set forth in § 20:48:16:04", and submit "evidence of active registration as a certified nurse aide on another state's registry" (ARSD 20:48:16:13). No examination is required on this route.	A nurse aide already actively registered on another state's nurse aide registry.
Equivalency waiver — nursing students and inactive nurses opting out of the 75-hour program	"A nursing student, or a nurse who is no longer actively licensed, may apply to request an equivalency waiver to opt out of the 75-hour nurse aide training program (NATP)." The conditions are documentary: "Student Nurses: must have completed fundamentals in nursing courses at an approved nursing education program with a grade C or better. A copy of the nursing school transcript must be submitted with your application. Inactive Nurses: must provide an RN/LPN license number and state/jurisdiction of that license." The sequence: "Complete the SDBON Waiver Application. Allow 5 business days for reivew. Upon approval, the Board will send you a confirmation email with instructions. Access TMU to submit a waiver application. You will be required to upload your confirmation letter from the Board... After your TMU account is set-up, you may schedule to take the CNA knowledge exam. After you pass the exam, with a minimum score of 75%, you will be added to the Board's CNA registry." THE WAIVER REPLACES THE COURSE, NOT THE EXAM — and the Board draws the boundary itself: "The waiver only applies to nursing students and inactive nurses."	A nursing student who has completed fundamentals of nursing, or a nurse whose RN/LPN licence is no longer active.
Registered Medication Aide (RMA) — a separate South Dakota registration, named here only as a boundary	South Dakota runs a second aide registration on the same registry: "South Dakota requires that a licensed nurse must educate and train medication aides, delegate only specific medication administration tasks, and supervise the medication aides. Registration by the board is only required for medication aides in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living centers, and hospitals. A registered medication aide may use the title 'Registered Medication Aide', abbreviated 'RMA'." Its requirements are different from the nurse aide's — a high school diploma or equivalent, a board-approved medication administration training program, and "a board-approved examination for medication administration with a minimum score of seventy-five percent" (ARSD 20:48:16:02). Two further South Dakota aide roles need no board registration at all: the diabetes aide and the dialysis technician.	Not covered by this record.

Who does NOT need this license — exemptions

South Dakota’s exemptions sit in the Nurse Practice Act and are written as things the chapter does not prohibit, not as carve-outs from a nurse aide credential. SDCL 36-9-28, “Practices not prohibited by chapter”, covers fourteen situations, of which these bear on aide work: “(1) Any nursing assistance in an emergency”; “(2) The practice of nursing included in a program of study by a student enrolled in an approved prelicensure program for the preparation of registered nurses or licensed practical nurses”; “(4) Gratuitous care of friends or members of the family”; “(5) Domestic administration of family remedies, or care of the sick by domestic servants, housekeepers, companions, or household aides of any type, whether employed regularly or because of an emergency or illness, but who may not in any way assume to practice nursing as defined in this chapter”; “(6) The nursing or care of the sick, with or without compensation, when done in connection with the practice of the religious tenets of any church by adherents thereof”; “(11) The assistance with or performance of bowel and bladder care, other than the insertion or removal of suprapubic catheters, by domestic servants, housekeepers, companions, or household aides, at the direction of a person needing such care who resides independently outside of any hospital, nursing or health care facility, or other similar institutional setting”; and “(13) The services performed in accordance with § 28-8A-10 by a personal attendant when acting at the direction of a person with a disability.” Two of the fourteen concern medication administration by staff of community support providers, group homes and supervised apartments certified by the Department of Human Services, and by staff of community mental health centers and residential facilities certified by the Department of Social Services, in each case under registered-nurse supervision and under separate rules. THE BOUNDARY THAT MATTERS MOST IS SETTING-BASED, NOT TASK-BASED. The Board’s own statement of scope is: “Registration by the board is required for nurse aides who practice in licensed skilled nursing facilities and in some assisted living centers.” The Board does not publish which assisted living centers are inside “some”, and no South Dakota source read on 2026-08-16 defines that boundary — so this record does not state it. The four-month trainee window is written into the delegation rule rather than into an exemption: a nurse may delegate in a nursing facility to a person who “Has worked less than four months in the nursing facility and is enrolled as a student in a board-approved nurse aide training program or has completed the program and is awaiting registration” (ARSD 20:48:04.01:23(2)).

Fees

NO CERTIFIED NURSE AIDE FEE IS PUBLISHED IN SOUTH DAKOTA’S FEE RULE, and that negative was searched rather than assumed. ARSD chapter 20:48:06 is titled “Fees Required of Licensees” and contains exactly four sections — 20:48:06:01 registered nurse fees, 20:48:06:02 licensed practical nurse fees, 20:48:06:03 certified registered nurse anesthetist fees, and 20:48:06:04 clinical nurse specialist fees. There is no nurse aide or medication aide section, and none of the four mentions an aide. The registration chapter for aides (ARSD 20:48:16) requires an application “on the form provided by the board” and never mentions a fee. The Board’s statutory fee authority is real but general — SDCL 36-9-21 directs the Board to promulgate rules on “(6) Fees” among other subjects, and SDCL 36-9-24 provides that “All fees received by the board, and money collected under this chapter, shall be deposited in the bank as authorized by the board”, with the Board permitted to require an applicant taking a nationally administered examination “to remit the portion of the licensing fee covering the cost of examination directly to the organization administering the examination.” TIERS SEARCHED ON 2026-08-16 AND FINDING NO CNA FIGURE: ARSD article 20:48 in full (all chapters, including 20:48:06 and 20:48:16), SDCL chapter 36-9 in full, and the three South Dakota Board of Nursing nurse aide pages that could be read. WHAT IS ALSO NOT PUBLISHED, in the same tiers: training tuition (set by each approved programme, not by the Board) and any renewal, reinstatement, endorsement or duplicate-card charge for a nurse aide. This record states no dollar figure for South Dakota rather than importing one. WHAT SOUTH DAKOTA DOES SAY ABOUT WHO PAYS: “Students employed by a nursing facility cannot be charged a fee for nurse aide training or testing, or new CNAs may be eligible for reimbursement by the nursing facility” (South Dakota Board of Nursing, Student Initial Registration Requirements). THE TESTING FEE IS PUBLISHED, BUT BY THE VENDOR, NOT BY THE STATE. The Board directs fee questions to its testing vendor (“payment of exam fee”), and the South Dakota Nurse Aide Candidate Handbook that the Board’s SD TMU Resources page names sets the amount: “Fees for the onsite exam, RN remote proctor exam, and Audio version: First Exam: $45; Retake Exam: $45; Audio Exam (first exam and retakes) $45” — one price for every format, payable by Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card. Who pays depends on your programme: “Ask your program instructor if you will be self-paying or if your training program has pre-paid your fee.” TWO MORE VENDOR CHARGES SIT BEHIND THAT ONE: arriving late means “you will not be permitted to take the exam and will forfeit any fees paid without a refund”, and disputing a result costs a “$25 non-refundable test review request deposit”, which is returned only if the review goes the candidate’s way. These are the vendor’s prices, set in its handbook rather than in any South Dakota rule, and the state still publishes no fee of its own. The edition read here is dated August 14, 2026.

Exam

A two-part “competency assessment program”, and South Dakota’s version differs from the national pattern in three ways worth knowing. THE RULE: “An applicant, as a requirement for registration as a certified nurse aide, shall pass a board-approved competency assessment program consisting of a knowledge exam, administered by a testing agency in accordance with § 20:48:16:09, and a skills evaluation, administered by a board-approved nurse aide training program, in accordance with §§ 20:48:16:10 and 20:48:16:11. The competency assessment must measure the applicant’s knowledge, skills, and abilities on the content listed in § 20:48:18:09” (ARSD 20:48:16:08) — that is, on the same curriculum the 75-hour programme must teach. (1) THE PASSING SCORE IS A NUMBER, NOT A CURVE: the testing agency must “Score the exam and require a passing score of seventy-five percent.” (2) THE SKILLS TEST IS FOUR SKILLS, NOT FIVE, AND THE BOARD PICKS THEM: the evaluator assesses “a minimum of four skills selected at random by the board from the pool of skills”, and the completed checklists go to the Board, which “shall score each checklist to determine if the applicant safely demonstrated the critical items on a checklist.” (3) RETAKES ARE PER-COMPONENT AND CAPPED AT TWO: a failing candidate may “apply to retake the exam two times” on the knowledge side, and on the skills side the Board “must provide notice to the applicant of the area not passed and allow the applicant to be re-evaluated on the skill two times” — re-evaluation is on the SKILL that was failed, not on the whole test. AN ORAL FORM IS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST: the testing agency must “Administer the exam orally upon request by an applicant”, read “by an approved proctor from a prepared text in a neutral manner.” THE QUESTION COUNT, THE TIME LIMIT AND THE FEE ARE NOT IN THE RULES — THEY ARE IN THE HANDBOOK THE BOARD SENDS CANDIDATES TO. Nothing in ARSD article 20:48 or SDCL chapter 36-9 states any of the three; the South Dakota Nurse Aide Candidate Handbook, published by the Board’s approved testing vendor and linked by name from the Board’s own SD TMU Resources page, states all three: ‘The exam consists of eighty (80) multiple-choice questions. The exam will be displayed on a computer screen for you to read, and you will have ninety (90) minutes to complete the exam.’ The handbook also publishes the question breakdown behind those eighty questions, in nine subject areas that it says ‘align with the South Dakota Board of Nursing’s test plan’: Aging Process 5; Basic Nursing Skills, Data Collection, and Personal Care 24; Basic Rights 6; Communication and Interpersonal Skills 6; Infection Control 7; Mental Health and Illness 7; Physical Health and Illness 10; Role and Responsibility 8; Safety 7. Its passing score and retake rules match the rule exactly — ‘You must obtain a minimum score of 75% to pass the exam’ and ‘If you do not pass on your first attempt, you can retake the exam two (2) times; if you fail a third time, your instructor will need to provide you with additional instruction.’ The edition read here is dated August 14, 2026. THE ONE THING STILL NOT PUBLISHED ANYWHERE: a deadline between finishing training and testing. That was searched in ARSD article 20:48 in full, in SDCL chapter 36-9, on the Board’s readable nurse aide pages and in the handbook, and none is published in any of them.

Renewal & continuing education

Biennial, and — unusually — keyed to the registrant’s BIRTH DATE rather than to the issue date or a statewide date. “A certified nurse aide registered by the board shall renew the registration biennially. Renewal of registration is by the birth date of the registrant. The board shall send a notice for renewal to the last known address of each registrant at least ninety days before the registrant’s expiration date. Failure to receive the notice for renewal does not relieve the registrant of the responsibility for renewing by the final date of the registration renewal period” (ARSD 20:48:16:14). WHEN YOU MAY FILE: “An actively registered CNA may renew ninety days or less prior to expiration. CNAs may renew by submitting the online Renewal Application” (South Dakota Board of Nursing). TWO CONDITIONS, AND SOUTH DAKOTA ASKS FOR MORE THAN THE FEDERAL MINIMUM ON BOTH. WORK: the aide must submit “evidence of having provided a minimum of twelve hours of nursing or nursing-related services for monetary compensation during the preceding two years” — twelve hours, not the eight most states use. EDUCATION: the aide must also submit “evidence of having completed a minimum of twelve hours of in-service education annually during the preceding two years which must include content on: (a) Dementia management; and (b) Client abuse, neglect, exploitation, and misappropriation of property, and procedures to report incidents of client abuse, neglect, exploitation, or misappropriation.” The Board adds a limit on what counts: “Nursing school courses are not applicable.” Plus the standing paperwork: apply on the Board’s form and submit “an affidavit that the applicant has committed no act of misconduct as set forth in § 20:48:16:04.” WHAT HAPPENS IF EITHER CONDITION FAILS: “An applicant who does not meet the requirements in subsections (3) or (4) of this section must pass a board-approved knowledge exam and skills evaluation” — the same two tests taken for initial registration. TWELVE HOURS OF IN-SERVICE EDUCATION EVERY YEAR — South Dakota is one of the states that does attach a recurring education requirement to the aide’s own credential, and it names the content. ARSD 20:48:16:14(4) conditions renewal or reinstatement on “evidence of having completed a minimum of twelve hours of in-service education annually during the preceding two years which must include content on: (a) Dementia management; and (b) Client abuse, neglect, exploitation, and misappropriation of property, and procedures to report incidents of client abuse, neglect, exploitation, or misappropriation.” Read the word “annually” carefully: it is twelve hours in EACH of the two years, not twelve hours across the biennium. The Board adds one exclusion in its own words: “Nursing school courses are not applicable.” WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU CANNOT SHOW IT: the same rule sends you back to the tests — “An applicant who does not meet the requirements in subsections (3) or (4) of this section must pass a board-approved knowledge exam and skills evaluation.” DO NOT CONFUSE THIS WITH THE OTHER TWELVE IN THE SAME SUBSECTION: § 20:48:16:14(3) separately requires “a minimum of twelve hours of nursing or nursing-related services for monetary compensation during the preceding two years” — twelve hours of PAID WORK across the two years, alongside twelve hours of EDUCATION in each year. Two different twelves, two different periods, two different subdivisions. THE MEDICATION AIDE NUMBER IS DIFFERENT AGAIN and belongs to a different credential: a registered medication aide renews on “a minimum of twelve hours” of medication-administration employment in the preceding twenty-four months (§ 20:48:16:03(3)), with no in-service education condition stated. Tiers searched on 2026-08-16: ARSD article 20:48 in full, SDCL chapter 36-9 in full, and the seven readable South Dakota Board of Nursing nurse aide pages.

How to apply

Applications are handled by South Dakota Board of Nursing — the same board that licenses registered nurses and licensed practical nurses runs the nurse aide credential here. “The board shall operate the certified nurse aide and medication aide registry” (ARSD 20:48:16:01). South Dakota is therefore a board-of-nursing state rather than a health-department or Medicaid-agency state, and the Board does more than list people: it approves the training programs, selects the skills to be tested, scores the skills checklists itself, and may contract with a testing agency for the knowledge exam.. Start at the official application page .

Verify a license in South Dakota

South Dakota Board of Nursing publishes a public license search . It covers South Dakota does maintain a public-facing verification tool, and the Board points aides at it — three of its nurse aide pages point at it — “Check your application status and print a registration card on the Boards verification website” (endorsement), “You and your employer may verify your registration status on the Board’s CNA Verification website” (initial registration), and “Verify an individual’s registry status on the Board’s Verification site” (lapsed or inactive). But the address of that verification website is not given on any South Dakota page that could be read as of August 16, 2026, so no lookup URL is recorded here and none is guessed; the address above is the Board’s Nursing Assistants section, which is where the Board’s own links live. WHAT SOUTH DAKOTA DOES PUBLISH ABOUT THE UNDERLYING DATA is the rule listing what the registry holds: full name including maiden name and any surnames used, last known home address, registration number, the date registry status expires, date of birth, most recent employment, the date the board-approved training programme, examination and skills evaluation were completed, and disciplinary proceedings against the registrant (ARSD 20:48:16:01). Anyone needing to confirm a South Dakota aide’s status should start from the Board’s Nursing Assistants pages rather than from a third-party directory.

Records come from South Dakota Board 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

Is a South Dakota CNA licensed, certified, or registered?

Registered — by the South Dakota Board of Nursing, the same board that licenses RNs and LPNs. “The board shall operate the certified nurse aide and medication aide registry,” and it registers an applicant who meets five conditions. The word “licensee” in South Dakota’s nursing rules is reserved for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nurse anesthetists and clinical nurse specialists, and does not include aides. The title is protected either way: “Only an individual registered as a certified nurse aide in this state may use the title ‘certified nurse aide’ and the abbreviation ‘CNA’.”

How many training hours does South Dakota require for a CNA?

75 — exactly the federal floor, but South Dakota is unusually prescriptive about the order. The rule requires “seventy-five hours of theoretical instruction and supervised practical training under the direct supervision of a licensee,” split three ways: an initial 16 hours of theory and skills instruction before you touch a client, covering communication, infection control, safety and emergency procedures including the Heimlich maneuver, promoting independence, respecting rights and the duty to report abuse; then 43 hours of theory and supervised practice in a skills lab, nursing facility or comparable setting across twenty-five listed subjects; then a final 16 hours of supervised practical training in a nursing facility or comparable setting. Programmes must use licensed nurses to directly supervise students in the lab and during direct client care.

Who gives the South Dakota nurse aide exam?

Two different bodies, which is unusual. The knowledge exam is run by a testing agency the Board may contract with, and the rule binds that agency rather than naming it: it must keep a question pool, use only part of it in any one exam, offer the exam orally on request read by an approved proctor from a prepared text, “Score the exam and require a passing score of seventy-five percent,” and allow two retakes. The skills evaluation is not run by a national vendor at all — your own board-approved training programme administers it, using a registered nurse evaluator and a minimum of four skills “selected at random by the board,” and the completed checklists go back to the Board, which scores them. Fail a critical item and the Board lets you be re-evaluated on that skill twice.

How much does South Dakota CNA registration cost?

South Dakota publishes no fee for the registration itself, but the exam has a price and it is the vendor’s. The Board’s fee rule, ARSD chapter 20:48:06, has exactly four sections — registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, certified registered nurse anesthetist and clinical nurse specialist — and none covers aides; the registration chapter for aides asks for an application “on the form provided by the board” and never mentions money. The Board does have statutory fee authority under SDCL 36-9-21(6), so the absence is in the published rules rather than in the law. The knowledge exam is a separate bill paid to the Board’s approved testing vendor, whose South Dakota candidate handbook lists “First Exam: $45; Retake Exam: $45; Audio Exam (first exam and retakes) $45” — though your training programme may have pre-paid it, and a student employed by a nursing facility “cannot be charged a fee for nurse aide training or testing”. Training tuition is set by each approved programme, not by the Board.

How does South Dakota CNA renewal work?

Every two years, on your BIRTH DATE rather than on your issue date. The Board mails a renewal notice to your last known address at least 90 days before expiry, and “An actively registered CNA may renew ninety days or less prior to expiration,” online. South Dakota asks for more than most states on both counts: at least 12 hours of “nursing or nursing-related services for monetary compensation during the preceding two years” (not the usual 8), and at least 12 hours of in-service education EACH year of the two, which must include dementia management and the reporting of client abuse, neglect, exploitation and misappropriation of property. The Board adds that “Nursing school courses are not applicable.” Miss either and you must pass the knowledge exam and skills evaluation again.

What happens if my South Dakota CNA registration lapses?

You stay on the registry, but listed as lapsed — and working in that state is itself a disciplinary ground, since the Board may act against an aide who has “Practiced with a lapsed registration.” Reinstatement uses exactly the same four conditions as renewal, so if you can still document 12 hours of paid nursing or nursing-related services in the preceding two years and 12 hours of in-service education a year, you reinstate on paperwork alone. If you cannot, the rule says you “must pass a board-approved knowledge exam and skills evaluation” — note it names the two tests, not the 75-hour course.

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

Yes, by endorsement, and there is no exam. The rule asks for three things: the Board’s application form, an affidavit that you have committed no act of misconduct under the Board’s twelve-item list, and “evidence of active registration as a certified nurse aide on another state’s registry.” The Board’s own endorsement page adds two conditions the rule leaves out: your training programme must have been “at least 75 hours in length,” and you must “Not have any findings or convictions of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of property.” The 75-hour condition is the one that stops people — a shorter out-of-state programme will not carry across.

Can I work as a nurse aide in South Dakota before I am registered?

For under four months, and South Dakota writes the rule from the nurse’s side rather than yours. A licensed nurse may delegate nursing tasks in a nursing facility to someone who is registered as a CNA, or to someone who “Has worked less than four months in the nursing facility and is enrolled as a student in a board-approved nurse aide training program or has completed the program and is awaiting registration by the board as a certified nurse aide.” Outside that window, the delegation itself is not authorised.

Does every nurse aide in South Dakota have to be registered?

No — the requirement follows the setting. The Board’s own statement is that “Registration by the board is required for nurse aides who practice in licensed skilled nursing facilities and in some assisted living centers.” South Dakota does not publish which assisted living centers fall inside “some,” so check with the Board or the employer rather than assuming. Separately, the Nurse Practice Act does not reach a list of situations in SDCL 36-9-28, including emergency nursing assistance, prelicensure nursing students, gratuitous care of family and friends, care of the sick by domestic servants, housekeepers, companions or household aides who do not assume to practise nursing, and personal attendants acting at the direction of a person with a disability.

What is a Registered Medication Aide in South Dakota, and is it the same as a CNA?

It is a separate registration on the same Board of Nursing registry, and no, it is not the same. “Registration by the board is only required for medication aides in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living centers, and hospitals. A registered medication aide may use the title ‘Registered Medication Aide’, abbreviated ‘RMA’.” Its conditions differ from the nurse aide’s — a high school diploma or equivalent, a board-approved medication administration training programme, and a board-approved medication administration examination passed “with a minimum score of seventy-five percent.” South Dakota also recognises two aide roles that need no registration at all: the diabetes aide and the dialysis technician.

See every license and certification LicensingAtlas covers in South Dakota.

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.