As long as the nurse aide certification has been lapsed for less than five years, you may reactivate your status by taking and passing the New Jersey CNA exam. You need to successfully complete both the skills and the written evaluation. If you fail either portion of the exam then you have to complete a new nurse aide training course before qualifying to sit for the certification test. When a nursing assistant's certification has been lapsed for over five years, she must retrain and retest to reactivate her status on the registry.