If you worked under the supervision of a RN or LPN in the 24 months before your registration expired then you are allowed to renew your lapsed certification. If this is the case, then you must submit a completed renewal form, signed by your employer, to report your employment history. When the renewal form is processed, the nurse aide registry will be updated to reflect your eligibility to work in federally certified facilities.
If your previous registration expired and you have not worked as a nurse aide in the past twenty-four (24) or more months you may challenge the CNA exam without having to retrain. You need to register for the CNA examination under eligibility route E5 - Lapsed Nurse Aide certification. The application for the competency examination may be found here and the regional test sites and schedules can be found here.