Your CNA certification is considered lapsed and cannot be renewed if you have not worked for pay as a nurse aide for a minimum of seven hours in the last 24 months at a New York State nursing home or other nurse aide employer approved by the New York State Health Department.
To regain your New York State Nursing Home Nurse Aide Certification, if it is currently lapsed, you will be required to retest or retrain and retest. If you successfully completed a NYS approved nurse aide training program on or after July 1, 1989 you must:
- Complete and submit the New York Nurse Aide application form, along with the appropriate fees. If you are employed in NYS as a nurse aide in a nursing home, your employer must complete Section 2 of the application form.
- Provide your NYS certification number on your application form.
- Pass the clinical skills exam and the written or oral exam within two years of submitting your application. You will have three attempts to pass the clinical skills exam and three attempts to pass the written or oral exam within two years.
If your nurse aide certification is currently lapsed and was obtained through deeming, waiving, reciprocity, or if you completed training before July 1, 1989 you must first complete retraining and then pass the exams.
You may check your registry status by either certification number or name online or by calling 800-918-8818, contact Prometric at 800-321-6443 with questions about recertification or the registry, and the NY Bureau of Credentialing at 518-408-1297 with questions about the certification program.
Federal and State regulations require nursing homes to verify each nurse aide's certification status, as well as the status of all potential staff, with the state's Nurse Aide Registry prior to employment or use in the facility. All individuals performing nurse aide duties in a nursing home on a full-time, part-time or contractual basis must meet minimum training and competency requirements in accordance with state and federal regulations and be listed in good standing on the New York Nurse Aide Registry.