Instead of completing a Georgia state-approved nurse aide training and/or competency evaluation program, an out-of-state nurse aide may apply for a listing on the Georgia Nurse Aide Registry by reciprocity by meeting all the following requirements. To be eligible for reciprocity a nurse aide must:
- have been employed as a CNA for at least 8 hours, for pay, under the supervision of a registered nurse within the past two years of submitting the required information to Georgia,
- be currently listed on another state's nurse aide registry with an active status and without discipline/encumbered status on file,
- have a valid, government-issued social security card with the name matching the CNA's registry listing, and
- have no pending or substantiated findings of patient abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of resident or patient property recorded on any other state's nurse aide registry.
In order for the Georgia Nurse Aide Registry to consider you for reciprocity, you must complete the application for nurse aide registry listing by reciprocity. The form requires verification of your most recent nurse aide employment under registered nurse supervision within the past two years. Private Duty services must be under the general supervision of a LPN or RN. You have to provide a notarized statement listing your job duties and time frame worked with the nurse’s signature and current license number as well as a copy of check stub or W-2 form as proof of payment for nurse aide services. The State of Georgia will not accept volunteer work.
The Georgia Nurse Aide Registry will verify registry status in the state that currently lists you as a CNA. This process can take two weeks or more. Upon state verification, if you meet all the eligibility requirements, the Georgia Nurse Aide Registry will evaluate the complete application, along with the state verification information before adding your name to the registry without you having to take the Georgia written/oral and skills competency examination. Verification status can be printed via the registry's website.
If no Georgia address is given at the time of placement on the Georgia registry a certification card will not be mailed out but once you move to Georgia, you may call the nurse aide registry at (800) 414-4358 or at (678) 527-3010 to give a Georgia address and a certification card will be sent to you.