OpenExamsFREE PRACTICE — ANY EXAM

Alabama Certified Nursing Assistant — Requirements & Free Practice

US-AL · License preparation

250 free questions · Answer explanations · No signup required

Choose what to practice

Start with an exam below. Your examination requirements depend on your application pathway. View licensing requirements

Loading selected examination banks…

Licenses, application pathways and examination requirements

Each license and applicant pathway has its own requirements and exemptions. Choosing practice questions does not determine your eligibility.

Certified Nurse Aide — Alabama Nurse Aide Registry

Alabama nurse aide certification is recorded through inclusion on the Alabama Nurse Aide Registry. The official candidate handbook states that Alabama does not issue a separate nurse aide certificate or license. This survey asserts routes at the evaluation date; validity dates mark that assertion and do not claim an initial enactment date.

Licensing authority: Alabama Department of Public Health · Application information

Certification after a state approved nurse aide training program

All of the following:

Prometric eligibility
Prometric requires state-approved nurse aide training, testing completed within two years, and no more than three attempts per part before retraining. Only the failed part is retaken while eligibility remains.
Testing window
Take and pass both examination parts within 24 months after completing the approved training program.
Training
Successfully complete an Alabama-approved nurse aide training program. Alabama does not approve online CNA programs.
Unregistered exam alternative
Alternatively, Alabama accepts the Prometric Nurse Aide Competency Examination Written (Oral/Knowledge) Test together with its Clinical Skills Test. Both must be completed through the same provider in the same eligibility period; parts may not be mixed with another testing company. The accepted Prometric examinations have no frozen nationwide versions in the supplied NNAAP-only context and remain conditions pending nationwide registration; NNAAP versions do not substitute for them.
Continued certification while qualifying paid work is maintained
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Existing certification
Already included on the Alabama Nurse Aide Registry.
Implementation wording
The Credentia handbook calls this Re-Certification and says to renew through the Alabama Department of Public Health. This route represents continued certification through its specified paid-work condition. The registry FAQ could not be pinned, so no separate filing procedure is inferred.
Lapse
After 24 months without compensated nursing-related services, use the separate retraining and reactivation route.
Qualifying work
Perform at least eight hours of compensated nursing-related work every 24 months in a nursing home, hospital, home health agency, hospice agency, or mental health facility. Volunteer work, private sitting, assisted-living-facility work, and doctor-office work do not count.
Work history
Keep a personal work-history file that a prospective employer can validate.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Certification after facility sponsored state approved training

All of the following:

Prometric eligibility
Prometric requires state-approved nurse aide training, testing completed within two years, and no more than three attempts per part before retraining. Only the failed part is retaken while eligibility remains.
Sponsor
This is the Nursing Assistant — Sponsor eligibility category.
Testing window
Take and pass both examination parts within 24 months after completing the approved training program.
Training
Successfully complete a state-approved nurse aide training program at a long-term-care facility.
Unregistered exam alternative
Alternatively, Alabama accepts the Prometric Nurse Aide Competency Examination Written (Oral/Knowledge) Test together with its Clinical Skills Test. Both must be completed through the same provider in the same eligibility period; parts may not be mixed with another testing company. The accepted Prometric examinations have no frozen nationwide versions in the supplied NNAAP-only context and remain conditions pending nationwide registration; NNAAP versions do not substitute for them.
Reactivation after lapsed nurse aide certification

All of the following:

Lapse
A continuous period of 24 consecutive months without compensated nursing-related services requires a new training and competency evaluation program under rule 420-5-10-.03(14).
Prior certification
Previously certified in Alabama with certification now expired.
Prometric eligibility
Prometric requires state-approved nurse aide training, testing completed within two years, and no more than three attempts per part before retraining. Only the failed part is retaken while eligibility remains.
Retraining
Complete a state-approved nurse aide training program again and retest both examination parts.
Testing window
Take and pass both parts within 24 months of the new training completion.
Unregistered exam alternative
Alternatively, Alabama accepts the Prometric Nurse Aide Competency Examination Written (Oral/Knowledge) Test together with its Clinical Skills Test. Both must be completed through the same provider in the same eligibility period; parts may not be mixed with another testing company. The accepted Prometric examinations have no frozen nationwide versions in the supplied NNAAP-only context and remain conditions pending nationwide registration; NNAAP versions do not substitute for them.
Certification through nursing student or nursing graduate equivalent training

All of the following:

Equivalent training
Successfully complete Fundamentals of Nursing; equivalent higher education must be an LPN or RN program approved by the Alabama Board of Nursing.
Exam requirement
Equivalent education provides eligibility; both registered NNAAP examination parts remain involved.
Testing window
The Alabama candidate handbook states that the NNAAP examination must be taken and passed within 24 months of the qualifying training.

National Nurse Aide Assessment Program (NNAAP) Skills Evaluation

This assessment does not have a question bank.

Provider
Credentia Nurse Aide LLC (develops and manages the NNAAP exam); administered by Credentia at test centers
Format
Performance evaluation at a test center, scored and retaken separately from the Written (or Oral) Examination: the candidate performs five skills on a candidate volunteer acting as the client and is rated by a Nurse Aide Evaluator; each skill is scored Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory and all five must be Satisfactory to pass
Time limit
30 minutes
Examination sources

NNAAP Written (or Oral) Examination

Provider
Credentia Nurse Aide LLC (develops and manages the NNAAP exam); administered by Credentia online or at test centers
Format
Multiple-choice examination taken online or at a test center, in English or Spanish, scored and retaken separately from the Skills Evaluation; candidates may choose the Oral Examination form, in which the multiple-choice questions are read aloud by recorded voice (MP3 player at test centers) and ten reading comprehension (word recognition) questions are added, and both Oral sections must be passed
Exam questions
70 multiple-choice items: 60 scored and 10 pretest (non-scored); the Oral form has 60 multiple-choice items and 10 reading comprehension (word recognition) items
Time limit
2 hours
Examination outline
  • I. Physical Care Skills — A. Activities of Daily Living (22% of the exam; 13 questions) (22%)
    • Activities of Daily Living — 1. Hygiene
    • Activities of Daily Living — 2. Dressing and Grooming
    • Activities of Daily Living — 3. Nutrition and Hydration
    • Activities of Daily Living — 4. Elimination
    • Activities of Daily Living — 5. Rest/Sleep/Comfort
  • I. Physical Care Skills — B. Basic Nursing Skills (35% of the exam; 21 questions) (35%)
    • Basic Nursing Skills — 1. Infection Control
    • Basic Nursing Skills — 2. Safety/Emergency
    • Basic Nursing Skills — 3. Therapeutic/Technical Procedures
    • Basic Nursing Skills — 4. Data Collection and Reporting
  • I. Physical Care Skills — C. Self-Care and Independence (7% of the exam; 4 questions) (7%)
    • Self-Care and Independence
  • II. Psychosocial Care Skills — A. Emotional and Mental Health Needs (8% of the exam; 5 questions) (8%)
    • Emotional and Mental Health Needs
  • II. Psychosocial Care Skills — B. Spiritual and Cultural Needs (2% of the exam; 1 question) (2%)
    • Spiritual and Cultural Needs
  • III. Role of the Nurse Aide — A. Communication (7% of the exam; 4 questions) (7%)
    • Communication
  • III. Role of the Nurse Aide — B. Client Rights (8% of the exam; 5 questions) (8%)
    • Client Rights
  • III. Role of the Nurse Aide — C. Legal and Ethical Behavior (5% of the exam; 3 questions) (5%)
    • Legal and Ethical Behavior
  • III. Role of the Nurse Aide — D. Member of the Health Care Team (6% of the exam; 4 questions) (6%)
    • Member of the Health Care Team
Examination sources