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Rhode Island Certified Nursing Assistant — Requirements & Free Practice

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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.

Nursing Assistant

Ordinary nursing assistant license.

Licensing authority: Rhode Island Department of Health, Nursing Assistant Advisory Board · Application information

Licensure by examination — approved training program

All of the following:

Application
Completed RIDOH application, identification, $35 nonrefundable fee, original Rhode Island Attorney General BCI dated within four months, explanations of positive criminal or disciplinary history; application valid one year.
Attempt limit
After three unsuccessful attempts at written and practical examinations, repeat training.
Open approval
The Director may select and approve other nursing-assistant written and practical examinations; the unnamed remainder is an applicant condition.
Statutory exemptions
Section 23-17.9-5 preserves federally defined examination-exempt classes; applicability is an applicant condition.
Time limit
Pass required examinations within one year of beginning training; otherwise repeat training.
Training
Department-approved 120-hour nursing assistant training program: 80 classroom hours and 40 clinical hours.
Statutory examination exemption — home health aide or homemaker
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Completed RIDOH application, identification, $35 nonrefundable fee, original Rhode Island Attorney General BCI dated within four months, explanations of positive criminal or disciplinary history; application valid one year.
Qualification
Document qualifying home health aide/homemaker examination and/or approved home health aide/homemaker training under Chapter 23-17.7. This is qualification evidence, not state adoption of an identified currently offered nursing-assistant examination.
Remaining requirements
The statutory examination exemption does not itself waive training and application requirements.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Licensure by examination — nursing student
NNAAP Written (or Oral) Examination
Application
Completed RIDOH application, identification, $35 nonrefundable fee, original Rhode Island Attorney General BCI dated within four months, explanations of positive criminal or disciplinary history; application valid one year.
Attempt limit
Three opportunities to pass the written examination.
Enrollment
Eligible active nursing program with two clinical courses, including Fundamentals of Nursing; clinical-supervisor documentation and Dean signature.
Statutory scope
Section 23-17.9-2(d) exempts qualified RN-supervised nursing students from the chapter. This route is voluntary issuance of a Nursing Assistant license through the official examination application, rather than a licensing prerequisite for exempt student employment.
Waiver
Training program and NNAAP Skills portion waived under 22.5.1(D).
Statutory qualifying examination in lieu of training — pre enactment experience

All of the following:

Application
Completed RIDOH application, identification, $35 nonrefundable fee, original Rhode Island Attorney General BCI dated within four months, explanations of positive criminal or disciplinary history; application valid one year.
Eligibility
Nursing-assistant employment or experience before enactment of Chapter 23-17.9 and the effective date of its implementing regulations.
Implementing demand
The lower-ranked January 2024 handbook page 7 states: All nursing assistant candidates applying to take the NNAAP Examination in Rhode Island must have successfully completed a Rhode Island Department of Health-approved nursing assistant training program. Preserve that general Board demand for the applicant, while the statute governs this historical-training exception.
Training waiver
The statute requires the approved qualifying examination in lieu of the training program.
Military member or spouse — recognition of equivalent existing license
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Documents
Military expedition form, military-status and transfer documents, good-standing verification and Rhode Island BCI. Honorably discharged veterans may receive expedited processing under the form; that alone is not statutory military license recognition.
Equivalence
Board determination that existing qualifications are substantially equivalent under 5-88-1(b)(1).
Prior license
Other-jurisdiction license or certification held for at least one year.
Standing
Originating-jurisdiction good standing; no disqualifying criminal record, misconduct revocation/surrender, or pending professional-conduct or crime investigation; applicable Rhode Island fees.
Status
United States armed-forces member or spouse accompanying the member under change-of-station orders to Rhode Island; the spouse left employment to accompany the member.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reinstatement — active other jurisdiction license and work history
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Filing
Reinstatement processing fee.
History
Prior Rhode Island license in good standing that lapsed; nursing-assistant work in another jurisdiction during the two years before application.
License
Active other-jurisdiction license or registration and verification of current and historical good standing.
Work and training
Attest to eight hours of qualifying work while currently licensed in the preceding two years and twelve hours of in-service training per twelve-month period.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reinstatement — long lapse without qualifying employment

All of the following:

Application
Completed RIDOH application, identification, $35 nonrefundable fee, original Rhode Island Attorney General BCI dated within four months, explanations of positive criminal or disciplinary history; application valid one year.
Attempt limit
After three unsuccessful attempts at written and practical examinations, repeat training.
Lapse
Two years or longer without qualifying employment evidence under 22.5.5(G).
Retraining
Repeat nursing-assistant training and pass all required examinations before reinstatement.
Time limit
Pass required examinations within one year of beginning training; otherwise repeat training.
Reinstatement — lapse of less than two years
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Eligibility
Lapse less than two years, not suspended or revoked.
Filing
Application and renewal fees.
Work history
Handbook E-3 directs the applicant to provide evidence of eight hours of nursing-assistant work in the prior 24 months and contact RIDOH.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Biennial renewal — employment and in service training
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Employment
At least eight hours of nursing-assistant work in the previous 24 months.
Employment setting
Licensed health care facility, assisted living residence, adult day services program, or nursing service agency; private-duty employment does not qualify.
Filing
Biennial application and fee before June 15; renewal effective July 1 through June 30 two years later unless suspended or revoked.
In service
Twelve hours of in-service training per year at the employing facility.
Records
Employment attestation and three-year retention of in-service/continuing-education records for audit.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Biennial renewal — recent training and examination

All of the following:

Employment setting
Licensed health care facility, assisted living residence, adult day services program, or nursing service agency; private-duty employment does not qualify.
Filing
Biennial application and fee before June 15; renewal effective July 1 through June 30 two years later unless suspended or revoked.
Qualification
Completed nursing-assistant training and passed the examination for licensure within 24 months; the age of passing scores is a condition, and currently offered examinations remain leaves.
Records
Employment attestation and three-year retention of in-service/continuing-education records for audit.

Temporary Permit

120-day permit for approved nursing assistant training-program examination applicants.

Licensing authority: Rhode Island Department of Health, Nursing Assistant Advisory Board · Application information

Temporary permit — approved training program examination applicant

All of the following:

Duration
120 days; no extensions under the official endorsement application page 5.
Supervision
Direct licensed-nurse or physician supervision until all required examination portions are passed.
Timing
Both NNAAP examinations are involved after issuance of the temporary permit; later timing does not remove their leaves.
Training
Completed approved nursing-assistant training; this permit is restricted to training-program applicants, not nursing-student applicants.

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