The CNA exam is the last step before your nursing assistant license.
Two parts, one evaluator, and no room for a missed critical step.
See the costs, the free study tools and how to pass below.
Where to get free CNA exam study tools
Every official study resource for the CNA exam is free. Your testing vendor publishes a practice written exam and a state candidate handbook, and both cost nothing to download.
Credentia runs the NNAAP program (the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program) in roughly 25 states. Prometric covers states such as Florida, New York and Texas. Headmaster, also called D&S Diversified Technologies, handles about 14 more. Your training program tells you which vendor applies to you.
📘 GET THE FREE STUDY MATERIALS
The handbook matters more than most candidates realize. It lists the exact skills you can be assigned, the critical steps for each one and the rules for your state. Here is how to get everything in order.
Finish an approved training program
Federal minimum of 75 hours
The federal rule sets 75 hours, including 16 clinical hours. Several states ask for more, like California with 160 hours and Illinois with 120.
Open your account with the vendor
CNA365, TMU or the Prometric portal
Credentia states use CNA365. Headmaster states use TMU. Create the account, start an application and upload your training documents.
Download the free practice packet
Practice exam plus state handbook
Grab the practice written exam and your state candidate handbook. Together they show the real question style and the full skill list you can be assigned.
Pay the fee and pick your date
Online or at a test center
After approval, choose your site and schedule. Test center slots usually need 10 days of notice, while remote written exams can be booked much closer to the date.
What the CNA exam includes
The CNA exam has two parts, and you must clear both to get certified. One tests what you know, the other tests what you can do with an examiner watching.
The written portion has 60 to 75 multiple choice questions, depending on your state. The NNAAP version runs 70 items, 10 of them unscored pretest questions, inside a 90 minute window.
Question topics stay consistent across vendors. You get daily patient care, basic nursing skills, safety and infection control, communication and client rights.
If reading English is difficult for you, most states offer an oral version with recorded questions instead. The NNAAP oral exam is available in English and in Spanish.
The skills portion is a live demonstration. An evaluator watches you perform a short set of assigned tasks, such as hand washing, measuring blood pressure or helping a resident move safely.
Many states let you take the two parts on the same day or on separate dates. Passing both is what places your name on the state nurse aide registry.
How much the CNA exam costs
Most states charge between $90 and $155 for both parts together. Tennessee sits near the bottom of that range, and Florida charges $155 through Prometric.
A few states go higher. Hawaii runs above $200. Retakes are billed on their own, and they are the reason preparation pays for itself.
Training is a separate line item. Most people spend $500 to $2,000 on the full path, and many nursing homes and hospitals cover that cost for people they plan to hire.
Ask before you pay anything. Employer sponsored programs are common in home care and long term care, and they often include the exam fee too.
Some states also run workforce grants that cover CNA classes online plus the testing fee. Your local workforce office or the training school itself can tell you what is open right now.
Look closely at what a paid course actually adds. If it is only practice questions and printed notes, the free official packet plus a question bank covers the same ground at zero cost.
Free practice tests, apps and videos worth using
You do not need to spend a dollar to study well. Official packets, question banks, apps and skill videos are all available at no cost.
Start with the official material, then add practice volume from the free platforms below:
- Official practice written exam: published by your vendor, with the same question style as the real test.
- State candidate handbook: the exact skill list, rules and sample questions for your state.
- Free online question banks: hundreds of items with explained answers, sorted by topic.
- A free CNA practice test app: mock exams and flashcards you can run offline, in short breaks.
- Skill demonstration videos: step by step recordings of every skill you can be assigned.
On the app stores, look for options with recent updates and high ratings. The stronger ones include full length timed exams, progress tracking and flashcard decks.
Videos solve what questions cannot. Watching the same skill demonstrated by two different instructors reveals small details your class may have skipped.
Flashcards handle the memory work. Vital sign ranges, safety rules, resident rights and common medical terms stick better through short repeated drills than through long reading sessions.
Build a simple routine around these tools. Twenty questions in the morning, one skill video at lunch and one full skill rehearsed out loud at night is enough to change your result.
Which skills fail the most candidates
The skills evaluation fails more people than the written test. Florida data showed 84.7% passing the written portion against 81.5% on the clinical one.
Blood pressure is the single most failed skill, with roughly 18% of tested candidates losing it. A manual cuff demands precision, and shaking hands under pressure ruin the reading.
Hand washing is the other frequent failure. It looks easy, but the scrub must last at least 20 seconds and nervous candidates rush it without noticing.
⚠️ Attention: Missing one critical step fails that entire skill, even if everything else was perfect. Learn the checklist, not just the procedure.
In NNAAP states you perform five skills drawn from a pool of 23, inside about 30 minutes. Hand hygiene always appears, plus one measurement skill such as pulse, respirations, weight or urinary output.
You can correct a mistake while still inside the skill you are performing. Once you move to the next one, going back is not allowed.
How to pass the CNA exam on the first try
Passing on the first attempt is normal, not exceptional. First time pass rates run from 70% to 87% depending on the state.
The people who clear it share the same habits, and none of them require extra money:
Watch the wording on written questions. Options that skip hand hygiene, ignore safety, break privacy or push a nurse aide beyond their role are almost always wrong.
Most states set the passing mark near 70%, with a few reaching 77%. That margin is thin enough that trap questions decide results.
What a CNA license pays and where it leads
A certified nursing assistant earns a median of $39,530 per year, close to $19 per hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (the federal agency that tracks wages). Oregon and Washington pay near $50,000.
Demand stays strong, with roughly 56,500 openings per year across nursing homes, hospitals and home care. Passing puts your name on the state nurse aide registry, which is what employers check before hiring.
Many people treat the role as a first door. CNA to RN and CNA to LPN bridge programs credit your experience, and LPN roles carry a median above $62,000.
Your CNA license also has a renewal side. Most states ask you to work a set number of paid hours inside the certification period and keep the registry entry active, so plan your first job with that in mind.
If you fail, you retake only the part you missed. Most states allow three attempts inside a set window, and after that you generally repeat the full training program.
Book the retake quickly if it happens. The details of each skill fade fast, and candidates who wait months usually have to rebuild the whole routine from scratch.
Use the free materials, learn the critical steps in order, and walk into that room knowing exactly what the evaluator needs to see.
ℹ️ Important: Fees, training hours and passing rules change by state. Always confirm current requirements with your state nurse aide registry or testing vendor.
