Guide · checked October 22, 2026

Failed one part of the CNA exam? Here's the actual math

First: you do not retake the part you passed

Every vendor in our dataset charges retakes per failed part. Pass the written, fail the skills, and your next payment is the skills fee alone. From the dataset's published splits:

Second: both parts must pass inside one clock

Passing one part starts a countdown on the other. North Carolina: both parts within 24 months of training completion or 3 attempts, whichever comes first. Connecticut allows unlimited attempts inside 24 months — and the training program returns outside it. Texas caps attempts at 3 per part. Let the clock die with one part passed and you can lose the pass you already own.

Third: know why skills failures are the expensive ones

Skills retakes cost two to three times the written retake in every split above — and the most common skills failure has nothing to do with the drawn skill: handwashing and indirect-care behaviors are graded in every evaluation, and failing them fails the whole thing. The draw itself is 3–5 skills picked at random from roughly 22–25. Details in the exam-day guide.

And the trap that doubles a retake

Need to move your retake date? The reschedule rules apply to retakes too — inside 5 business days at Prometric, the retake fee is forfeited and you pay it again in full. Book the retake for a date you can keep, not the soonest date you can find.

Fees from the dataset's vendor tables, checked October 22, 2026. Your state page carries your vendor and its split.