Guide · checked October 22, 2026
Reinstatement is a ladder, and states put the rungs in different places. From cheapest to most expensive:
You worked; it just wasn't reported or filed. Employer form, pay stubs, a registry call. Always check this rung first — it costs nothing but persistence.
Pass the competency exam again. Illinois built its whole system on this rung. Connecticut (Route 4) and North Dakota (Reactivation by Examination) keep it open without a retraining tier behind it.
West Virginia offers a 16-hour refresher for aides 2–4 years without reportable work. Kansas reactivates aides inactive under 5 years with a ~10-hour refresher course or an RN skills checklist — no exam.
California, South Carolina, Louisiana, Arizona and others: retest-only works until a line — often 2 years past expiry — and retraining waits behind it. If you're near a line, the deadline is worth real money. Compute yours in the status checker.
Florida's null-and-void rule, Ohio's undocumented lapse, Michigan past 2 years, Missouri past a 5-year break (175-hour course). Sometimes this rung is real. The mistake is starting here without checking rungs 1–4 — which is exactly what a school selling courses hopes you'll do.
The $39 Recovery & Transfer Kit carries each state's reinstatement path step by step — forms, route numbers, order of operations, and the phone numbers — for all 51 registries.
