Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) · rules checked October 22, 2026

Indiana CNA certification: stay active, lapse, and transfer rules

Your initial certification is valid for 2 years and must be renewed through the Online Licensing System (MyLicense One) to stay active. You must have worked at least 8 hours in nursing or nursing-related activities during each 2-year renewal cycle. Private care hours are NOT accepted in Indiana. Renewal is free.

Is my certification still active?

If you have never worked for pay since certifying, use your certification date.

The Indiana facts

CredentialCertified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
RegistryIndiana Aides Registry (Indiana Department of Health) · 317-233-7442
Training required75 hours
ExamIvy Tech Community College — Not published — confirm with the registry
How renewal worksA calendar renewal and a paid-work rule both apply. Renewal fee: $0.
Keep-active work ruleYour initial certification is valid for 2 years and must be renewed through the Online Licensing System (MyLicense One) to stay active. You must have worked at least 8 hours in nursing or nursing-related activities during each 2-year renewal cycle. Private care hours are NOT accepted in Indiana. Renewal is free.
Continuing educationNo CE is required of the aide to renew. Nursing facilities must provide in-service training to their aides, but that is the facility's duty, not a registry renewal condition for the aide.
Who reports your workYou do — nobody files it for you

Changing soon: Indiana rebuilt its CNA rules on September 1, 2025: the training standard dropped from 105 hours to 75 (30 classroom + 45 clinical), and the reciprocity route changed with it — no fee and no exam on IDOH's current page. Guides written before that date describe a state that no longer exists.

The Indiana renewal walkthrough

Portal, forms, the steps in order, the exact fee, and the trap that lapses Indiana aides — our guide How to renew your CNA license in Indiana walks the renewal end to end.

If your Indiana certification has lapsed

The cheaper route — while it lasts

Expired 8 months or less: renew online. Expired more than 8 months: your verifying employer must complete the Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) Renewal Form in full and submit it to the Registry (aides@health.in.gov or fax 317-233-7442), confirming you worked at least 8 paid hours in the past 24 months.

Past that line

If the certification has sat unrenewed long enough to move to 'Registry History' status (reported as about 2 years after expiry), it cannot be renewed — contact the Registry, then complete a state-approved nurse aide training program again and pass both the written and skills exams again.

Private-duty / private care hours do not count toward the 8-hour rule in Indiana, unlike some neighbouring states. The 8-month mark is a hidden second deadline: past it, you can no longer self-renew online and need an employer to file the renewal form for you.

Transferring INTO Indiana

Application fee: Not published — confirm with the registry. Must be currently certified as a CNA in another state, with the certification active, in good standing, and free of verified complaints or disciplinary action (IDOH certification page). IDOH's current page lists NO fee and NO examination for reciprocity — every other route on the same page (training, student nurse, graduate nurse, EMR, military) expressly requires passing the competency evaluation; reciprocity does not. Work-history requirement: Must be active in good standing on the home-state registry; employer letter proving recent work required for applicants from states without registry numbers/expiry dates.. Older Indiana materials (before the September 2025 regime change) charged a $65 testing fee and required incoming aides to retake the written exam. IDOH's current certification page lists neither for reciprocity, and this site follows the current page. If a testing center quotes you an exam fee for a transfer, ask which route it belongs to before paying.

The table below is computed for an active aide in good standing, trained to the origin state's standard hours. Your own hours or status can change your row — run the transfer checker with your real facts.

Certified inVerdict for IndianaFeeWhy
AlabamaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
AlaskaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
ArizonaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
ArkansasAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
CaliforniaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
ColoradoAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
ConnecticutAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
DelawareAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
District of ColumbiaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
FloridaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
GeorgiaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
HawaiiAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
IdahoAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
IllinoisAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
IndianaSame state — no transfer needed
IowaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
KansasAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
KentuckyAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
LouisianaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
MaineAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
MarylandAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
MassachusettsAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
MichiganAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
MinnesotaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
MississippiAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
MissouriAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
MontanaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
NebraskaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
NevadaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
New HampshireAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
New JerseyAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
New MexicoAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
New YorkAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
North CarolinaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
North DakotaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
OhioAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
OklahomaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
OregonAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
PennsylvaniaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Rhode IslandAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
South CarolinaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
South DakotaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
TennesseeAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
TexasAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
UtahAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
VermontAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
VirginiaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
WashingtonAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
West VirginiaAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
WisconsinAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
WyomingAccepted — with conditionsNot published — confirm with the registryIndiana accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.

Included in the $39 CNAStatusCheck Kit

The kit carries Indiana's full recovery path — the forms, the order to file them, the phone scripts — plus transfer checklists for every destination. See the kit →

Sources — checked October 22, 2026