Kentucky CNA Certification — Renewal, Lapse & Transfer Rules

The Kentucky facts

Credential	State Registered Nurse Aide (SRNA)
Registry	Kentucky Nurse Aide Registry (Kentucky Board of Nursing) · 502-429-3300
Training required	75 hours
Exam	Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), administered via Headmaster TestMaster Universe (TMU) — $115 (written $40 · skills $75)
How renewal works	A calendar renewal and a paid-work rule both apply. Renewal fee: $0.
Keep-active work rule	Your SRNA active status is valid for 2 years from the date you passed the competency exam and must be renewed in the Kentucky Board of Nursing Nurse Portal (the renewal appears no sooner than 60 days before expiry). You must upload proof of at least 8 hours of paid employment performing nursing or nursing-related functions in each 24-month period — a pay stub, a W-2, or a signed facility letter on letterhead. Private-duty aides use the notarised SRNA Private Duty Form completed by the person cared for or their family.
Continuing education	No CE is required of the aide to renew. A nursing facility must give each nurse aide it employs at least 12 hours of in-service / staff development training a year, but that is the facility's duty, not a condition of your registry renewal.
Who reports your work	You do — nobody files it for you

Changing soon: Exam administration is mid-transition from KCTCS paper testing to Headmaster TMU online testing, and published totals differ ($115 vs about $135) — re-check the TMU fee before launch.

If your Kentucky certification has lapsed

The cheaper route — while it lasts

Reinstatement through the Nurse Portal: apply for reinstatement next to your SRNA certification and provide evidence you were employed in a nursing-related capacity for at least 8 paid hours before the expiration date — and, per KBN, proof of 8 paid hours for EVERY 2-year period the registration has been lapsed.

Past that line

If you cannot show that proof of employment for the lapsed periods, there is no retest-only route: you must retake the nurse aide classes and the competency test through KCTCS.

Kentucky's trap is cumulative: each 2-year lapsed period needs its own 8 hours of provable paid work to reinstate by paperwork, and one unprovable period sends you back to the full course plus exam. Kentucky calls the credential SRNA, not CNA, and KBN no longer mails renewal reminders, so nothing prompts you before expiry. Exam fees are in transition between KCTCS paper testing and TMU online testing — a KCTCS college page lists $115 total ($40 written / $75 skills) while other current guides cite about $135 total; confirm on ky.tmutest.com before publishing.

Transferring INTO Kentucky

Application fee: $0 · typical processing: Application valid for 1 year; if requirements are not met within the year you must start over.. Under 907 KAR 1:450, Kentucky grants reciprocity if the other state documents that you are on its registry, an employment record verifies that 24 months have NOT elapsed since you last worked for pay as a nurse aide, and you are not listed on any state's abuse/neglect/misappropriation registry. Apply in the KBN Nurse Portal (SRNA Reciprocity Application) uploading your Social Security card, driver's licence and current out-of-state certification. The application is valid for 1 year. Work-history requirement: Employment record must show you worked for pay as a nurse aide within the last 24 months.. No endorsement fee and no retesting for qualifying reciprocity applicants.

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 in	Verdict for Kentucky	Fee	Why
Alabama	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Alaska	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Arizona	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Arkansas	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
California	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Colorado	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Connecticut	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Delaware	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
District of Columbia	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Florida	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Georgia	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Hawaii	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Idaho	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Illinois	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Indiana	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Iowa	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Kansas	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Kentucky	Same state — no transfer needed
Louisiana	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Maine	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Maryland	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Massachusetts	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Michigan	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Minnesota	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Mississippi	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Missouri	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Montana	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Nebraska	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Nevada	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
New Hampshire	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
New Jersey	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
New Mexico	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
New York	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
North Carolina	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
North Dakota	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Ohio	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Oklahoma	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Oregon	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Pennsylvania	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Rhode Island	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
South Carolina	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
South Dakota	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Tennessee	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Texas	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Utah	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Vermont	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Virginia	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Washington	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
West Virginia	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Wisconsin	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.
Wyoming	Accepted — with conditions	$0	Kentucky accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement.

Included in the $39 CNAStatusCheck Kit

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

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

Is my certification still active?

The Kentucky facts

If your Kentucky certification has lapsed

The cheaper route — while it lasts

Past that line

Transferring INTO Kentucky

Included in the $39 CNAStatusCheck Kit

Sources — checked October 22, 2026