Louisiana CNA Certification — Renewal, Lapse & Transfer Rules

The Louisiana facts

Credential	Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
Registry	Louisiana Nurse Aide Registry (Louisiana Department of Health, Health Standards Section) · 225-342-0138
Training required	80 hours
Exam	Prometric and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) — $125 (written $40 · skills $85)
How renewal works	A calendar renewal and a paid-work rule both apply. Renewal fee: $0.
Keep-active work rule	You are certified for 2 years from your certification date. You must work at least 8 hours in every 24-month period performing nursing or nursing-related duties in an approved licensed setting (nursing home, hospital, home health, hospice, assisted living, ICF/DD and similar). CNAs cannot report their own work history — it must be submitted by the employer/provider; private-duty sitting does not count unless done through a licensed provider, and staffing-agency work counts only in a nursing home.
Continuing education	No continuing education is required to renew; renewal rests on the employer-reported 8 hours of work.
Who reports your work	Your employer does — if they fail to, you can show as inactive while working

Changing soon: LDH now partners with both Prometric and LCTCS as testing vendors — older guides naming Prometric alone are out of date.

If your Louisiana certification has lapsed

The cheaper route — while it lasts

If your certification has expired and shows 'Not Certified' on the Registry, you may regain it by retesting — retesting is allowed within 2 years from the certification expiration date, through Prometric or LCTCS. Secondary sources note this retest route can be used only once.

Past that line

Expired more than 2 years (or after the one retest route has been used): you must complete a new state-approved nurse aide training program and pass the competency exam again.

Trap: hours worked outside nursing homes are not required to be reported by the provider, so hospital/home-health/hospice hours can silently go unreported and let your certification expire even though you worked — LDH recommends submitting them anyway. Work-history submissions are accepted only from approved providers, by mail or email (fax is not accepted).

Transferring INTO Louisiana

Application fee: $35. Reciprocity (Prometric Eligibility Route 8): you must have an active certification and be in good standing in all states where you are currently certified. Prometric processes all Louisiana reciprocity applications; the application processing fee is $35. Work-history requirement: Must be active and in good standing in every state of current certification.. Questions about reciprocity go to Prometric (800-797-0671), not the Registry — LDH states its office cannot assist with reciprocity requests.

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 Louisiana	Fee	Why
Alabama	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Alaska	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Arizona	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Arkansas	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
California	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Colorado	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Connecticut	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Delaware	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
District of Columbia	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Florida	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Georgia	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Hawaii	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Idaho	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Illinois	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Indiana	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Iowa	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Kansas	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Kentucky	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Louisiana	Same state — no transfer needed
Maine	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Maryland	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Massachusetts	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Michigan	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Minnesota	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Mississippi	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Missouri	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Montana	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Nebraska	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Nevada	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
New Hampshire	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
New Jersey	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
New Mexico	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
New York	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
North Carolina	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
North Dakota	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Ohio	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Oklahoma	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Oregon	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Pennsylvania	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Rhode Island	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
South Carolina	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
South Dakota	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Tennessee	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Texas	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Utah	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Vermont	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Virginia	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Washington	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
West Virginia	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Wisconsin	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.
Wyoming	Accepted — with conditions	$35	Louisiana accepts active certifications with a $35 application fee, a work-history requirement.

Included in the $39 CNAStatusCheck Kit

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

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

Is my certification still active?

The Louisiana facts

If your Louisiana certification has lapsed

The cheaper route — while it lasts

Past that line

Transferring INTO Louisiana

Included in the $39 CNAStatusCheck Kit

Sources — checked October 22, 2026