Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) · rules checked October 22, 2026
Registration is valid for 24 months and is renewed in MI-NATES (via a MILogin account) for a $40 fee. Michigan requires far more work than the federal floor: you must attest to at least 40 hours of paid nursing or nursing-related services in the last 24 months, and, effective March 23, 2026, attest to at least 12 hours of continuing education in each year of the renewal period. Passing the exam does not add you to the Registry — you must separately apply in MI-NATES and pay the $40 registration fee.
If you have never worked for pay since certifying, use your certification date.
| Credential | Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) |
|---|---|
| Registry | Michigan Nurse Aide Registry (Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs — LARA, Bureau of Community and Health Systems) · 517-284-8961 |
| Training required | 75 hours |
| Exam | Headmaster (D&S Diversified Technologies) via TestMaster Universe (TMU) — $175 |
| How renewal works | A calendar renewal and a paid-work rule both apply. Renewal fee: $40. |
| Keep-active work rule | Registration is valid for 24 months and is renewed in MI-NATES (via a MILogin account) for a $40 fee. Michigan requires far more work than the federal floor: you must attest to at least 40 hours of paid nursing or nursing-related services in the last 24 months, and, effective March 23, 2026, attest to at least 12 hours of continuing education in each year of the renewal period. Passing the exam does not add you to the Registry — you must separately apply in MI-NATES and pay the $40 registration fee. |
| Continuing education | Effective March 23, 2026: at least 12 hours of continuing education per year (24 hours per 24-month renewal period), attested in MI-NATES; keep CE certificates/transcripts for at least 4 years in case the Bureau audits you, as proof is not normally submitted with the renewal. |
| Who reports your work | You do — nobody files it for you |
Changing soon: The CE attestation (12 hours/year, including abuse, neglect and care plan training) applies to expirations on or after March 23, 2026, per LARA. The reciprocity list, the $40 fee and the lapse rules on this page were read directly on michigan.gov (LARA Nurse Aide Registry page), in the Michigan Administrative Rules R 400.301-400.357, and in MCL 333.21913/21919 on October 22, 2026.
Lapsed registration is reinstated through MI-NATES with the $40 fee, attesting to the required paid work and continuing education; renewals can be started up to 45 days before expiry. One timing condition matters (LARA): the 40 hours must have been worked within the 24 months before your certificate expired, and not more than 24 months before the day you file the late renewal — if the work falls outside that frame, renewal closes and the retraining route below applies instead. A renewed lapsed certificate runs 24 months from the old expiration date, not from the day you file.
If certification has been lapsed for more than 2 years — or you cannot meet the 40-hour work condition inside its timing frame — you are removed from the registry and must retake the entire state-approved nurse aide training program and pass the competency examination again, applying as a new initial certification (LARA, citing 42 CFR 483.156 and 483.35).
Michigan breaks the usual pattern three ways: a 40-hour work rule (not 8), a $40 registry fee for new, renewal, reinstatement AND reciprocity applications, and a new 12-hours-per-year CE attestation from March 23, 2026. Headmaster charges a flat $175 per exam attempt (knowledge and skills are not priced separately in the current fee table). Older guides citing Prometric as the exam vendor, a $125 exam, or an 8-hour work rule are stale — LARA ended the Prometric contract in July 2023.
Application fee: $40. Reciprocity is available ONLY to aides who trained and tested in one of the 39 approved states on LARA's published reciprocity list, whose training program is consistent with the federal regulations, included at least 75 course hours before the competency exam, and did not exempt the candidate from training hours or testing. Apply in MI-NATES (MILogin, request MI-NATES access, new Nurse Aide application, select Reciprocity) and pay the $40 fee; LARA verifies your out-of-state status directly. A candidate who did not train and test in a listed state is NOT eligible for reciprocity. Work-history requirement: Must be active and in good standing on the approved home state's registry, with a training program of at least 75 hours meeting federal standards.. States NOT on LARA's approved list: Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. Rhode Island and Wyoming ARE on LARA's current list — older 37-state lists (which this dataset previously used) excluded both and were wrong. One caution: Headmaster's July 2026 candidate handbook prints a 38-state list that includes Rhode Island but omits Wyoming, while LARA's own page includes Wyoming — if you trained and tested in Wyoming, confirm with the Bureau at (517) 284-8961 before relying on reciprocity. The registration fee is $40 by statute (MCL 333.21919, as amended by 2023 PA 273) for new, renewal and reciprocity applications alike; $20 figures in older guides are pre-2023.
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 Michigan | Fee | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Alaska | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Arizona | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Arkansas | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| California | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Colorado | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Connecticut | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Delaware | Not accepted — named-list state | $40 | Michigan accepts certification only from a named list of states, and Delaware is not on it. The route is Michigan's own training and exam. |
| District of Columbia | Not accepted — named-list state | $40 | Michigan accepts certification only from a named list of states, and District of Columbia is not on it. The route is Michigan's own training and exam. |
| Florida | Not accepted — named-list state | $40 | Michigan accepts certification only from a named list of states, and Florida is not on it. The route is Michigan's own training and exam. |
| Georgia | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Hawaii | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Idaho | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Illinois | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Indiana | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Iowa | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Kansas | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Kentucky | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Louisiana | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Maine | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Maryland | Not accepted — named-list state | $40 | Michigan accepts certification only from a named list of states, and Maryland is not on it. The route is Michigan's own training and exam. |
| Massachusetts | Not accepted — named-list state | $40 | Michigan accepts certification only from a named list of states, and Massachusetts is not on it. The route is Michigan's own training and exam. |
| Michigan | Same state — no transfer needed | ||
| Minnesota | Not accepted — named-list state | $40 | Michigan accepts certification only from a named list of states, and Minnesota is not on it. The route is Michigan's own training and exam. |
| Mississippi | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Missouri | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Montana | Not accepted — named-list state | $40 | Michigan accepts certification only from a named list of states, and Montana is not on it. The route is Michigan's own training and exam. |
| Nebraska | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Nevada | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| New Hampshire | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| New Jersey | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| New Mexico | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| New York | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| North Carolina | Not accepted — named-list state | $40 | Michigan accepts certification only from a named list of states, and North Carolina is not on it. The route is Michigan's own training and exam. |
| North Dakota | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Ohio | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Oklahoma | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Oregon | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Pennsylvania | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Rhode Island | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| South Carolina | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| South Dakota | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Tennessee | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Texas | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Utah | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Vermont | Not accepted — named-list state | $40 | Michigan accepts certification only from a named list of states, and Vermont is not on it. The route is Michigan's own training and exam. |
| Virginia | Not accepted — named-list state | $40 | Michigan accepts certification only from a named list of states, and Virginia is not on it. The route is Michigan's own training and exam. |
| Washington | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| West Virginia | Not accepted — named-list state | $40 | Michigan accepts certification only from a named list of states, and West Virginia is not on it. The route is Michigan's own training and exam. |
| Wisconsin | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
| Wyoming | Accepted — with conditions | $40 | Michigan accepts active certifications with a $40 application fee, a work-history requirement. |
The kit carries Michigan's full recovery path — the forms, the order to file them, the phone scripts — plus transfer checklists for every destination. See the kit →
