Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) · rules checked October 22, 2026
Work at least 8 consecutive hours of paid nursing or nursing-related services in the 24 months before your record lapses, and report it yourself in TMU. Qualifying work is paid nurse aide work in a nursing home, hospital, hospice, home health agency or intermediate care facility; private-duty, doctor's office, laboratory and personal care home aide work does not count. Out-of-state work can count through the Non-Employer Renewal form with a pay stub or W-2.
If you have never worked for pay since certifying, use your certification date.
Checked in part: most of Mississippi's rules were confirmed on primary sources on October 22, 2026, but a few details could only be confirmed in part. Where a figure is marked "not published," use the registry link on this page to confirm — we would rather show you the gap than fill it with a guess.
| Credential | Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) |
|---|---|
| Registry | Mississippi Nurse Aide Registry (Mississippi State Department of Health) · (601) 364-1100 |
| Training required | 75 hours |
| Exam | Headmaster (D&SDT-Headmaster) — $135 (written $35 · skills $100) |
| How renewal works | Stays active through paid work inside the window — no calendar expiry while you keep working. Renewal fee: Not published — confirm with the registry. |
| Keep-active work rule | Work at least 8 consecutive hours of paid nursing or nursing-related services in the 24 months before your record lapses, and report it yourself in TMU. Qualifying work is paid nurse aide work in a nursing home, hospital, hospice, home health agency or intermediate care facility; private-duty, doctor's office, laboratory and personal care home aide work does not count. Out-of-state work can count through the Non-Employer Renewal form with a pay stub or W-2. |
| Continuing education | No registry continuing education requirement to renew. The 12 hours per year of in-service training is a federal employer obligation in certified facilities, not a registry filing. |
| Who reports your work | You do — nobody files it for you |
Changing soon: Secondary reports say House Bill 1051 shifts Mississippi CNA administration from MSDH to the Mississippi Board of Nursing starting July 1, 2026; forms, fees and the registry contact may change. Fees in older Credentia-era tables ($26) differ slightly from current $25 figures.
Expired 30 days or less: renew normally in TMU with your employer's verification. Past 30 days — or once the 24-month work window is missed — the route back is Reactivation by Examination: pass both parts of the Headmaster competency evaluation. You get ONE attempt: fail either part and you must complete an MSDH-approved training program before testing again as a new aide (Mississippi Candidate Handbook, January 2026).
Mississippi publishes no separate longer-lapse tier: the same Reactivation by Examination route applies at any gap length, with the same one-attempt rule. The retraining penalty attaches to failing that attempt, not to the length of the lapse.
You file the renewal yourself in TMU and pick an employer contact, who is emailed a verification link and must confirm the work. If you work through a staffing agency, choose the facility you were placed at, because agencies are not on the employer list. Renewal fee could not be confirmed on a primary page (secondary sources report $25-$26 range for renewal/reciprocity transactions).
Mississippi has a published process to petition for removal of a single, neglect-only registry finding after at least 1 year. Abuse and misappropriation findings cannot be removed. Details — free, and with no strings — on the registry findings page.
Application fee: $25 · typical processing: Not published. Reciprocity (MSDH): you must have been entered on another state's nurse aide registry in accordance with OBRA '87 training and competency requirements and be currently listed on that registry as active and in good standing. A criminal background check is required. Apply with the reciprocity form in TMU. The $25 reciprocity charge is a 'processing administrative assessment fee' in the current Mississippi Candidate Handbook (January 2026); older Credentia-era tables listed $26.
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 Mississippi | Fee | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Alaska | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Arizona | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Arkansas | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| California | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Colorado | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Connecticut | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Delaware | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| District of Columbia | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Florida | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Georgia | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Hawaii | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Idaho | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Illinois | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Indiana | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Iowa | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Kansas | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Kentucky | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Louisiana | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Maine | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Maryland | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Massachusetts | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Michigan | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Minnesota | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Mississippi | Same state — no transfer needed | ||
| Missouri | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Montana | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Nebraska | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Nevada | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| New Hampshire | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| New Jersey | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| New Mexico | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| New York | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| North Carolina | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| North Dakota | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Ohio | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Oklahoma | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Oregon | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Pennsylvania | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Rhode Island | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| South Carolina | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| South Dakota | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Tennessee | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Texas | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Utah | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Vermont | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Virginia | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Washington | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| West Virginia | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Wisconsin | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
| Wyoming | Accepted — with conditions | $25 | Mississippi accepts active certifications with a $25 application fee. |
The kit carries Mississippi's full recovery path — the forms, the order to file them, the phone scripts — plus transfer checklists for every destination. See the kit →
