Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) · rules checked October 22, 2026
To renew you must show at least 12 hours of nursing or nursing-related services for monetary compensation during the preceding two years, plus at least 12 hours of in-service education each year. Renewal is by your birth date; the Board sends a renewal notice at least 90 days before expiration and online renewal opens 90 days before it (ARSD 20:48:16:14).
If you have never worked for pay since certifying, use your certification date.
| Credential | Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) |
|---|---|
| Registry | South Dakota Nurse Aide Registry · 605-362-2760 |
| Training required | 75 hours |
| Exam | Headmaster — $159 (written $70 · skills $89) |
| How renewal works | Expires on a fixed calendar cycle; renew by application. Renewal fee: $0. |
| Keep-active work rule | To renew you must show at least 12 hours of nursing or nursing-related services for monetary compensation during the preceding two years, plus at least 12 hours of in-service education each year. Renewal is by your birth date; the Board sends a renewal notice at least 90 days before expiration and online renewal opens 90 days before it (ARSD 20:48:16:14). |
| Continuing education | At least 12 hours of in-service education annually (24 hours over the renewal period), which must include dementia management and client abuse, neglect, exploitation, and misappropriation of property and how to report incidents. Nursing school courses do not count. |
| Who reports your work | You do — nobody files it for you |
Changing soon: South Dakota's CNA rules in ARSD chapter 20:48:16 were re-issued effective September 8, 2025 (52 SDR 24) — re-check renewal/reinstatement wording against the current chapter before launch.
If you fail to renew on time or do not meet the work or in-service requirements, your registration is listed as lapsed. Under ARSD 20:48:16:14 the Board must renew or reinstate a lapsed registration if you meet the work and in-service evidence requirements; an applicant who does not meet them must pass a board-approved knowledge exam and skills evaluation.
No separate longer-lapse retraining tier appears in the current rule text retrieved (effective September 8, 2025); the exam route applies when the work/in-service evidence cannot be shown. An older Department of Health renewal page instead says an aide who does not meet renewal requirements must retrain in an approved program and then retest — because the sources conflict, confirm your route with the Board before paying for either.
South Dakota is unusual twice over: the Board of Nursing (not the health department) runs the registry through the SDUAP portal at sduap.org, and renewal requires BOTH paid work (12 hours) AND in-service training (12 hours every year) — aides who worked plenty but skipped in-service still have to test. There is no state fee for registration, renewal, or endorsement; the Headmaster exam is the main fixed cost.
Application fee: $0. Under ARSD 20:48:16:13 the Board registers an endorsement applicant who applies on the Board form, files an affidavit of no act of misconduct under 20:48:16:04, and submits evidence of active registration as a certified nurse aide on another state's registry. Work-history requirement: Secondary sources state endorsement applicants should document CNA work within the past 24 months and may work in a South Dakota facility for a limited period while the application is processed; the rule text retrieved requires only active out-of-state registration plus the affidavit.. No endorsement fee. Apply through the South Dakota Board of Nursing / SDUAP portal.
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 South Dakota | Fee | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Alaska | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Arizona | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Arkansas | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| California | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Colorado | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Connecticut | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Delaware | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| District of Columbia | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Florida | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Georgia | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Hawaii | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Idaho | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Illinois | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Indiana | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Iowa | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Kansas | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Kentucky | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Louisiana | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Maine | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Maryland | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Massachusetts | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Michigan | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Minnesota | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Mississippi | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Missouri | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Montana | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Nebraska | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Nevada | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| New Hampshire | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| New Jersey | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| New Mexico | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| New York | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| North Carolina | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| North Dakota | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Ohio | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Oklahoma | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Oregon | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Pennsylvania | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Rhode Island | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| South Carolina | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| South Dakota | Same state — no transfer needed | ||
| Tennessee | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Texas | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Utah | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Vermont | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Virginia | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Washington | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| West Virginia | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Wisconsin | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
| Wyoming | Accepted — with conditions | $0 | South Dakota accepts active certifications with a work-history requirement. |
The kit carries South Dakota's full recovery path — the forms, the order to file them, the phone scripts — plus transfer checklists for every destination. See the kit →
