Are you moving out to a new state and want to continue as a CNA, but you don’t know how to transfer CNA license from one state to another? If this is the case, then you are at the right place. Here we will learn all about the process of transferring CNA license. The task is not as easy as it might seem in the beginning. There are only two ways in which you can transfer your CNA license, you will either have to move to a state that shares reciprocity or you will have to retake the CNA test all over again.
So, first let us understand what exactly is reciprocity and what states have reciprocity for CNA license.
Reciprocity
Reciprocity is the process that allows CNA professionals to be able to transfer their license from one state to another. In this process, your name is registered on the Nurse Aide registry and your ids are sanctioned in the new state. However, reciprocity requirements are not found in all the states of the U.S.
States With Reciprocity Agreements
| Arizona | Arkansas | Colorado |
| Delaware | Idaho | Iowa |
| Kentucky | Maine | Maryland |
| Mississippi | Missouri | Nebraska |
| New Hampshire | New Mexico | North Carolina |
| North Dakota | Rhode Island | South Carolina |
| South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas |
| Utah | Virginia | Wisconsin |
If you are relocating to any of the above-listed states; then, you will not have to retake the CNA certification exam. If you shift to a state that does not have reciprocity; then, you will have to retake the exam in order to get certification.
How To Transfer Your CNA License?
Firstly, you will have to determine whether or not your CNA license is transferable. In order to do so, you will have to search the internet to see if you can transfer the license to the state you are relocating to. There are government sites like the CNA licensing authority and State’s nursing board that will provide you the information you need.
Once you have relocated to the new state, get in touch with the Nurse Aide Registry of the state and request for an application for enrollment by reciprocity. If there is reciprocity between the two states (that is, the state you were previously in and the state you have relocated to) then you will not have to take a retest.
However, if there is no reciprocity between the two states then you will have to retake the license exams in the new state.
If the state, you are moving to accepts to transfer the CNA license from the state you have moved from; then, all you have to do is–
- Driver’s license
- Submit your social security number
- Submit a request for a new CNA license
- Submit official active CNA license that you have in your present state.
- Proof of education
- Submit proof that you are continuously employed as a CNA in the present state.
- Submit a request form to get a criminal background check.
There are some states that will allow you to continue working as a CNA in the new state while the authority reviews your application for the license transfer. Check out if the state you are relocating to, allows you to continue work or not and then proceed.
Apart from submitting the application for the transfer, in order to begin work immediately, you will need to have an active CNA license in your present state and you will have to be working as a CNA for the past 24 months and you should be currently working as a CNA.
How To Obtain A New CNA License?
If you move to a state that does not allow you to transfer the CNA license through reciprocity then, you will have to obtain a new CNA license by enrolling yourself in a CNA training program in the new state, you will have to undergo a criminal background check and you will have to pass the CNA certification exam all over again in your new state.
However, if you have completed your CNA training within the last two years then you can contact the state’s nursing board to find out whether you will have to do the training all over again or not. This will mainly depend on the course and curriculum of the training program that you had attended. If the curriculum matches; then, you might not have to do the training.
So, if you are working as a CNA and are about to relocate to a new state then you should check if the new state has reciprocity or not. Do your homework and search for the whole procedure online or get in touch with the State’s nursing board to understand all about the procedure before you make your move.
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