How Much Does the CNA Exam Cost? State Fees and Who Has to Pay

CNA exam fees by state, as checked on October 18, 2026

Each state sets its own CNA exam fees through its testing vendor. The table shows the fees listed on the state pages checked on October 18, 2026. The last column is Passy's arithmetic for paying for the written (or oral) exam and the skills evaluation together the first time, which Credentia's Pennsylvania, Virginia, Colorado, and Rhode Island pages say you must do.

A few states work differently:

• Florida: applicants apply with Prometric and pay all testing fees directly to Prometric, plus the Livescan provider for fingerprinting (Florida Board of Nursing). Check Prometric's Florida page for the current amounts.
• Texas: state rule 26 TAC 556.6 says a trainee may not be charged for any part of the competency evaluation if a nursing facility employs the trainee, or has offered a job, on the date of the evaluation, and that HHSC reimburses part of the cost for an aide a nursing facility hires or offers a job within 12 months after the evaluation. Confirm the testing vendor and fees with Texas Health and Human Services (HHSC).
• South Carolina: check the fee page in Credentia's South Carolina handbook when you register.
• California: Credentia publishes a California NNAAP handbook, but California also appears on Headmaster's list of nurse aide programs. Confirm your vendor with the California Department of Public Health, then check that vendor's fees.

Who has to pay: the federal no-charge rule

Federal rules protect nurse aides who already work for, or have a job offer from, a nursing facility:

• No charge at the start. If a facility employs you, or has offered you a job, on the day you begin a training and competency evaluation program, you may not be charged for any part of it, including textbooks and other required course materials (42 CFR 483.152(c)(1)). The same rule covers the competency evaluation on its own (483.154(c)(2)).
• Reimbursement afterward. If you were not employed when you started, but a facility hires you or offers you a job no later than 12 months after you complete the program, the state must provide for reimbursement of your costs on a pro rata basis while you work as a nurse aide (483.152(c)(2); 483.154(c)(3)).

State pages repeat these rules in their own words. Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Rhode Island say nursing homes must pay the NNAAP fees for their nurse aide employees, including retests. Alabama and South Carolina say candidates employed as aides in nursing homes that take part in Medicare or Medicaid may not pay their own exam fees. South Carolina adds that candidates pay online and are reimbursed by the employer.

How Pennsylvania's reimbursement works: a worked example

Credentia's Pennsylvania and Tennessee fee pages describe reimbursement in two halves:

1. Half of your training and testing costs after you have worked 130 hours as a nurse aide at the facility.
2. The other half after another 130 hours.

The hours start counting only after you have passed and are listed on the registry.

Example (fictional candidate). Dana pays Pennsylvania's $135 written-and-skills fee herself, passes both parts, and is listed on the registry. Eight months after finishing her program, a nursing home hires her. After her first 130 hours on the job, the facility reimburses $67.50 of the exam fee. After 130 more hours, it reimburses the other $67.50. If Dana also paid tuition, the same two-step schedule applies to those costs. Hours she worked before her registry listing would not count toward either step.

What a CNA retest costs

In the states in the table, each part has its own fee, so retaking one part costs that part's fee. In Pennsylvania, that is $50 for the written or oral exam and $85 for the skills evaluation, as checked on October 18, 2026. So a Pennsylvania candidate who passes the written exam but fails the skills evaluation once would pay $135 + $85 = $220 in total, if no employer is covering the cost. Other states list single-part fees in the table above.

Federal rules give you at least three opportunities to pass (483.154(f)). Each extra attempt adds a fee, and some states require retraining after the third failure, which costs more. The retake guide compares attempt limits and time windows.

CNA exam fees you can lose

The Credentia fee pages checked for Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Colorado, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and California say fees are not refundable. In Pennsylvania, you lose the fee in these situations:

• you miss the exam without an approved excused absence, after the deadline to cancel or reschedule has passed (48 hours ahead for an online written or oral exam, nine business days for a test-center exam)
• you arrive late and are not allowed to test
• you are turned away for missing or improper ID

A missed fee cannot be moved to a new exam date.

Tennessee adds an attire rule: a candidate who does not meet it is treated as a no-show, forfeits the fee, and must pay for another exam date. The exam day guide lists those rules.

Official practice exams are optional extras

Credentia sells its own practice products, which are not part of the competency evaluation. As checked on October 18, 2026:

Credentia's FAQ says the practice exam is not mandatory, does not count toward your attempts on the real exam, and gives you one hour. Vouchers cannot be used for it at this time. This guide makes no judgment about the content of these products.

Other costs around the CNA exam

• Training. The federal no-charge and reimbursement rules above cover training costs too, including textbooks and required course materials.
• Background checks. Florida requires Level II screening with electronic fingerprinting, paid to the Livescan provider. Pennsylvania's FAQ requires criminal history reports before you enroll in training.
• The registry. Federal rules say the state may not charge for registration on the nurse aide registry (483.156(b)(4)).

The state-by-state guide helps you identify the testing vendor before applying or paying.