The Certified Nurse Aide program in Indiana is regulated directly by the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH). Interestingly, this is not the same regulatory body that handles registered and professional nurses, nor is the Certified Nurse Aide a “licensing” program – rather, you must receive a certification. In this Fact Sheet, we’ll guide you through the steps needed to get and maintain you Indiana nurse aide certification.

Obtaining a Certification

You might be asking yourself, what exactly is a certified nurse aide? As Indiana explains, “A certified nurse aide is a person who works primarily in long term care (nursing homes) assisting residents with activities of daily living under the supervision of a nurse.” As a certified nurse aide, you’ll assist registered nurses in providing essential care to the residents of nursing homes.

So, how can you become a certified nurse aide? Here are the steps to follow:

• Complete a state-approved Nurse Aide Training Program. This is a statutorily mandated program consisting of 30 hours of classroom education and 75 hours of clinical training. The program is composed of a total of 30 specific “lessons.” A full directory of CAN training locations, sorted by county, can be found here. You can scroll down this page for links to all of the program syllabi.
• Upon completion of the program, you’ll take a test called a “nurse aide competency evaluation,” which is composed of both a written section and skills section. The fee to take this test is 75 dollars. If one portion of the exam is failed but the other passed, you make retake only the failed portion for a fee of 65 dollars. Scroll down on this page to locate a testing center near you.
• The testing center will provide you directly with the application packet. Once you pass the test, you’re in! If your application is accepted, you will be listed a Certified Nurse Aide “in good standing” on the Indiana Nurse Aide Registry. You will also receive a pocket card and paper certificate confirming your certification. Hang on to these, because you will not receive new ones once you renew.

If you are already a CNA in another state, the process is a bit easier. While you must still take a written exam, you need not take the skills portion of the test, and you will not have to enroll in an Indiana-specific training program. However, you will have to fill out a different application, which is provided by the central testing authority, and you will have to certify your out-of-state registration using an “out-of-state contact.” Check out question number two on this page to see how to do this.

Maintaining a Certification

As was alluded to above, all Indiana CNAs are listed on the state’s Nurse Aide Registry run by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, and you must remain “in good standing” on that registry to have your certification remain valid. Renewal must be done once every two years. However, the CNA cannot apply for renewal himself. Rather, he must provide this form (PDF) to his employer, who will verify that the CNA has worked one eight-hour shift performing “nursing or nursing related duties,” and a total of 12 hours doing the same, for the renewal period. There is no fee for renewal.

Complaints against nurse aides, and the facilities they work for, are handled directly the Indiana State Department of Health. Discipline is typically enacted only in response to a complaint from a member of the public – the ISDH typically does not seek out CNAs to discipline. You can read about the complaint process here.