CNA Certification Classes in Michigan

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To become a CNA in Michigan, you complete a 75-hour training program that holds a LARA permit, including at least 16 clinical hours, pass the Headmaster knowledge and skills exams, and get listed on the Michigan Nurse Aide Registry kept by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). The 75 hours break down into 16 classroom hours, 16 clinical hours and 43 more hours in any mix of classroom, lab or clinical work. Since March 23, 2026, renewing your certificate also requires at least 12 hours of continuing education a year.

Michigan CNA requirements at a glance

  • Training: 75 hours: 16 classroom, 16 clinical and 43 more in any combination of classroom, lab or clinical. You need at least 16 classroom hours before you work directly with residents, and clinical hours are directly supervised by an RN or LPN.
  • Who approves programs: LARA (Bureau of Community and Health Systems) approves each program and issues it a permit. Search permitted programs in LARA’s online database.
  • Competency exam: LARA contracts with Headmaster (D&SDT-Headmaster): a 65-question knowledge test, written or audio, with a 74% passing score, plus a skills test of three or four tasks in 30 minutes.
  • Nurse aide registry: LARA’s Bureau of Community and Health Systems keeps the registry; look anyone up on the public registry. Renew every 24 months with an attestation of at least 40 paid hours of CNA work and, since March 23, 2026, 12 hours of continuing education a year.
  • Moving from another state: If you trained and tested in a state on Michigan’s reciprocity list and are in good standing, apply in MI-NATES and pay the $40 fee; you don’t retest. CNAs who didn’t train and test in a listed state aren’t eligible.
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Free CNA training in Michigan

Federal rules protect nurse aides who train for jobs in nursing homes that take Medicare or Medicaid. If one of those facilities employs you, or has offered you a job, on the day your approved program starts, it can’t charge you for any part of it, including textbooks and required materials. If you pay for a program yourself and a facility hires you, or offers you a job, within 12 months of finishing, the state must reimburse your costs on a pro-rata basis for the time you work there as a nurse aide (42 CFR 483.152(c)). Ask nursing homes near you whether they sponsor students.

What to check before you pay for a CNA program in Michigan

  • It’s on the state’s approved list. Only an approved program makes you eligible for the competency exam.
  • Its hours meet the state minimum, including the supervised clinical hours, and it tells you where the clinical training happens.
  • The price is complete: tuition, textbooks, uniform, background check and the exam fee.
  • It explains how you register for the exam and when you can test after you finish.
  • It doesn’t promise 100% online certification. Supervised hands-on training is required, so a course with none can’t lead to certification.

Every program needs a LARA permit to train nurse aides. LARA’s online database shows actively permitted programs but also some lapsed or inactive ones, so confirm a program’s permit is active before you enroll.

The Michigan CNA exam

Michigan doesn’t run its own nurse aide testing: LARA’s Bureau of Community and Health Systems contracts with Headmaster to give the certification exams. The knowledge exam has 65 multiple-choice questions and a 60-minute limit, and you need 74% to pass. An audio (oral) version is available if you request it before you pay your testing fee, and a remotely proctored knowledge exam option is also offered.

The skills test gives you three or four randomly selected tasks, each with a scenario, and 30 minutes to finish them. You must perform every critical step (in bold) and 80% of the other steps on each task.

You have three attempts to pass both parts within 24 months of finishing your training program. State rules cap testing at three attempts, and after three failures you must complete another nurse aide training program before you test again.

The Michigan nurse aide registry and renewal

The Michigan Nurse Aide Registry is kept by LARA’s Bureau of Community and Health Systems. Employers and you can search it on the BCHS Nurse Aide Public Registry.

A renewal certificate is good for 24 months from your last certificate’s expiration date. You renew online in MI-NATES, no earlier than 45 days before expiration, and pay a $40 fee. You must attest that you worked at least 40 hours as a paid CNA, providing nursing or nursing-related services, during the last 24 consecutive months. Since March 23, 2026, you must also attest that you completed at least 12 hours of continuing education per year of the renewal period.

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Moving to Michigan with a CNA from another state

Michigan grants reciprocity only to CNAs in good standing who trained and tested in a state that meets Michigan’s requirements, such as requiring at least 75 course hours before the exam and allowing no exemptions from training or testing. LARA lists the qualifying states on its Nurse Aide Registry page; if you didn’t train and test in one of them, you aren’t eligible. If you hold an active certificate in good standing from a state whose training program LARA recognizes, you skip the Michigan exam: submit a new nurse aide application and pay the $40 registration fee in MI-NATES. If you trained in a reciprocity state but never tested, you must pass the Michigan exam within 24 months of finishing that training.

Colleges in Michigan that reported CNA completions

These 14 institutions reported 425 nursing assistant completions (CIP 51.3902) to the federal IPEDS survey for July 2024 to June 2025. Many approved CNA programs, such as those run by nursing homes, private training schools and the Red Cross, don’t report to IPEDS, so check the state’s approved-program list too.

Institution City Type Completions
Washtenaw Community College Ann Arbor Public 101
Ross College-Grand Rapids North Grand Rapids Private for-profit 91
Lansing Community College Lansing Public 58
Ross Medical Education Center-Brighton Brighton Private for-profit 50
Ross Medical Education Center-Midland Midland Private for-profit 41
Wayne County Community College District Detroit Public 38
Michigan Career and Technical Institute Plainwell Public 11
Dorsey College-Dearborn Detroit Private for-profit 10
Dorsey College-Roseville Roseville Private for-profit 10
Henry Ford College Dearborn Public 5
Jackson College Jackson Public 5
Delta College University Center Public 2
West Shore Community College Scottville Public 2
Bay Mills Community College Brimley Public 1

Source: IPEDS 2024–25 Completions and Institutional Characteristics, National Center for Education Statistics (provisional release); awards to first majors at all award levels.

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Sources

Last reviewed November 2026.