CNA Certification Texas

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To become a CNA in Texas, you complete a state-approved training program of at least 100 clock hours (60 in the classroom and 40 of hands-on resident care in a nursing facility), pass the written and skills exams through Prometric, and get listed on the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Nurse Aide Registry. If you fail a part, you can retest twice; after three failed attempts, you must go through training again. Every two years, you must document work experience and complete at least 24 hours of in-service education to renew.

Texas CNA requirements at a glance

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Free CNA training in Texas

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 Texas

  • 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.

Texas requires more training than the federal minimum of 75 hours with 16 of supervised practical training: at least 100 clock hours, 40 of them hands-on resident care in a nursing facility. Before you enroll, check that the program appears on HHSC’s approved NATCEP list.

The Texas CNA exam

HHSC contracts with Prometric to develop, score and report the results of the Nurse Aide Examination, and Prometric handles scheduling and testing. After training, you schedule and pass the written and skills exams. HHSC refers to the knowledge part as the written/oral examination. Get the current question count, time limits and fees from Prometric when you schedule.

If you fail either the skills or the written/oral exam, you can retest twice. If you don’t pass after three attempts, you must go through the training again before you’re allowed to test again.

The Texas nurse aide registry and renewal

HHSC maintains a registry of all nurse aides who are certified to provide services. You can look up a nurse aide in HHSC’s TULIP public search, and HHSC says checking a nurse aide’s status through its Employability Status Check Search is the equivalent of using the Nurse Aide Registry.

To remain active, you must contact the Nurse Aide Registry and verify your employment at least every two years. Renewal requires documented work experience in each two-year period from the date your certificate was issued or last renewed, whichever is later, verified on Form 5506 or by your employer, plus at least 24 hours of in-service education every two years, including training in geriatrics and the care of residents with a dementia disorder, including Alzheimer’s disease. You file a CNA Renewal Application in TULIP, or your employer files a Nurse Aide Facility Staff Renewal, and you can renew starting three months before the expiration date on your certificate.

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Moving to Texas with a CNA from another state

If you have an active nurse aide certification in another state, you can transfer it to Texas. First get a Texas Department of Public Safety criminal history check for every last name you’ve used (each one has a fee). Then, in TULIP, submit the Request for Entry on the Texas Nurse Aide Registry through Reciprocity application and upload the criminal history results, your out-of-state certificate, Form 5506 if your state’s certificate shows no expiration date, a government photo ID and your Social Security card. HHSC staff check the Employee Misconduct Registry. The reciprocity steps HHSC lists don’t include an exam.

Colleges in Texas that reported CNA completions

These 24 institutions reported 1,631 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
Institute of Allied Healthcare San Antonio Private for-profit 220
Arlington Career Institute Arlington Private for-profit 207
Dallas College Dallas Public 189
Southwest Texas College Uvalde Public 165
Trinity Valley Community College Athens Public 133
Valley Grande Institute for Academic Studies Weslaco Private nonprofit 129
CTK Healthcare & Career Institute Irving Private for-profit 108
Alvin Community College Alvin Public 80
South Texas College McAllen Public 74
Rio Grande Valley College Pharr Private for-profit 63
Texas Health School Houston Private for-profit 52
St Philip's College San Antonio Public 34
South Texas Training Center Pharr Private for-profit 32
Tarrant County College District Fort Worth Public 26
Paris Junior College Paris Public 25
Galveston College Galveston Public 24
Northeast Texas Community College Mount Pleasant Public 20
Coastal Bend College Beeville Public 16
Lamar State College-Port Arthur Port Arthur Public 15
The College of Health Care Professions-San Antonio San Antonio Private for-profit 6
The College of Health Care Professions-Austin Austin Private for-profit 5
The College of Health Care Professions-Northwest Houston Private for-profit 3
The College of Health Care Professions-South San Antonio San Antonio Private for-profit 3
Howard College Big Spring Public 2

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.