Minnesota CNA Classes & Certification Training

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To become a CNA in Minnesota, you complete a training program approved by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) that runs at least 75 hours, including at least 16 hours of supervised practical training, pass the D&SDT-Headmaster knowledge and skills tests, and get listed on the Minnesota Nurse Aide Registry kept by MDH. The knowledge test has 70 multiple-choice questions and a two-hour limit. To stay on the registry, you must work at least 8 hours as a paid nursing assistant every 24 months.

Minnesota CNA requirements at a glance

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Free CNA training in Minnesota

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 Minnesota

  • 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.

MDH approves the curriculum as well as the program, and every MDH-approved curriculum must run at least 75 hours. Testing sites are listed alongside training sites in the same MDH directory, which MDH’s Training and Testing page points to.

The Minnesota CNA exam

MDH has approved D&SDT-Headmaster to run nurse aide testing. The knowledge test has 70 multiple-choice questions, you get two hours, and you need 74% to pass. It’s offered in English, Spanish and Somali, and a remotely proctored option is available. For the audio (oral) version, request it and turn on audio testing in your TMU account before you’re scheduled to test.

The skills test gives you 30 minutes for three or four randomly selected tasks. You must do every key step (in bold) and score at least 80% on the other steps of each task.

You get four attempts at the knowledge test and three at the skills test, counted within 24 months of finishing your training program, or from your first attempt if you’re a challenge candidate testing without training. If you run out of attempts, you must complete a new MDH-approved training program.

The Minnesota nurse aide registry and renewal

The Minnesota Department of Health keeps the Nurse Aide Registry. Employers and you can search it by certificate number, or by last name, first name and the last 4 digits of the Social Security number, on the Minnesota Nurse Aide Registry Search.

To stay on the registry, you must work at least 8 hours as a paid nursing assistant every 24 months; a 24-month gap in employment leaves your status expired. You document that work with a copy of a recent pay stub from your employer. To renew, you log in to the registry and click the Renewal Application button on your dashboard.

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Moving to Minnesota with a CNA from another state

Minnesota uses interstate endorsement. On the MDH registry, register as an Interstate Endorsement Candidate, then enter the state and certificate number you’re endorsing from and your employer, upload your documents and e-sign. MDH takes about 30 business days to review. You can’t apply if you haven’t worked or tested in that state during the last 24 months; in that case you must pass the Minnesota knowledge and skills tests instead. An eligible endorsement doesn’t require a Minnesota exam.

Colleges in Minnesota that reported CNA completions

These 15 institutions reported 1,734 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
Minnesota West Community and Technical College Granite Falls Public 290
Century College White Bear Lake Public 205
Minneapolis Community and Technical College Minneapolis Public 182
Inver Hills Community College Inver Grove Heights Public 173
Anoka Technical College Anoka Public 163
Minnesota North College Hibbing Public 144
Saint Paul College Saint Paul Public 122
Normandale Community College Bloomington Public 117
Hennepin Technical College Brooklyn Park Public 111
Pine Technical & Community College Pine City Public 99
Dakota County Technical College Rosemount Public 55
Northland Community and Technical College Thief River Falls Public 44
Rochester Community and Technical College Rochester Public 16
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Cloquet Public 12
Central Lakes College-Brainerd Brainerd 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.