Recertification Process

If an individual that has previously been deemed competent as a CNA (Illinois approved nurse assistant training program; grandfathered in; foreign LPN/RN; military trained; or nursing student), has a period of 24 consecutive months that the individual has not provided nursing or nursing-related services for pay, the approved certification become inactive.  Recertification may be accomplished by doing the following:

Step 1

  • Provide information to the Nurse Aide Testing Office.  An inactive CNA will need to fill out the Online Recertification Form found on the Nurse Aide Testing website (www.nurseaidetesting.com) in the blue Popular Links box to the right of the home page.
  • Upon completion of the form, the CNA MUST call the number listed at the bottom of the form and press option 2 to leave his/her name and social security number.  This is a required step to finish this process.
  • The Nurse Aide Testing office will download the information and begin processing the requests.  A review of the CNA’s profile on the Health Care Worker Registry will be performed to establish that the CNA has prior CNA training and has passed the State test and any outdated information will be corrected.
  • After verification is made, the Nurse Aide Testing office will send an email to the CNA attaching a recertification letter, instructions to create an account, information on the types of testing provided and a Frequently Asked Questions document.
  • The Nurse Aide Testing office will electronically submit the CNA’s required information to the INACE program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Nurse Aide Testing Project. The CNA will receive an email from support@dxrgroup.com directing him/her to the website where he/she will verify their eligibility, create an account and purchase a seat for testing.  There are approximately 65 test sites across the state of Illinois where the CNA test is provided.  Directions for this process are available on this website under the heading EXAM REGISTRATION, subheading STUDENTS.
  • If the CNA has been out of the medical field for many years, he/she may benefit by completing an Illinois approved CNA training program and take the written competency test. A list of approved CNA training programs is on this web site under the STUDENT RESOURCES tab.

Step 2

  • Purchase a Seat for Testing.  Once the CNA’s information has been verified, they must pass a written competency test.Currently, the written competency test is a requirement for certification as a CNA.
  • Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC) administers the written portion of the competency exam at various sites throughout the state.
  • SIUC transmits the test results to the Health Care Worker Registry electronically.
  • The CNA will have one (1) year from the date they are submitted in the INACE program in which to take the CNA test and will have three (3) opportunities to pass the test within that time frame.
  • If the CNA fails the competency test three (3) times, he or she must complete an Illinois approved CNA training program before taking the written test again.
  • If the CNA passes the test, the results will be posted to the Registry the Monday following the date of the competency test.  Results can be found through this link:  hcwrpub.dph.illinois.gov