How to Become a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) in Louisiana

Who can apply

• You must be at least 16 years old to enter a training program.
• The training program must run a statewide criminal history check (including the national sex offender registry) before accepting you.
• You cannot train if you were convicted of abusing, neglecting or mistreating the elderly or infirm, or of taking a resident's property, or if you have such a finding on the Nurse Aide or Direct Service Worker Registry.

Step by step

1. Pass the background check and enroll in an LDH-approved nurse aide training program.
2. Complete at least 80 hours of training (40 classroom, 40 clinical), plus a facility orientation of at least 4 hours.
3. Apply to Prometric or an LCTCS college test site and pay the exam fee.
4. Pass the clinical skills test and the written or oral test within 12 months of finishing training.
5. Your name is added to the Louisiana Nurse Aide Registry as certified.

Official application →

Training and exam

Training: Louisiana requires at least 80 hours: 40 classroom hours and 40 clinical hours, plus a separate clinical-site orientation of at least 4 hours. That is above the 75-hour federal minimum (16 supervised practical hours). At least 16 hours of instruction must come before any direct resident contact.

Exam: Prometric or a Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) site gives the exam: a clinical skills test plus a written or oral knowledge test. New aides get three attempts at each part within 12 months of finishing training; after that they must retrain.

What it costs in Louisiana

Fixed amounts are set by the state. Items marked “your quote” are priced by private sellers, so enter what you’re quoted.

How long it takes

Prometric's Louisiana bulletin says to contact Prometric if your emailed Authorization to Test letter has not arrived within 10 to 14 business days after it receives your application.

What other sites get wrong about Louisiana

Staying on the registry

Renewal: Work at least 8 paid hours of nursing or nursing-related services in an approved setting during every 24-month period (private sitting and staffing-agency work do not count). If you miss this, you get one chance to retest within two years after expiration; otherwise you must retrain.

Online options: Under LDH's September 2025 rule, approved programs may teach the theory (classroom) portion in a live, real-time virtual classroom; skills, lab and clinical instruction must be in person.

Good to know in Louisiana

Transferring from another state: If you are an active CNA in good standing in another state, apply to Prometric under Route 8 Reciprocity with the $35 processing fee, your Social Security card and a Louisiana or military ID. No test is required.

Trained elsewhere but never tested: If you trained in another state but did not test, you must test and certify in that state first, or retrain and test in Louisiana.

Reciprocity ID rule: If your address is within 30 miles of Louisiana, you do not need a Louisiana ID to process your reciprocity application.

Sources

• LDH - Nurse Aide Training and Certification Maintenance
• LDH - Approved CNA Certification Testing Vendors
• Louisiana Administrative Code Title 48, Part I, Chapter 100 (Sept. 2025)
• LDH/Prometric - Reciprocity Procedure
• Prometric - Louisiana Nurse Aide (linked from LDH)
• Prometric - Louisiana CNA Candidate Information Bulletin (rev. 09/10/2025)
• 42 CFR 483.152 - Requirements for approval of a nurse aide training and competency evaluation program (Cornell LII)