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

Checked against Maryland Board of Nursing, Nursing Assistant Certification Program · Verified 2026-10-14

Exam: Required
Training: Required
Term: 2 years
State fee: $20 initial CNA certification fee paid to the Board of Nursing (COMAR 10.39.01.03; fee schedule effective July 1, 2025). Fees are not refundable.
Certified by: Maryland Board of Nursing, Nursing Assistant Certification Program

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Who can apply

You must complete a Board-approved nursing assistant training program or acute care nursing assistant training program. Approved nursing-school coursework and equivalent military training also qualify.
Since April 1, 2026, every new applicant must pass the Board-approved nursing assistant competency evaluation, even if you will not work in long-term care.
You must submit to a state and FBI criminal history records check (CHRC) with fingerprints.
You may not have a record of abuse, neglect or misappropriation of a client's property, or pending discipline in any state.
Headmaster says you must be at least 16 to take the competency exam.

Step by step

Complete a Board-approved nursing assistant training program of at least 100 hours.
Your program enters your training record with the testing vendor (Credentia or Headmaster). Pay the exam fee and schedule your tests.
Pass both the knowledge (written or oral) exam and the skills test.
Get fingerprinted for the CHRC and pay the fee to CJIS. The Board suggests doing this no earlier than six weeks before you apply.
Apply for CNA-I certification in the Board's CHART online system and pay the $20 fee. Your program coordinator or faculty signs or verifies your program completion.
The Board issues your certificate after it receives and reviews your criminal history results and approves your application.

Official application →

Training and exam

Training: Maryland requires at least 100 hours (COMAR 10.39.02.06). At least 60 hours are classroom instruction and lab training, including at least 16 hours of in-person lab training before clinicals. At least 40 hours are supervised clinical training in a clinical facility, and at least 16 of those must involve long-term care or caring for the elderly or chronically ill. This is 25 hours above the 75-hour federal minimum. The Board approves all programs. After April 1, 2026, the Board cannot certify anyone from a CNA-only program that does not meet federal rules.

Exam: The Board has approved two vendors: Credentia (the NNAAP exam) and, since October 23, 2024, D&S Diversified Technologies-Headmaster. With Headmaster you take a 70-question knowledge exam (60 minutes, 73% to pass) and a skills test of three or four tasks in 30 minutes. A remotely proctored knowledge exam is available. Under COMAR 10.39.01.07, you may retake the evaluation three more times after a first failure, and you must wait at least 45 calendar days between attempts. After four failures you must complete a new approved training program. The regulation and both vendors tie testing to a 24-month window after you finish training. If you miss it, you must retrain.

Practice for the CNA written exam free — physical care skills, safety & infection control, and the nurse aide role →

What it costs in Maryland

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

Nursing assistant training program tuition$
Competency exam via Headmaster (knowledge $30 + skills $100)$130
Board of Nursing initial certification fee$20
Criminal history records check (CJIS and FBI fingerprint fees)$

Estimated total in Maryland$150Plus 2 items with no state-set price. Add your quotes above to complete the total.

Cost details from the state

Headmaster exam fees (April 2026 handbook): knowledge exam $30, audio knowledge exam $35, skills test $100, so $130 for both parts. Retakes cost the same per part.
Credentia's Maryland handbook (February 2022, verMDNA2.0) lists written $35, oral $35 and skills $70. The Board's pages do not state a current Credentia fee.
Criminal history records check: you pay the CJIS Central Repository and FBI fees. The Board points to the DPSCS fingerprint fee schedule and does not state the amount.
Training tuition varies by program. Federal rule: if a nursing facility employs you, or has offered you a job, when you start training, you cannot be charged for the training or its books. If a nursing facility hires you within 12 months after you finish, the state must arrange for you to be paid back for training costs (42 CFR 483.152(c)).

Pay in Maryland

Maryland adds a local income tax on top of the state rate, so look up the local rate for your area before you budget.

Starting out on an entry-level wage? Check the SNAP income limits in Maryland by household size.

How long it takes

The Board says that if your fingerprints are taken electronically at a State Police barracks or CJIS office, the criminal history check results come back in one week. It does not state a processing time for the certification itself.

What other sites get wrong about Maryland

Myth: No separate exam is required for base CNA certification in Maryland; only GNAs take the NNAAP exam.

Fact: Since April 1, 2026, everyone applying for CNA certification must pass the Board-approved nursing assistant competency evaluation, even if they will not work in long-term care. source

Staying on the registry

Renewal: Renew every two years for $40. Your certificate expires on the 28th day of your birth month: in odd years if you were born in an odd year, in even years if you were born in an even year. A certificate does not expire within 180 days of being issued. You have a 30-calendar-day grace period after the expiration date to renew. You need at least 16 hours of paid work as a nursing assistant in the 2 years before expiration. Without those hours, a CNA-I must take and pass the competency evaluation again, and a CNA-II must complete a training program. Some renewal applicants are selected for a new CHRC.

Online options: Board rules require at least 16 hours of in-person lab training and 40 hours of supervised clinical training in a clinical facility. They do not say whether the rest of the classroom hours can be taught online. Headmaster offers a remotely proctored knowledge exam you can take from home; the skills test is in person.

Good to know in Maryland

CNA-I and CNA-II (April 1, 2026 change): Maryland's CNA law (HB 1125/SB 999) took effect April 1, 2026. CNA-I is the new name for CNA/GNA and can work in any setting, including nursing homes. CNA-II is the new name for CNA without GNA and cannot work in a nursing facility or skilled nursing facility. New applicants can only apply for CNA-I. The GNA, school health, home health and developmental disabilities designations no longer exist.

Transferring from another state: Apply by endorsement ($20). Your certificate from another state must be in good standing, and that registry must send verification directly to the Board. You must also have completed a training program that meets Maryland's standards, and you must complete a CHRC.

Working before certification: Under the Board's rules, you may work as a CNA-I for less than 4 months while you finish training and testing, following 42 CFR 483.35(d). The Board says CMS has no waiver of this 4-month limit.

Temporary practice certificate: The Board may issue a 90-day temporary practice certificate to an applicant who has met the requirements, has no criminal record and has no disciplinary history. It can be extended another 90 days while the CHRC is pending.

Sources

General information, not legal advice. Fees and rules change — confirm with Maryland Board of Nursing, Nursing Assistant Certification Program before you apply.