N.C. Department of Health and Human Services
Division of Health Service Regulation
Health Care Personnel Education and Credentialing Section

All Announcements

• Attention Nurse Aide Testing Candidates – It is very important that you carefully read the current edition of the North Carolina Nurse Aide I Candidate Handbook October 2016 (PDF, 966 KB) before registering for the exam.  All test candidates are expected to follow the policies/procedures as they are listed in the candidate handbook. You may obtain a hard copy of the handbook by calling NACES Plus Foundation at 888-282-6904.
• Active Out–of-state nurse aides  and N.C. nurse aides applying for training waivers – Individuals who have not completed state-approved nurse aide training within the last 24 months and plan to request a training waiver in order to test prior to their listing expiration MAY be approved to register for the N.C. Nurse Aide Competency Exam without additional training. The approval will be for a one-time period of 45 days.  The 45 days will be approved around the desired test date. Individuals must PASS both the written and skills sections of the exam in this 45-day period. Requests for extensions to the 45 days will not be accepted.  Please contact our office if you have any questions.
• 08/26/2016 Update: Required Training Rule effective March 1, 2016- A new Rule, 10A NCAC 13O.0301, was approved in December by the Rules Division of the N.C. Office of Administrative Hearing and adopted by the N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation. As of March 1, 2016, individuals wishing to take the North Carolina Nurse Aide I Competency Exam must complete state-approved training in order to register and schedule the exam. There will be limited exceptions to this new requirement. Additional information is below:
• Nurse aides with an unexpired listing on the N.C. Nurse Aide I Registry who do not meet the requirements for renewal may apply to test without additional training provided they complete testing prior to their registry expiration date.  They may only apply for testing within 45 days of their expiration date.  Once approved they must complete testing before their listing expires on the registry.  They must submit a Training Waiver Application to N.C. DHHS, and once approved, they must pass the exam prior to their registry expiration date. No extension of the 45 days will be granted.
• Nurse aides with an expired listing on the N.C. Nurse Aide I Registry must train/retrain at a N.C. state-approved training program in order to take the competency exam.  Individuals who have started testing and/or are scheduled to test have two (2) years from the registration completion date to complete testing. Individuals who were registered with Pearson VUE, but not scheduled as of February 29, 2016 are no longer eligible to schedule their exams. 
• Nurse aides with an unexpired listing/license/certification on another state’s registry may apply to test without additional training as long as they complete testing prior to their listing/license/certification on that registry’s expiration date or within 45 days of their waiver approval date, whichever comes first. They must submit a Training Waiver Application to N.C. DHHS.
• Nurse aides with an expired listing/license/certification on other states’ registries must complete state-approved training/retraining to be eligible to test. Training must be approved by the state in which training occurred.
• Individuals who have completed training in an out-of-state nurse aide program approved by that state within the last 24 months may take the exam without additional training. However, they must submit a Training Waiver Application to N.C. DHHS, and once approved, will have 24 months from their training completion date to complete testing.
• North Carolina EMT professionals with active credentials, nurses with inactive/expired listings (in good standing), unlicensed nursing school graduates, and military medics may apply to test without additional training. They must submit a Training Waiver Application to N.C. DHHS, and once approved, will have 24 months from the approval date or expiration of their credential, whichever comes first, to complete testing.

State-Approved Nurse Aide I Training Programs (PDF, 37 KB)

Download and print the Training Waiver Application here. (PDF, 140 KB)
Waiver applications can also be requested by calling 919-855-3969, 8:00 a.m. - 12 noon, and 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. Completed applications and required documents will only be accepted by fax or mail.

N.C. Health Care Personnel Education and Credentialing Section
2709 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-2709
Fax  919-733-9764

• Attention candidates testing for nursing school - Students planning to take the NNAAP® exam as part of a requirement for a college/nursing school application must follow the same rules as all test candidates.  Please make sure you register/schedule your test in a timely manner. Keep in mind that tests do occasionally get rescheduled due to weather or other unexpected emergencies. 
• NNAAP® exam candidates currently in nursing school must register through their school’s administration.
• Verification Search Parameters for Registries: Please note that the search criteria for obtaining listing verifications of the NC Nurse Aide I, Medication Aide, and Health Care Personnel Registries have changed. Instead of full social security numbers, required data fields will include first name, last name, and last four digits of the SSN. Iindividuals are listed using the name on their legal documents such as a driver’s license, passport, social security card, military ID, and/or other official government identification documents. It is the individual’s responsibility to contact our office to update name and address changes.
• The Adult Care Licensure section’s testing program has been transitioned to the Health Care Personnel Registry section.  All functions related to the Adult Care Medication Aide, Administrator, and Alternative testing programs have moved to the Brown building on the Dorothea Dix campus. At this time, all phone numbers and mailing addresses will remain the same. Walk-in registrations for Adult Care testing should be done at the Joseph Gill Brown Building on the Dix campus, 801 Biggs Drive, Raleigh, N.C.  For all other Adult Care informational needs, please continue to contact that section at 919-855-3765. Websites are currently being updated to reflect this information for your convenience.

• 919-855-3969: Nurse Aide I Registry/Medication Aide (nursing homes)/Geriatric Aide/Home Care Aide
• 919-855-3970: Nurse Aide Training Program Information
• 919-855-3793: Adult Care Testing information
• 919-855-3765: Adult Care Home Licensure and Certification main number

• Please note that not all nurse aide training programs in NC are state-approved and monitored for federal and state compliance. A list of state-approved nurse aide training programs is updated and published each month.
• State-Approved Nurse Aide I Training Programs (PDF, 37 KB)

Denotes link to site outside of N.C. DHHS