Nurse Aid (CNA)

A nurse aide certificate is not a license. Upon successful completion of the 76/75 hour CNA class, you will receive a course completion certificate. You will be a “Certified” Nurse’s Aide.

• There are currently no continuing education requirements to maintain this certification. Your CNA certificate/certification from class does not expire.
• If you misplace your certificate, contact the community college where you took your CNA course for a duplicate copy (there may be a small charge).

• You must be 16 years old at the time of enrollment.
• You must be able to read, write, and speak English (this is a state requirement).
• You must possess or be currently working toward a high school diploma or equivalent.

The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals and Licensing (DIAL) requires a state criminal and abuse background check.

• Verification is conducted through the Iowa Department of Human Services. The form to complete this will be handed out at the mandatory orientation.
• If you believe your background check may be flagged, you can download the criminal background check form (below) prior to orientation. Fill it out, sign it, and return it to IHCC immediately.
• You will not be allowed to attend clinical classes until your background check has been cleared by the state; this process can take several weeks.
• If your verification is more than 30 days old, it is considered invalid and will need to be repeated at the $20 fee.

Indian Hills will require a national background check completed by Viewpoint. This will be done within the first few days of class.

You must provide proof of a physical examination, a two-step tuberculosis (TB) test, and required vaccinations before you can start class.

• Required immunizations (or immunity) include: MMR, Varicella, TDAP,  and the flu (during flu season).
• All documentation must be transferred onto the physical form; please do not attach documentation to it.
• The form must be signed by a practitioner (ARNP, PA, MD, DO) after the form is completely filled out and your physical is complete.
• You’ll bring your completed documentation to your instructor at the mandatory orientation the week prior to the start of class.
• If you do not have your complete forms, you will not be allowed to start the CNA class.

Download Physical Exam Form

Download the Influenza Form

You’ll register for the CNA course online through IHCC’s Continuing Education program.

Find Upcoming CNA Classes

• If you have not taken a class through continuing education since September 2021, create a new profile. If you have, log into your account.
• Once you have logged in or created a new profile, go to Browse > Health & Public Safety > Long Term Care. Then look for classes titled “Certified Nursing Assistant CNA [Date].”
• After we receive your registration, we’ll send you an email with more information about your classes.
• Mandatory orientation is held at 1 p.m. on the Tuesday before the class starts in room 126 in the Rosenman Training Center.

All nurse aide classes have a registration deadline of noon on the Monday before the start date of class.

Classes are held in Jan., Feb., March, May, June, July, Sept., Oct., Nov. & Dec.

Class lasts three weeks. Class and lab are completed the first two weeks from 7:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Clinicals are week three from 6:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

IHCC offers both written and skills testing for the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry.

• Testing fees are $65 for the written exam and $125 for the skills exam.
• You must pre-register for each test on-line. Testing fees must be paid at the time of preregistration, and you will not be able to register for testing until fees are received.
• If your employer or program is paying for your testing, they must provide a letter on company letterhead via emailing [email protected] indicating their intent to pay.
• Exams are conducted at IHCC’s Ottumwa campus. You must show proof of payment and a photo ID.
• No walk-ins are allowed for either exam.
• If you register and pay for testing and fail to cancel or show, you will forfeit your testing fee.

Additional details about the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry are outlined in the FAQs below.

To qualify for a refund, you must cancel your registration three business days before the start of your class. To cancel a registration, call us at 800-346-4413.

• Charges will be assessed to your account if you do not show up for the class or cancel within the required time frame.
• Exceptions will be made only in extreme circumstances.

No, there is no CNA license.

Upon successful completion of a state-approved CNA course you will receive a course completion certificate to become “Certified” Nursing Assistant/Aide. This certification does not expire and there are currently no continuing education requirements for this certification.

Iowa's community colleges offer state-approved training for individuals interested in becoming CNAs. The colleges offer both classroom studies and hands-on clinical training, in addition to the required skills and written exams to be certified.

Some health care facilities and other private entities offer training for individuals interested in becoming CNAs, but are not able to offer the skills and written exam portions.

Find a List of Approved Programs and Sites.

Only those individuals who have completed a state-approved CNA course can be considered a CNA. Some health care providers, facilities or other related employers will only hire CNAs, but others may be willing to hire a non-certified Nursing Assistant or Nurse Aide (NA).

An NA is someone that has not completed a state-approved CNA course and instead chose to “challenge” or take and have passed the required written and skills training tests to be placed on the Iowa Direct Care Worker Registry.

The Iowa Direct Care Worker “Registry” is a database of individuals who have passed both a Skills and a Written Exam (also called Registry Exams or OBRA testing) making them eligible to work in a Long-Term Care (LTC) Center as a nurse’s aide or assistant. 

It is a Federal requirement that nurse’s aide’s must be on the Registry to work in a LTC Facility, which includes nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities or a skilled or swing bed unit of a hospital. 

Here in Iowa, The Department of Inspections, Appeals & Licensing (DIAL) oversees the Registry at https://dial.iowa.gov/i-need/licenses/health/direct-care

• To be placed on the registry, candidates must take and pass the registry skills and written exams.
• Both tests must be passed within three attempts.
• Once you pass one exam, you only have one year to pass the second before the first one becomes invalid.
• If you do not pass the written OR skills test after three attempts, you must take or retake the 76/75-hour course AND begin a new testing cycle.

Individuals may visit the Health Facilities website to see if they are currently active on the registry.

Select “DCW Search” on the left side of the page, and search by Registry ID number, first or last name, city or county.

• To maintain active status on the Registry you must work as an employee and complete a minimum of 8 hours of nursing or nursing-related duties every two years.
• If you work in an LTC facility they are required to provide at least 12 hours of in-service training per year which you are required to complete.

Processing time varies; please allow at least two weeks before contacting your testing site.

All LTC facilities are required by state and federal law to report your qualifying employment to the Registry.

Hospices, hospitals, home health care agencies (HHAs), and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) may, but are not required to, report CNA's qualifying work hours if the work done by the CNA includes typical CNA nursing duties. If these entities chose to report CAN work hours to the Registry, they may do so electronically.

If you perform typical CNA nursing duties at a different type of facility, that facility may report those hours for consideration to keep your CNA active on the Registry.  If your employer chose to submit the CNA’s hours it cannot be done electronically — they must do so by mail, providing DIAL with your job description and a letter on facility letterhead showing that you have performed at least eight hours of paid nursing or nursing-related duties.

Your employer must provide enough details to show that you’ve met met the long-term care employment guidelines. DIAL will make the determination if this work qualifies you to remain active on the Registry.

No, you cannot report your own hours to the registry, nor can you provide a letter verifying employment from the employer to DIAL directly.

If the eight hours were worked while you were still “Active,” then, yes. Your employer may report the hours late, and these hours must be reported manually.

You will have to retake and pass both of the skills and written exams through an Iowa community college to become active on the Registry.

• If you’re a certified nurse’s aide who successfully completed a 76 (75) hour CNA course, you may enroll in the CNA Refresher Course through an Iowa community college.
• If you challenged Registry exams to get onto the registry initially, you are not eligible to take the CNA Refresher Course.

Contact the Community College where you took your CNA course to discuss options. There may be a charge for a duplicate certificate.

Registry cards are no longer mailed by DIAL. Cards can be securely printed from the Iowa Direct Care Worker database, by either CNAs or Iowa facilities who are logged in with an account ID and password.

• If you wish to transfer from Iowa to another state registry, please first contact the registry in that state.
• If you wish to transfer to Iowa from another state registry, you must complete the Iowa Direct Care Registry application available from DIAL.