CT Training, Testing, and the Nurse Aide Registry

Who Runs the Connecticut CNA Process

The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) sets the rules for nurse aide certification, and Prometric Inc. is contracted to develop and administer the Nurse Aide Competency Exam and to manage the Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) Registry. A Certified Nurse Aide is an unlicensed direct-care worker who provides personal and basic nursing care under the supervision of a licensed nurse.

Why this matters for the exam: questions in the Role of the Nurse Aide domain (about 26% of the test) often ask which agency does what. Remember the split: DPH writes the regulations, and Prometric handles testing, certificates, and the registry list.

Step 1 — Training (Minimum 100 Hours)

Connecticut requires at least 100 hours of DPH-approved training. That is 25 hours more than the federal OBRA 1987 minimum of 75 hours, which makes CT one of the more demanding states. The program is coordinated by a registered nurse with at least two years of experience and is structured as follows:

• At least 16 hours of specified orientation content — including communication, infection control, residents' rights, and emergency/safety procedures — must be completed before any direct resident contact.
• The remaining hours cover the basic theoretical components required by state and federal regulation (personal care, basic nursing, restorative services, mental health, care of cognitively impaired residents, and residents' rights) plus a supervised clinical component.
• During training, students are trained on 25 competency skills and are evaluated on five of them on the Clinical Skills Test; you must pass all five to succeed.

Training must combine classroom/lab instruction with supervised clinical practice in a licensed chronic/convalescent nursing home or rest home with nursing supervision. A common exam trap: thinking the federal 75-hour number applies in Connecticut. It does not — for CT, the answer is 100 hours.

Step 2 — The Competency Exam (Two Parts)

The Competency Exam has a Written (Knowledge) Test and a Clinical Skills Test. You are not required to pass one before taking the other, and you only retake the part you fail.

Written (Knowledge) Test

• 60 multiple-choice questions, 90 minutes, taken on a computer.
• A candidate with limited English reading ability may request the Oral Test instead of the standard Written Test.
• The written score report simply reads pass or fail; the passing standard is set by DPH and is commonly described as roughly 70% (about 42 of 60) correct. Do not get distracted memorizing a percentage on test day — answer every question, since there is no penalty for guessing.

Clinical Skills Test

This is a timed, hands-on test scored by a Nurse Aide Evaluator (NAE). You are scored on five skills:

• Three assigned skills, randomly selected by computer.
• Handwashing (mandatory on every test).
• Indirect Care (resident rights, safety, comfort, and infection control behaviors woven through the test).

The time allowed ranges from 31 to 40 minutes, depending on which skills you draw. You may correct an error during a skill if you announce the correction and actually perform it — but you may not go back to a previously completed skill, and a safety violation cannot be corrected.

Fees, Retakes, and the 24-Month Clock

Fees are nonrefundable and nontransferable. You must pass both parts within 24 months of completing your training program; miss that window and you must retrain before testing again. Fees must accompany the application by money order or certified check — personal checks and cash are not accepted at regional sites.

Step 3 — The Connecticut Nurse Aide Registry

When you pass both parts, Prometric mails your certificate (within about 15 business days) and adds you to the Connecticut CNA Registry. Employers must verify a worker's registry status before hiring. The registry also records any substantiated finding of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of resident property — a permanent notation that bars you from working in any Medicare/Medicaid-certified facility. Reciprocity is available if you are active and in good standing on another state's registry with no such findings.

Eligibility and Certification Routes

The CIB lists several routes to certification. The most common is Route 1, for someone who finished a Connecticut state-approved training program within the past 24 months and must take both tests. Other routes cover nurses and nursing students (Route 2), out-of-state nurse aides who never passed that state's exam (Route 3), lapsed aides (Route 4), and reciprocity (Route 7) for active out-of-state CNAs who can be placed on the registry without retesting.

Before certification you must also clear a criminal background check and fingerprinting, and you must not have a substantiated abuse, neglect, or misappropriation finding on any state registry. A high school diploma or GED is recommended but is not always required to enter a program.

What to Bring and Common Test-Day Mistakes

Arrive at least 30 minutes early to sign in and verify identification — bring acceptable photo ID plus a second form with your signature. For the Clinical Skills Test you must wear flat, nonskid, closed-toe shoes; scrubs are recommended. Prohibited aids (notes, phones) will void your scores if found.

• Mistake: memorizing the federal 75-hour number — for CT the answer is 100 hours.
• Mistake: thinking you must pass the Written Test before the Skills Test — you may take them in either order.
• Mistake: assuming a failed candidate repeats everything — you retake only the failed part, within the 24-month window.
• Mistake: missing the appointment without proper ID — this counts as a missed test, and you forfeit the full fee.