1.2 Pennsylvania Training, Eligibility, Registry & 24-Month Renewal
Key Takeaways
- Pennsylvania is an 80-hour state; the official recommended 80-hour schedule contains 28.5 classroom hours, 14 laboratory hours, and 37.5 supervised clinical hours.
- Candidates must be at least 16, complete a PDE-approved program within the applicable eligibility window, and meet current Pennsylvania criminal-history and health screening requirements.
- A new candidate has three opportunities and must pass both examination parts within 2 years of training completion; a third failure or qualifying absence requires retraining and retaking both parts.
- Renewal requires at least one documented day—8 consecutive hours—for pay as a nurse aide in an approved setting during each 24-month registry period.
- Pennsylvania has no training-hour requirement for registry renewal, although nursing homes must provide employed aides at least 12 hours of in-service education annually.
Training authority and minimum hours
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) approves Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Programs. The Department of Health administers the Nurse Aide Registry, and Credentia administers the examination and registry services. For ordinary E-0 eligibility, a candidate completes a PDE-approved training program and applies within 24 months.
Pennsylvania’s official FAQ calls Pennsylvania an 80-hour state and requires 37.5 hours of supervised clinical experience. The PDE recommended schedule divides an 80-hour program into 28.5 classroom hours, 14 laboratory hours, and 37.5 clinical hours. PDE also publishes a 120-hour recommended schedule, and an individual program may be longer, but 120 hours is not Pennsylvania’s universal minimum.
The curriculum covers the role and function of the aide, communication, infection control, safety and emergencies, resident rights, independence, nutrition, body-system observations and reporting, the resident environment, personal care, care when death is imminent, restorative care, psychosocial needs, and care of people with cognitive impairment.
Enrollment checks
A candidate must be at least 16 before taking the competency examination; an employer may require age 18. Every candidate must obtain a Pennsylvania State Police Criminal History Record Information report during the year before training and must meet Act 14 requirements. A person who has not lived in Pennsylvania for the immediately preceding two consecutive years must obtain both the PA criminal-history report and an FBI report before enrollment.
PDE also requires a physical examination before training. Its published enrollment page specifies evidence that the person is free from communicable disease and a negative two-step Mantoux test; for a positive Mantoux, it specifies a negative chest x-ray less than five years old. Programs and clinical sites may have additional current health requirements, so candidates should follow the approved program’s instructions rather than substitute an unlisted test on their own.
Initial testing window and attempts
A new candidate must pass the knowledge component and the Skills Evaluation within two years of training completion. The candidate has three opportunities. Credentia states that a person who is scheduled three times and does not become registered because of failures or absences must retrain. After failure of either part three times, the person completes another approved training program and retakes both parts, not only the failed part.
Do not apply the three-opportunity rule to every eligibility route. E-3 candidates with a lapsed Pennsylvania registration and E-4 candidates with a lapsed other-state registration receive one opportunity to pass the NNAAP examination. A failure requires retraining and reapplication through E-0.
A nursing home may employ a nonregistered person as a nurse aide for up to 120 days while the person works toward Pennsylvania registration through training/testing or reciprocity. That employment rule does not extend the two-year testing deadline or create extra exam attempts.
Registry activation and renewal
After both parts are passed, Credentia places the candidate on the Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry and provides an electronic Registry Card/Notice of Enrollment. Employers verify current registry standing and background eligibility; a paper card by itself is not a substitute for current verification.
For continued enrollment, the aide must work for pay as a nurse aide for one documented day—defined by the current FAQ as 8 consecutive hours—in an approved facility type during every 24-month registry period. Listed qualifying settings include nursing homes, personal care homes, hospitals, nursing agencies, and intermediate care facilities. Private duty, self-employment, and a physician’s office do not earn renewal credit.
Pennsylvania does not require continuing-education hours to renew the registry. This is separate from the nursing home’s obligation to give employed nurse aides at least 12 hours of in-service education each year, based on performance needs and required subjects.
If registration lapses, the aide may provide qualifying employment proof for the applicable periods or use the state’s lapsed-registry process. E-3 gives one examination opportunity; failing it requires new training. Do not work as a registered nurse aide while the registry is inactive unless a lawful trainee/provisional route applies and the employer confirms it.
Reciprocity and reimbursement
An aide seeking reciprocity should use the current Credentia Pennsylvania process and ensure the original registry is active and in good standing. A person whose other-state registration is lapsed ordinarily must update the original registry or qualify through the specific E-4 route; E-4 permits one exam attempt.
A nursing facility must pay training and testing costs for a person employed or offered employment when entering the program. A person who pays personally and then obtains nursing-facility employment or an offer within 12 months of completing the program may qualify for prorated reimbursement. The official Pennsylvania page describes half after 130 hours of nurse aide work and the remainder after another 130 hours. Keep the program and examination reimbursement documents.
Quick authority and deadline table
| Item | Controlling Pennsylvania source/rule |
|---|---|
| Training approval | PDE-approved NATCEP |
| Minimum program | 80 total hours, including 37.5 supervised clinical hours |
| Initial testing | Pass both parts within 2 years; 3 opportunities for ordinary E-0 eligibility |
| Lapsed E-3/E-4 testing | 1 opportunity, then retraining after failure |
| Registry renewal | 8 consecutive paid nurse aide hours in an approved setting during each 24-month period |
| Annual education | Facility in-service obligation; not a registry-renewal CE requirement |
Which background reports does Pennsylvania require before training for a candidate who has lived in the Commonwealth for only 14 consecutive months?
What work satisfies the current Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry renewal rule?
A new E-0 candidate fails one examination part for the third time. What follows?