1.1 South Dakota Nurse Aide Certification, SDBON Oversight & Registry Requirements

South Dakota Registration and the Two-Part Competency Assessment

A certified nurse aide (CNA) helps residents with daily care under licensed nursing supervision. South Dakota registration establishes that the aide met the Board's requirements; it does not grant an independent nursing license. For examination preparation, separate three authorities: the South Dakota Board of Nursing regulates registration and training, D&SDT-Headmaster administers the knowledge examination, and a qualified RN Skills Evaluator evaluates practical skills through the approved training program. Headmaster does not administer South Dakota's program-based skills evaluation.

Training Before Testing

The standard initial-registration route requires a Board-approved nurse aide training program, an application, a skills evaluation, and a passing knowledge examination. ARSD 20:48:18:09 divides the minimum 75 hours into three components:

The first two components total 59 hours, but calling all 59 hours classroom instruction is inaccurate: supervised practical learning may occur in the skills laboratory, nursing facility, or comparable setting. A licensed nurse supervises student care. Demonstrating competency in a task does not authorize a student to perform unfamiliar tasks or practice without the required supervision.

Programs screen applicants for specified abuse, neglect, and exploitation findings and convictions. The CNA registration rule does not state a universal age-18, high-school-diploma, or fingerprint requirement. Ask the selected program about its admission and employment requirements rather than borrowing requirements from another credential. Alternative training-equivalency and endorsement routes require Board approval.

Knowledge Examination Facts

The September 2026 handbook specifies 80 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, with 75% required to pass. Seventy-five percent of 80 is 60. The knowledge-exam fee is $45, including the audio version and retakes. The handbook describes computer-based onsite testing and an RN remotely proctored option, subject to equipment, room, and identification requirements. It does not describe a paper option.

The counts total 80 and the percentages total 100%. Prioritize the 24-question basic-care area while studying every domain. These are official knowledge-exam counts; they do not describe OpenExamPrep's practice inventory.

Skills Evaluation and Scoring

The Board's public skills page describes a pool of 22 Skills Checklist Forms. Four are assigned using the student's birth month and day. An RN Skills Evaluator may evaluate the student during the skills laboratory or at the end of the program. The program director submits completed forms to the Board, which scores whether the critical items were performed safely. The public rule does not establish an 80%-of-steps passing threshold or guarantee that a particular skill is assigned to every candidate.

Practice all commonly performed skills with the instructor. This independent guide explains safe principles and scenarios; it does not reproduce the restricted Board checklists. For the evaluation, use the program's authorized forms and current instructions. A missed critical item permits re-evaluation of that skill twice under ARSD 20:48:16:10.

Scheduling, Results, and Retakes

The instructor creates the initial TMU record and confirms training completion. Complete your profile, check that your name matches acceptable identification, and determine whether the program prepaid the examination. Then schedule an available event through South Dakota TMU. Request disability accommodations in advance; selecting audio and requesting an ADA accommodation are distinct processes.

The handbook allows two years from training completion to test. A failed knowledge examination permits two retakes; after a third failure the instructor must provide additional instruction. Do not assume that every third failure requires repeating the entire 75-hour program. Pay the applicable retake fee and follow the instructor's directions. Official results are accessed in TMU. Finishing the examination is not itself proof of active registry status: verify that the Board has completed registration.

Renewal and Endorsement

ARSD 20:48:16:14 requires biennial renewal by the registrant's birth date. Follow the expiration date displayed on your registration. Renewal requires an application, an affidavit addressing misconduct, at least 12 hours of paid nursing or nursing-related services in the preceding two years, and at least 12 hours of in-service education in each of those years. Twenty-four hours completed in one year do not satisfy the annual distribution requirement. Education must include dementia management and abuse, neglect, exploitation, misappropriation, and reporting procedures. The Board states that nursing-school courses do not count.

For example, an aide with six paid work hours and 12 education hours in each year has sufficient education but insufficient qualifying paid service. An aide with 12 paid hours and all 24 education hours in just one year also needs Board guidance because the education requirement is annual. A person who fails the work or education requirements must pass the approved knowledge and skills assessments under the rule's reinstatement provisions.

Endorsement applicants submit the Board application, the required misconduct affidavit, and evidence of active CNA registration in another state. Endorsement is not an automatic multistate privilege. Do not work under an assumed transfer; confirm authorization and registry status with the Board and employer.

Sources checked October 16, 2026

South Dakota CNA registry rules; Knowledge handbook (September 2026); Delegation rules.