CNA Certification In Alaska

1. By Examination

All aspirants are required to meet any one of the following eligibility criteria to obtain CNA license by examination:

• Successfully complete a certified nurse aide program program within 2 years prior to the date of the examination application.
  OR
• Possess a current or lapsed unencumbered nursing license, issued by a territory or state of the US or by a territory or province of Canada.
  OR
• Complete one or more years of the nursing education from a nursing school affiliated by a state or territory of the U.S. or by a territory or province of Canada, within two years before the submission of the application, which must comprise both classroom as well as clinical instructions in the fundamental nursing.
  OR
• Complete a U.S. corpsman or medic program course along with service in the U.S. military forces, not before 5 years immediately prior to the date of submitting the examination application.
  OR
• Complete nursing program course in any foreign country (other than Canada). If your original documents are not in English, you will be required to submit all the documents along with the certified English translations.
  And
  If you are applying under (1), (2), (3) or (5) mentioned above and if your nursing school or program program was outside of the U.S., including territories of United States or Canada, except Quebec, Canada where English is not the native language, you will be required to provide proof of successfully passing any one of the following English proficiency examinations with the required minimum scores:
• IELTS (International English Language Testing System) – 6.5 overall score with a minimum of 6.0 on all modules.
• TOEFL – PBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language, paper-based test) – 560 overall score with 50 score on the TSE (Test of Spoken English).
• TOEFL – CBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language, computer-based test) – 220 overall score with a score of 50 on the TSE (Test of Spoken English).
• TOEFL – iBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-based test) – 84 overall score with a minimum score of 26 in the speaking section.

2. By Endorsement

All the applicants must meet all the following requirements in order to become eligible for obtaining the license by endorsement:

• Provide evidence of successful completion of certified nurse aide program program approved by the state with at least 140 clock hours of program, including 80 hours of clinical/skills program and 60 hours of classroom instructions.
• Complete competency evaluation as required in 12 AAC 44.850.
• Must have an unencumbered nurse aide registration or certification issued either by a territory or province of Canada or by a territory or state of the U.S., that is current on the date of application.
• If your native language is not English, then you must pass any one of the English proficiency exam with the required minimum scores. (The list of exams along with the scores is mentioned in the Requirements to Obtain Alaska CNA License).

• Application Fee (Nonrefundable) – $50.00
• Certification Fee – $100.00
• Fingerprint Processing Fee – $60.00
• Examination Fee – $50.00, plus $5.00, if taking the exam orally

Step 1: Download the examination application using the following link:
http://commerce.state.ak.us/dnn/Portals/5/pub/nua4069.pdf

Step 2: Paste a 2” x 2” recent passport photograph on the page 2 of the application form with your signature and date on the backside of the photograph.

Step 3: Submit examination fee by including money order or check of $260 (or $265 if taking oral exam) made payable to the “State of Alaska”. If any other entity (other than you) is paying your fee at a later date, you will be required to provide a copy of the purchase order or voucher completed by the respective party or entity.

Step 4: Fill all the details of Section I of the “Verification of Program for the Alaska Nurse Aide Registry” application. After filling in all the essential details, submit the form to your nursing facility or school from where you had completed your program course. Request the facility or school to fill in the required details and return it directly to the Alaska CNA Registry.

Step 5: Provide a fingerprint card (FD-258) with the applicant’s fingerprints and all the necessary details required by the Department of Public Safety for criminal history background check.

Step 6: After completing all the required details, submit the signed and notarized application along with the documents to the following address:

Nurse Aide Registry
550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 1500
Anchorage, Alaska 99501

To obtain CNA certification by endorsement in the state, you must follow the given procedure:

Step 1: Download the endorsement application using the following link:
http://commerce.state.ak.us/dnn/Portals/5/pub/nua4070.pdf

Step 2: Follow steps 2 to 6 as mentioned in the “procedure to obtain CNA licensure in AK by examination” section. Besides, you also need to complete Section I of the “Verification of Credentials for Alaska Nurse Aide Registry” form. After filling the essential details, mail the application to the nurse aide registry where you were licensed initially and to your current state of certification.

Step 3: Upon approval of all the documents and application, notification regarding the status of your application will be sent to you in approximately 2 weeks, after your completed endorsement form is received.

All certified nurse assistants are required to renew their license in every 2 even-numbered years, without taking into account of when it was issued. The license expires on March 31st of every even-numbered year. The notice regarding the expiration of the certificate is mailed at least 60 days before the expiration date.

Continuing Competency Requirements for Renewal

For each renewal period, you are required to meet the following continued competency requirements:

• If you have held your certified nurse aide license for 24 months or more, you are required to complete 160 hours of monetarily compensated employment and 24 contact hours of continuing education as a CNA.
• If you have held your nursing assistant license for over 12 months, but less than 24 months, you must complete 160 hours of monetarily compensated employment as a CNA and 12 contact hours of continuing education.
• If you have held your license for less than a year, you need not complete the continuing education contact hours and 160 hours of monetarily compensated employment.

Method to Renew Your CNA License

To renew your certificate, download the renewal application using the following link:

• If your license number is between 1 and 13590, use the below link:
  http://commerce.state.ak.us/dnn/Portals/5/pub/nua4188.pdf
• If your license number is 13591 or higher, then use the below link:
  http://commerce.state.ak.us/dnn/Portals/5/pub/nua4422.pdf

To reinstate a license that has been lapsed for more than 1 year and less than five years, applicants must fulfill the following requirements:

• Submit reinstatement application with all the essential details.
• Submit a completed fingerprint card to carry out the criminal background check.
• Provide the reinstatement fee of $100 and fingerprint card processing fee of $60 through money order or check made payable to the “State of Alaska”.
• The applicant must meet any one of the following:
  • Proof of completion of all CE (continuing education) requirements.
    And
    Proof that the candidate was working as a certified nurse aide for monetary compensation in any other state or territory of the U.S., or in a province of Canada, required to calculate the total working hours, in order to keep track on the current certification for the entire lapsed period of the license, with the minimum working hours being 160 that must be completed within 24 months immediately preceding the application date.
    OR
  • Complete competency evaluation within 2 years immediately preceding the reinstatement application.

Download the reinstatement application using the below link:
http://commerce.state.ak.us/dnn/Portals/5/pub/nua4365.pdf

Question 1 – What fee is charged if I want to renew my license?

Answer – Your renewal fee is $100 if your license number is between 1 and 13590 and $50 if your license number is 13591 and higher.

Question 2 – Can I do Continuing Education if I have not worked as a CNA?

Answer – No. If your certification number lies between 1 and 13590, you need to complete both the CE as well as show your work experience as a CNA. This is not valid unless you appeared for the state CNA certifying exam between 4/1/2012 and 3/31/2014. The CNA exam of this state is almost similar to the one you took initially to get certified.

Question 3 – What to do if I don’t remember my certification number?

Answer – If you don’t remember your certification number, you can find it on the following link:
http://commerce.alaska.gov/occ/OccSearch/main.cfm