How to Renew Your CNA License in Connecticut

To renew your CNA license in Connecticut, have your employer complete the Department of Public Health’s Employment Verification Form confirming you’ve worked at least one paid eight-hour shift in a nursing-related role before your certificate expires, then send the signed form to the Connecticut Nurse Aide Registry by email, fax, or mail. There’s no fee, no exam, and no online portal for a standard renewal.¹

The Work Requirement

You need at least one paid eight-hour shift as a nurse aide or in a role involving direct nursing care, completed before your current certificate expires.¹ The shift has to be compensated. Volunteer hours don’t count.

Your job title doesn’t have to say “CNA.” Any paid position where you provided hands-on patient care qualifies, whether that meant helping with daily living activities, taking vital signs, wound care, mobility support, or similar nursing tasks. Nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living facilities, home health agencies, and other direct-care healthcare settings all count.

Filling Out the Employment Verification Form

The Employment Verification Form is the only document you need. Download it from the Connecticut DPH website or request one from the Nurse Aide Registry.²

The form has two sections. You complete the nurse aide section with your personal details, certificate number, employer name and address, and dates worked. Your employer completes and signs the employer section verifying your paid nursing-related work. Both sections must be finished before you submit, and there is no fee for renewal.³

The employer signature is where this process usually stalls. Don’t wait until the week before expiration to hand the form to your supervisor. Give HR a few weeks of lead time, especially at larger facilities.

Where to Submit the Form

Once both sections are filled out and signed, send the form to the Connecticut Nurse Aide Registry by any of these methods:¹

Email: dph.nurseaide@ct.gov
Fax: (860) 707-1983
Mail: the address printed at the bottom of the Employment Verification Form

Email is usually fastest and leaves you a sent-mail record. If you mail a paper copy, certified mail or a tracking receipt is worth the extra step. Keep your own copy of the completed form either way. Connecticut has no online renewal portal, so this submission is the whole process.

For questions, call the Connecticut Nurse Aide Registry at (860) 509-7603 and press option 1.⁴

When Your New Two-Year Term Actually Starts

A detail that catches people off guard: your renewed certification runs for two years from the last date of verified employment on the form, not from the date the registry receives it.¹ If your employer verifies that you last worked on March 15, 2026, your new expiration falls on March 15, 2028, no matter when the paperwork gets processed.

Submitting promptly after recent work gives you the longest renewal window. Sitting on the form for months after your last qualifying shift effectively shortens your next certification period. Time your submission so the employment dates are as recent as possible.

Checking Your Certification Status

You can verify your current status on the Connecticut Nurse Aide Registry, hosted by Prometric.⁵ Search by certificate number or by name and date of birth. Employers use this same registry listing to confirm active certification, so check it after you submit your renewal to make sure the update posted correctly.

If Your Certification Has Already Expired

An expired certificate doesn’t automatically send you back to square one. What matters is whether you kept working in nursing care.

You Kept Working the Whole Time

If your certification lapsed because you forgot to submit the form but you stayed continuously employed as a CNA or in a direct-care role, you can still renew. Submit an Employment Verification Form covering each two-year cycle since the expiration.³ So if your certificate expired in 2022 and you’ve been working steadily since, you’d need verification covering each two-year period from 2022 to now.

The catch: your qualifying employment must have started before the certificate expired.¹ A gap where you weren’t working in any nursing capacity can complicate things, so if that’s your situation, call the registry to confirm what documentation they’ll accept.

You’ve Been Out of Nursing Care for More Than 24 Months

If more than two years have passed since you last worked in a nursing-related role, employment verification is no longer an option. You’ll have to retake and pass the Connecticut Nurse Aide exam.³

Retaking the Exam

The Connecticut Nurse Aide exam has two parts: a clinical skills test and a written knowledge test.⁶ You can take them in either order. Prometric administers both.

To register, complete the Connecticut Nurse Aide Registry Application and mail it to Prometric with payment. Retake fees in Prometric’s candidate bulletin are $73 for the clinical skills test and $45 for the written test, with a $55 oral option in place of the written portion.⁶ Confirm current pricing with Prometric before you send payment. Credit card, money order, or certified check only; no personal checks or cash.

Once you pass both portions, your certification is renewed for two years.³ If you fail either part, you’ll get a score report at the test site with instructions for scheduling a retake.

A Note on In-Service Training

Annual in-service education isn’t part of the renewal paperwork. Federal regulations require nursing facilities to provide at least 12 hours of in-service training per year to every nurse aide on staff, and Connecticut follows that minimum. Your employer arranges and provides the training based on topics tied to your annual performance review. You don’t submit proof of in-service hours when you renew. If your employer isn’t providing those hours, that’s a compliance issue worth raising with facility administration.

1
Connecticut Department of Public Health. Nurse Aide Registration Recertification Requirements
2
Connecticut Department of Public Health. Nurse Aide Employment Verification Form
3
Connecticut Department of Public Health. Certification and Renewal
4
Connecticut Department of Public Health. Nurse Aide Registration
5
Prometric. Connecticut State Nurse Aide Registry
6
Prometric. Connecticut Nurse Aide Candidate Information Bulletin