StateLicensed

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) License Requirements in Oregon

Verified · July 2026
Training hours
155 hrs
Upfront cost
$106
Exam
CNA Competency Examination (Written/Knowledge + Manual/Skills)
Renewal cycle
Every 2 years
Issuing board
Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN)

How to get licensed

  1. 1

    Meet the prerequisites

    Pass a criminal background check. OSBN does not itself impose a minimum age for CNA certification, though most training programs and employers set their own age criteria (often 16 or 17). All applicants for a new license or reinstatement must submit fingerprints for an Oregon State Police and FBI criminal history record check, collected through OSBN's contracted vendor, Fieldprint Inc. [3]

  2. 2

    Complete approved training

    Complete 155 hours of training (including 75 clinical hours) at a state-approved program. A nursing assistant level one education program must consist of at least 155 hours of instruction: 80 hours of classroom/lab plus 75 hours of supervised clinical experience (OAR 851-061-0090). On July 1, 2025, Oregon merged the legacy CNA1 and CNA2 credentials into a single Certified Nursing Assistant credential; CNAs certified before that date were grandfathered, and existing CNA2s retain their additional restorative-care scope under pre-2025 endorsements. An online program variant allows a reduced didactic-hour equivalent plus 27 hours of lab and the same 75 clinical hours. [1]

  3. 3

    CNA Competency Examination (Written/Knowledge + Manual/Skills)

    Pass the CNA Competency Examination (Written/Knowledge + Manual/Skills). Written/Knowledge multiple-choice test plus a hands-on Manual/Skills test, scheduled through the candidate's OSBN online account after the initial application and fee are submitted. No separate first-time exam fee is charged: OAR 851-002-0040 states the $106 certification-by-examination fee is 'inclusive of examination fees.' Retests are billed separately by the rule — $45 manual/skills, $25 written, $35 for oral administration of the written exam. [2]

  4. 4

    Submit your application

    Submit your application to Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN) with the $106 application fee. [2]

  5. 5

    Receive your license

    Once your application is approved, Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN) issues your Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) for Oregon.

Fees

Fee Amount
Application fee [2] $106
License fee [2] None specified
Renewal fee [2] $60
CNA Competency Examination (Written/Knowledge + Manual/Skills) [2] None specified
CNA by Endorsement (reciprocity) certification [2] $60
Workforce Data Analysis Fund surcharge (charged at each renewal) [2] $4
Fingerprint background check (Fieldprint, paid to the vendor) [2] $70.5
Manual/Skills retest [2] $45
Written/Knowledge retest [2] $25
Reactivation of a lapsed certificate [2] $65

All amounts come from the Board's own fee rule, OAR 851-002-0040 (Nursing Assistant Schedule of Fees): Certification by Examination, inclusive of examination fees, $106; CNA Certificate Renewal $60, plus a $4 Workforce Data Analysis Fund surcharge at renewal ($64 total out of pocket). Note that many secondary sources — and OSBN's own summary pages — repeat $106 as the renewal fee; that figure is the initial certification-by-examination fee, and the fee rule sets renewal separately at $60. There is no separate license-issuance fee beyond the certification fee, so license is null. Oregon's Business Xpress license directory shows $0.00 for this license type, which is stale directory data, not a real fee. Caveat: the $60 renewal figure comes from the fee rule itself, read via two independent reproductions (Cornell LII and Oregon public.law) because secure.sos.state.or.us refuses connections from automated clients; the two reproductions print the same fee table but disagree on its last-amendment date. OSBN's own summary pages and every CNA aggregator still say $106 for renewal. If a call to OSBN confirms $106 is what renewing CNAs actually pay, this is a board-practice-vs-rule conflict to document rather than a clean correction.

Renewal & continuing education

Renew every 2 years.

CNA certification renews every 2 years. The renewal fee is $60 under OAR 851-002-0040, plus the rule's $4 Workforce Data Analysis Fund surcharge charged at renewal. No continuing-education hours are required for renewal; Oregon instead requires evidence of nursing-assistant work within the certification period.

Reciprocity

Endorsement/reciprocity from another state is available.

No interstate compact covers CNAs. Oregon calls its reciprocity process 'CNA Endorsement': applicants must hold an active, good-standing CNA certification from another state, complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check, and provide proof of their original state-approved training and certification; the Oregon competency exam is not required to be retaken. The endorsement application is submitted online via the OSBN Nurse Portal for a $60 processing fee (in addition to the standard application fee).

1 state-approved training provider in Oregon — browse programs and compare schools on tradecolleges.org.

Cost calculator

  • $106
Total$106

Frequently asked questions

How many hours of CNA training does Oregon require?

At least 155 hours: 80 hours of classroom/lab instruction plus 75 hours of supervised clinical experience, at an OSBN-approved training program.

Who administers the Oregon CNA exam?

Headmaster LLP (D&S Diversified Technologies), under contract with the Oregon State Board of Nursing, scheduled through the TMU testing portal.

Did Oregon recently change its CNA credential structure?

Yes. On July 1, 2025, OSBN merged the legacy CNA1 and CNA2 credentials into a single Certified Nursing Assistant credential. CNAs certified before that date were grandfathered in.

How often do I need to renew my Oregon CNA certification?

Every 2 years. There is no continuing-education requirement to renew.

Can an out-of-state CNA transfer their certification to Oregon?

Yes, through CNA Endorsement: you need an active, good-standing out-of-state CNA certification, a fingerprint-based background check, and proof of your original training — you do not need to retake Oregon's competency exam. An additional $60 processing fee applies.

Sources

  1. [1] secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/displayDivisionRules.action — accessed 2026-07-10
  2. [2] secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/view.action — accessed 2026-07-27
  3. [3] oregon.gov/osbn/pages/fingerprint-requirements.aspx — accessed 2026-07-10
  4. [4] oregon.gov/osbn/Documents/Resource_CNAEndorseAppDirections.pdf — accessed 2026-07-10