CNA Exam and Certification Mississippi

Approved nurse aide training programs in Mississippi require that you be at least 18 years of age and pass a criminal background check. Programs, which are overseen by the Mississippi Department of Health, include those that are facility-based, like nursing homes, and non-facility-based, in a proprietary school or college. The program must have at least 75 hours of training, including classroom, lab and clinical hours. After completing the training, the student can apply to take the NNAAP exam for certification and placement on the Mississippi Nurse Aide Registry.

CNA Classes in MS:

How to Apply for the NNAAP Exam Mississippi

Establishing eligibility to take the Credentia-administered NNAAP exam in Mississippi can be done in one of eight ways.

E1 – New Nurse Aid Candidates, Trained in Mississippi, Non-Facility-Based and Proprietary School or College

If you are a new nurse aid candidate, trained in a Mississippi training program that is approved by the state, you have 24 months from the completion of the program to take and pass both parts of the NNAAP exam. You need to submit three items to the NACES:

  • an exam application
  • the proper fees
  • a copy of your certificate of completion
  • OR a letter from the training program that states you finished the training. It must include your name, the date you completed the program and the signature of the administrator, director or instructor of the training program.

E2 –LPN/RN Graduate

If you have completed an LPN or RN program in a program approved by Mississippi within the previous 24 months, use this method of eligibility. You need to send in an exam application, the proper fees and a copy of your training completion certificate or diploma.

E-3 Out of State or Foreign LPN OR RN

An individual who has completed an LPN or RN program outside the state of Mississippi. You must obtain an application that is signed by the Mississippi State Department of Health, Bureau of Health Facilities Licensure and Certification. The signed application and fees must be submitted to Credentia.

E5 –Nurse Aide Lapsed

If your nurse aide certification has lapsed on the Nurse Aid Registry for Mississippi, you must re-test in order to become active again. If you fail either part of the NNAAP exam on the first try, you must then complete a nurse aide training program approved by Mississippi before you will be allowed to take the test again.

E6 – Petition for Removal of finding of Neglect

If your nurse aide certification has been revoked because of neglect, you can challenge the NNAAP exam as part of the process to become reinstated. If your record has one finding of neglect and your certification has been revoked for a minimum of 12 months, you can choose this path for eligibility. You must complete a petition to become active again on the Mississippi Nurse Aid Registry. In order to process your application, you must provide the Mississippi nurse aide certificate number and the date it was revoked. You must pass both parts. If you fail the first time, you must wait 12 months to re-test. You have just the two chances.

E7 – New Nurse Aid Candidates, Trained in Mississippi, Facility-Based (Nursing Home)

If you are a new nurse aide candidate who has completed a state-approved, facility-based training program in Mississippi, you have four months (120 days) to take and pass both parts of the NNAAP Exam and become certified. If proof of training is in the form of a letter sent with the exam application, then it must be written on the letterhead of the training program, contain your name, your date of completion and the signature of the administrator, director or instructor.

E8 – LPN/RN Candidates

Use this type of eligibility if you have completed the fundamentals and basic nursing skills section of an LPN or RN program approved by the state with the past 24 months. Have your application signed by your instructor. Send it in with your certificate of training completion and fees.

E9 – Reciprocity Candidate

A CNA from another state can qualify for practice in Mississippi through reciprocity. This works if you are listed on the nurse aide registry in a state other than Mississippi in compliance with the training and competency evaluation requirements of OBRA ’87, as amended. You must also be currently listed on the original state’s registry as a nurse aide in good standing.

After finishing a Mississippi state-approved training course, you can create an online account with Credentia’s CNA365 system. The Credentia CNA365 system makes online registration quick and easy, and much faster than mailing a paper application.

You will receive an Authorization to Test Notice, via email within 48 hours. It will be sent to the email address you listed on your application. If you can’t attend the exam that you are scheduled for, call NACES at least five business days before the exam to reschedule.

Exam Costs

The following is a list of established fees for the NNAAP exam in Mississippi.

  • Written Exam  – $32
  • Oral Exam – $32
  • Skills Exam – $69
  • Recertification – $$26
  • Reciprocity – $26

Pay for both the written or oral test and the skills test if you’re taking the competency evaluation for the first time. Submit the payment using a credit card or debit card online. The exam fee is non-refundable.

According to Mississippi state and federal laws, your employer must cover the cost of your nurse aide exam and training if you’re employed at a licensed facility that is funded by Medicare/Medicaid. If you’re unemployed and cover the cost out-of-pocket, you can apply for reimbursement of the expense if you become employed within 12 months of certification.

NNAAP Exam Overview Mississippi

The Written Exam and the Skills Evaluation are two independent parts of the NNAAP. Both exams will be administered on the same day. The Oral exam is an alternative to the Written exam that is administered in audio format. You’ll have two years and three attempts to pass the exam for placement on the Mississippi Nurse Aide Registry.

The Written Exam

You can take your Written/Oral exam from home or work through Credentia online proctoring. A live proctor will securely monitor you through the webcam on your workstation. Online exams also offer you more scheduling flexibility than test center exams to fit with your schedule.

There are 70 multiple-choice questions in the 2-hour Written exam. However, 10 out of 70 questions are pretest (non-scored) items used to gather information. A Nurse Aide Evaluator will give instructions before the exam begins. You’ll read the questions in the test booklet and indicate your responses on the answer sheet –markings on the test booklet do not count. The new content outline for the test implemented in January 2016 divides the test questions into three categories: physical care skills, psychosocial care skills, and the role of the nurse aide.

The Oral Exam

If you have difficulty reading English, request the Oral exam on the application and the proctor will provide an MP3 player and headset at the test center. Instead of reading the questions in a booklet, you’ll have to listen to the questions (read twice) and indicate your selection on an answer sheet similar to the one provided for the Written test. If you’re not sure that the Oral test is the choice for you, use the Reading Assessment in the Candidate Handbook to assess your reading skills. The multiple-choice assessment has answers at the end that you can use to calculate your score and make a decision. You should take the Oral exam if you score less than 17 on the reading assessment. The Oral exam is a two-hour multiple-choice exam comprising of 70 questions. The first 60 questions are similar to the Written exam. The final 10 questions make up the reading comprehension component of the Oral exam. Each question in this section will be read three times. You must pass both sections to pass the Oral exam.

The Skills Exam

Practice is the key to success on the Skills Evaluation. Whether you practice at home using your family and friends as the “client” or by working in a medical setting where you have contact with actual clients, the repetitive actions of performing the skills will lead to a fluid and effortless demonstration on the day of the exam. A Nurse Aide Evaluator will expect you to be confident, efficient, and purposeful when you perform the five skills assigned. More than completing the steps in a mechanical manner, you must understand the importance of each step and demonstrate concern, caring, and respect for the client. Out of the five assigned skills, hand-washing and recording a measurement will always be a feature on all candidate exams. The other three randomly selected skills be listed in order and Pearson Vue recommends that you follow the order of skills on the instruction card. Another candidate will play the role of a weakened elderly person and the Nurse Aide Evaluator will point out the equipment and issue instructions before your evaluation begins. Review the NNAAP Skills list and pay special attention to the Critical Element Steps for each skill to prepare for success on the 30-minute Skills Evaluation.

What To Bring To The Exam

Dress appropriately for the clinical skills exam and take your two forms of ID to the test center for check-in (registration for the test). The proctor will prohibit entry to the exam if you arrive late and do not take two forms of appropriate ID to the test site. Both pieces of identification must have your name exactly as it appears on the application submitted to Pearson Vue. Expired IDs, photocopies of your IDs, and IDs that appears to have been tampered with will not be accepted and will be cause for denial of access to the exam. Furthermore, your exam fee will not be refunded if the proctor denies access to the exam and the test date will count as one of your three attempts to pass the exam. Large handbags, briefcases, study materials, books, and other personal items will be confiscated before you enter the exam room. Pearson Vue does not take responsibility for lost or stolen items.

Summary of articles needed to access the exam:

  • Two forms of identification with your signature – one should be a photo ID.
  • A watch with a second hand.
  • Three #2 pencils (sharpened) and eraser.
  • Know your social security number.

Receiving Your Scores

You will get a notification email from CNA365 when a new exam score has been posted to your online account. To see your score report, login to your CNA365 account by clicking the “CNA365 Login” button on the top of the Mississippi nurse aide website page at www.credentia.com/ test-takers/ms.
Score reports are generally available within a few hours after the day’s testing event is completed. If it has been more than 24 hours and you’re not able to see your score report in CNA365, please contact customer service at 800-457-6752.

If you fail the exam, it will also indicate the content areas that you answered incorrectly and the skills that you performed incorrectly. You will also receive instruction for retesting for the part(s) you failed. A new test fee applies each time you take the exam.

Contact the Registry
Mississippi Department of Health
Bureau of Health Facilities
Licensing and Certification
PO Box 1700
Jackson, MS 39715
(601) 364-1100
(601) 364-5052

Pearson Vue
NNAAP
PO Box 13785
Philadelphia, PA 19101-3785
(888) 204-6213

Crystal G

Crystal is a certified Registered Nurse (RN) with a passion for writing about nursing education. Through her articles, Crystal shares insights and tips to help fellow nurses enhance their skills and stay updated with the latest developments in the field. With a focus on practical advice and relevant topics, Crystal's writing is a valuable resource for nursing professionals seeking to advance their careers.