CNA classes and CNA training courses
CNA classes only count toward certification if your state has approved the program. Federal rules require at least 75 clock hours, including 16 hours of supervised practical training with residents, taught by or under a registered nurse with long-term care experience. States can require more, and if you already work for a nursing facility, the training must not cost you anything.
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How state-approved CNA certification classes work
Every state either runs nurse aide programs itself or reviews and approves programs on request. CNA certification classes are approved for at most two years at a time, providers must report substantive changes, and after the first review the state visits the program at every renewal of approval. A state must withdraw approval if a provider refuses unannounced visits, and students already enrolled may still finish the course.
That is why the first question about any CNA class is not price or schedule but whether it is on your state’s approved list. Florida, for example, publishes approved CNA programs together with program performance reports and a program search.
Source: eCFR — 42 CFR 483.151, state review and approval of nurse aide programs. Checked 18 October 2026.
What every CNA course must teach
Federal rules define the content of a CNA training course. Before you have any direct contact with a resident, you need at least 16 hours of training in five areas. The rest of the CNA course covers the remaining required topics:
- Before resident contact: communication and interpersonal skills, infection control, safety and emergency procedures, promoting residents’ independence, respecting residents’ rights
- Basic nursing skills
- Personal care skills
- Mental health and social service needs
- Care of cognitively impaired residents
- Basic restorative services
- Residents’ rights
Source: eCFR — 42 CFR 483.152, nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs. Checked 18 October 2026.
How long are CNA classes?
The federal minimum is 75 clock hours, with at least 16 hours of supervised practical training. Many states require more. Virginia requires at least 140 clock hours, including 24 hours of instruction before any client contact, 20 hours of skills practice in a laboratory and 40 hours of direct client care in a clinical setting; observation time does not count toward those 40 hours.
Florida’s Prometric bulletin refers to a minimum of 120 hours of training for candidates who must retrain after three failed exam attempts. How long is a CNA class in calendar weeks? That depends on the program’s schedule, and the regulations checked set hours, not weeks.
Source: Virginia Administrative Code — 18VAC90-26-50, nurse aide education program requirements. Checked 18 October 2026.
CNA courses online: what can and cannot be remote
A CNA online class cannot replace the practical part. The 16 federal hours of supervised practical training mean performing tasks on a person under the direct supervision of a registered or licensed practical nurse, and Virginia additionally requires laboratory and clinical hours in person.
Whether the classroom part of a program may be delivered as CNA courses online is a state decision; the federal and Virginia rules checked do not set it. If a program advertises an online CNA class, confirm that it appears on your state’s approved list and ask where and when the clinical hours take place.
Source: eCFR — 42 CFR 483.152, nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs. Checked 18 October 2026.
Free CNA classes: when training must cost you nothing
Federal law makes some training free. If you are employed by a nursing facility, or have an offer of employment from one, on the date you begin a program, you may not be charged for any portion of it, including textbooks and other required course materials. If you pay for a program yourself and are hired by a facility within 12 months of completing it, the state must provide for pro rata reimbursement of your costs while you work as a nurse aide.
Facilities may employ you as a nurse aide for up to 4 months full time while you complete an approved program. A free CNA course in this sense is employer-linked state-approved training. A free CNA class online or other free online courses for CNA topics can help you review, but they do not qualify you for the state exam unless the program is state-approved and includes the supervised practical hours.
Source: eCFR — 42 CFR 483.152, nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs. Checked 18 October 2026.
Choosing CNA certification training
Check four things before you enroll in CNA certification training: the program is on your state’s approved list; the instructor is, or works under, a registered nurse with at least two years of nursing experience, one of them in long-term care; the hours meet your state’s minimum; and the clinical placement is confirmed.
Where a state publishes program performance reports, as Florida does, read them before you choose between approved programs.
Source: Florida Board of Nursing — Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). Checked 18 October 2026.
After your CNA classes: getting exam-ready
Finishing the course makes you eligible to test; practice makes you ready. Certsqill’s CNA question bank has expert-developed questions mapped to the NNAAP content areas, an explanation for every answer option and a readiness score per area, so you know what to review between the last class and exam day.
CNA training & courses: questions people ask
How long are CNA classes?
At least 75 clock hours under federal rules, including 16 hours of supervised practical training; states may require more, such as 140 hours in Virginia. Source: 42 CFR 483.152 and 18VAC90-26-50, checked 18 October 2026.
Are there free CNA classes?
Yes, in one federal case: if you work for a nursing facility or have a job offer from one when you start, you may not be charged for the program or its materials. Source: 42 CFR 483.152, checked 18 October 2026.
Can I take a CNA class online?
Not entirely. Federal rules require at least 16 hours of supervised practical training with residents. Whether theory may be online is set by your state.
Who teaches a CNA training course?
A registered nurse with at least two years of nursing experience, at least one of them in long-term care, or others working under that nurse’s general supervision. Source: 42 CFR 483.152, checked 18 October 2026.
How do I know a CNA course is approved?
Check your state’s list of approved programs. States approve programs for at most two years and visit them at each review after the first. Source: 42 CFR 483.151, checked 18 October 2026.
Do I get my money back if I paid for CNA classes and then get hired?
If a nursing facility hires you within 12 months of completing the program, the state must provide pro rata reimbursement of your costs while you work as a nurse aide. Source: 42 CFR 483.152, checked 18 October 2026.
