NAR vs NAC in Washington: Nursing Assistant Registered vs Certified

In Washington, a NAR (Nursing Assistant-Registered) is a provisional credential that lets a facility employ you before you have finished training or passed an exam, while a NAC (Nursing Assistant-Certified) is the full credential earned after at least 108 hours of approved training, a two-part exam costing $155, and a background check. A NAR working in a nursing facility has four months from the hire date to become a NAC. Both credentials are issued by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and both appear on the state's public Provider Credential Search.

The rest of this guide compares the two credentials side by side so you can decide whether to register as a NAR now, wait until you are certified, or skip the NAR entirely.

Side-by-side comparison

What a NAR is for

The NAR exists so that nursing facilities, hospitals, and other employers can put a trainee on the schedule legally while that person completes the certification process. Federal law allows a nursing home to employ an uncertified aide for up to four months provided the aide is enrolled in training; Washington implements this through the NAR credential and adds the state background check.

A NAR can perform delegated nursing assistant tasks under nurse supervision, but only within what the employer's policies and the nurse's delegation allow for an untrained or partially trained worker. In practice, new NARs start with basic activities of daily living and add tasks as they complete the corresponding units of their training program.

You apply for the NAR directly through the DOH online licensing portal. There is an application fee on the current DOH fee schedule, a set of personal history questions, and the statewide criminal background check. No school enrollment is required to apply, although a nursing facility that hires you will require enrollment. The separate article on how to get a NAR credential in Washington walks through the application.

What a NAC is for

The NAC is the credential employers mean when they advertise for a "CNA." It satisfies the federal nurse aide requirement, so nursing facilities must have you certified within the four-month window. Hospitals, home health agencies, and hospice programs generally list the NAC as a hiring requirement outright.

Earning it means completing an approved program, passing both exam parts in order (skills first, then the Credentia knowledge test), and submitting a DOH application with the fee from the current schedule. For a full explanation of the certified credential and the exam, see what a NAC is in Washington.

The four-month rule, explained with dates

The four-month clock starts on your first day of employment as a NAR at a nursing facility, not on the day the DOH issues the credential and not on your first day of class. If you are hired on October 1, you must have passed both exam parts and hold an active NAC by about February 1. Miss the deadline and the facility cannot keep you in a nursing assistant role until you are certified.

Two details catch people:

• The clock does not reset when you change employers. Federal rules count months of nursing facility employment, so moving from one nursing home to another does not buy more time.
• The clock applies to nursing facilities specifically. An assisted living community or adult family home that hires a NAR is not bound by the same federal four-month rule, though the NAR credential still has to be renewed annually and employers set their own expectations.

Given that a traditional program takes about four weeks and the two exam parts plus DOH processing take several more weeks, the window is workable but not generous. Enroll before or immediately after you are hired, and register for the knowledge test the same day your skills pass is recorded. The article on the NAR four-month rule covers what happens if you run out of time.

Should you get a NAR before you are certified?

Use these decision rules.

Get the NAR if:

• A nursing facility or hospital has offered you a paid trainee or aide position contingent on registration.
• Your training program's clinical site or a partner facility wants students registered before clinical rotations.
• You need income during the training and exam period and an employer will hire you in a supervised role.

Skip the NAR if:

• You will finish training and testing within a couple of months and have no employer asking for it. The NAR application fee and background check are separate from the NAC application, so you would pay for two credentials in quick succession.
• You are already an active Washington Home Care Aide. The HCA credential lets you keep working in home care and assisted living while you complete a bridge program; Huduma CNA Programs' 40-hour HCA–CNA Bridge is built for this situation.

Neither credential requires the other. You can go straight from training to NAC without ever holding a NAR, and most students who attend a four-week program do exactly that.

Costs compared

Exact DOH application and renewal fees change with the fee schedule, so check the DOH nursing assistant fee page for current figures. The fixed, published numbers are the exam fees and typical training costs.

A person who holds a NAR while training will pay both application fees plus the renewal fee if the NAR reaches its birthday expiration before the NAC is issued. See CNA certification cost in Washington for the full breakdown.

Moving from NAR to NAC

The transition is not an upgrade of the existing credential; it is a new application.

1. Complete your approved training program and receive your Certificate of Completion.
2. Pass the skills test at your program or a scheduled test site. The pass is recorded with the state.
3. Register with Credentia and pass the knowledge test.
4. Submit the NAC application through the DOH portal, choosing the eligibility route that matches your training (E1 for a Washington traditional program graduate, E6 for a bridge program graduate).
5. Wait for the NAC to appear on the Provider Credential Search. Your NAR record remains visible but becomes irrelevant once the NAC is active.

Tell your employer the date you submitted the NAC application so HR can document compliance with the four-month rule while the DOH processes it.

Renewal and lapses for each credential

Both credentials expire on your birthday each year. Neither requires continuing education for renewal. A NAR that expires while you are still training must be renewed if you want to keep working; a NAR that expires after you already hold a NAC can simply be left to lapse.

For a NAC, a lapse of less than three years is fixed with a late fee; three years or more generally means retraining and retesting. Details are in the Washington CNA renewal article.

Frequently asked questions

Can a NAR work as a CNA in Washington? A NAR can perform delegated nursing assistant tasks under nurse supervision, but a nursing facility can only employ a NAR for four months before certification is required. Employers who advertise for a "CNA" typically want the NAC.

Does a NAR need to take the NAC exam? Not to hold the NAR. The exam is required only to become a NAC, and a NAR employed by a nursing facility must pass it within four months of hire.

Is NAR pay lower than NAC pay? Usually. Employers set NAR wages, and they tend to sit below the approximately $23.62 per hour Washington average for certified aides, often closer to the state minimum wage of $17.13 per hour in 2026.

Can I renew a NAR indefinitely? The DOH renews NARs annually, but a nursing facility cannot keep you employed as a NAR beyond four months. Outside nursing facilities the practical limit is your employer's policy.

Do I need a NAR to enroll in CNA training? No. Training programs do not require a NAR. Some clinical sites prefer that students be registered, and your program will tell you if that applies.

If you are ready to earn the full credential, compare the CNA Traditional program with the bridge option and check the next class dates.