How to Get a Nursing Assistant Registered (NAR) Credential in Washington

To get a Nursing Assistant-Registered (NAR) credential in Washington, you submit an online application to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), pay the application fee listed on the current DOH fee schedule, answer the personal history questions, and pass a name-based statewide background check. No training program, exam, or employer sponsorship is required to apply. The NAR lets a facility employ you as a nursing assistant while you complete training; if that facility is a nursing home, you have four months from your hire date to pass the Nursing Assistant-Certified (NAC) exam.

This guide covers who the NAR is for, the application step by step, what happens after approval, and the deadlines that come with it.

Who should apply for a NAR

The NAR is worth the fee in three situations:

1. You have a job offer contingent on registration. Nursing facilities, hospitals, and some assisted living communities hire trainees as NARs so they can work supervised shifts before certification.
2. Your training program or clinical site asks for it. Some clinical placement facilities want students registered with the DOH before they touch residents.
3. You are enrolled in a longer training pathway (for example, a nursing student using the E2 route later) and want to earn income in an aide role in the meantime.

If none of these apply and you plan to finish a four-week program and test right away, the NAR adds a second application fee and a second renewal for little benefit. Most graduates of the CNA Traditional program at Huduma CNA Programs go straight to the NAC without ever holding a NAR.

Requirements at a glance

How to apply, step by step

The whole application is completed online; have your government identification and a payment method ready before you start.

Step 1: Create a DOH online account

The DOH processes nursing assistant applications through its online licensing portal. Create an account with a personal email address you will still have access to next year, because renewal reminders and any correspondence about your application go there. Use your full legal name exactly as it appears on your government identification; mismatches between the application and your ID are one of the most common reasons an application stalls.

Step 2: Complete the NAR application

Select the Nursing Assistant-Registered credential and work through the application. Expect it to ask for:

• Legal name, any former names, date of birth, and contact information
• Social Security number, or the DOH-accepted alternative if you do not have one (see applying for a CNA credential without a Social Security number)
• Personal history questions covering criminal convictions, prior professional discipline, and conditions that could affect safe practice
• Attestation that the information is true

Answer the history questions honestly and completely. A disclosed conviction is reviewed; an undisclosed one that surfaces in the background check is treated as a false statement on a credential application, which is a separate and more serious problem. The article on the Washington CNA background check explains what the DOH looks at and how it decides.

Step 3: Pay the application fee

The fee is set by the DOH nursing assistant fee schedule and is paid online at the end of the application. The schedule is revised periodically, so check the DOH's current figure rather than relying on a number a friend paid last year.

Step 4: Background check

The DOH runs a name-based check through Washington's statewide criminal history system. If you have lived outside Washington recently, you may be asked to complete a fingerprint-based check, which adds time because the prints have to be taken, submitted, and processed. Watch your email and the portal for a fingerprint request rather than assuming the application is simply slow.

Step 5: Watch for your credential

Once issued, the NAR appears on the DOH's Provider Credential Search as "Nursing Assistant Registered" with a status of Active and an expiration date on your next birthday. Employers verify the NAR there, so you do not need to wait for anything in the mail. Complete applications with clean checks are commonly processed within a few weeks; applications with unanswered questions, unpaid fees, or fingerprint requests take longer. Search your own name on the Washington CNA license lookup to confirm.

What a NAR can and cannot do on the job

A NAR performs delegated nursing assistant tasks under the supervision of a licensed nurse. The practical scope is narrower than a NAC's for two reasons: the NAR has not demonstrated competency on the state skills test, and employers limit tasks to what the trainee has covered in class. A typical progression looks like this:

• First weeks: feeding assistance, ambulation, bed making, vital signs, answering call lights, and companionship under direct supervision.
• After the corresponding training units: bathing, transfers with equipment, toileting and incontinence care, and repositioning.
• Never as a NAR: medication administration, which requires the medication assistant endorsement on a NAC.

The nurse delegating tasks to you is responsible for confirming you have been trained on each one, so expect check-offs before you take on anything new.

The four-month deadline in nursing facilities

Federal nurse aide rules allow a nursing home to employ an uncertified aide for at most four months, counted from the first day of employment, and only while that aide is in training. Washington enforces this through the NAR. What it means in practice:

• If you are hired as a NAR on September 1, you should hold an active NAC by roughly January 1.
• The four months count total nursing facility employment, so switching facilities does not restart the clock.
• Assisted living, adult family homes, and hospitals are not bound by the same federal rule, though they set their own expectations.

Because a traditional program takes about four weeks and testing plus DOH processing takes several more, start training as soon as you are hired. The knowledge test cannot be booked until your skills pass is recorded, so the sequence matters. The NAR four-month rule article explains what happens if the deadline passes.

Fastest routes from NAR to NAC

The NAC is a separate application, not an upgrade. Your options for the training piece:

After training: skills test ($100 at the test site), Credentia knowledge test ($55, registered only after the skills pass posts), then the NAC application with the DOH. The HCA–CNA Bridge page has current dates for bridge cohorts.

Renewing or letting the NAR lapse

The NAR expires on your birthday every year and is renewed through the same DOH portal with the renewal fee from the fee schedule. There is no continuing education. Two scenarios:

• Still training when the NAR expires: renew it, because an expired NAR cannot work.
• Already a NAC when the NAR expires: let it lapse. The NAC replaces it, and there is no reason to pay for both.

If you stop pursuing certification entirely, the NAR simply expires and drops to inactive status on the registry.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be enrolled in a CNA program to get a NAR? No. The DOH does not require enrollment to issue a NAR. A nursing facility that employs you as a NAR does require you to be in training so it can meet the federal four-month rule.

How much does a NAR cost in Washington? The application fee is set by the DOH nursing assistant fee schedule. There is no exam fee and no training requirement, so the application fee and the annual renewal are the only costs of the credential itself.

Can I apply for a NAR from out of state? Yes, but the background check may require fingerprints if you have lived outside Washington recently, which lengthens processing.

Does a NAR expire? Yes, annually on your birthday. Renew through the DOH portal if you are still working toward certification.

Is a NAR the same as a Home Care Aide? No. The HCA is a separate DOH credential with its own 75-hour DSHS-approved training and its own exam. An HCA can move to NAC through a bridge program; a NAR cannot.

Can I work as a NAR forever without getting certified? Not in a nursing facility, where the four-month limit applies. Other employers may keep a NAR longer, but pay and duties stay limited, and nearly all employers expect certification eventually.

For the certified credential the NAR leads to, read what a NAC is in Washington, then compare training options and upcoming class dates.