Washington CNA License Lookup: Verify a Nursing Assistant Credential Online

To look up a CNA license in Washington, use the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Provider Credential Search, the state's official and free online database of healthcare credentials. Search by last name or by credential number, select the Nursing Assistant-Certified (NA-C) or Nursing Assistant-Registered (NAR) result, and the record shows the credential status, first-issue date, expiration date, and any disciplinary action. This database is Washington's nurse aide registry; there is no separate registry website to check.

What the Washington lookup is and who runs it

Two agencies touch a Washington nursing assistant credential. The Washington State Board of Nursing (WABON), formerly the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission, sets training and exam standards. The DOH issues the credential itself, processes renewals, runs background checks, and maintains the public record. Because the DOH is the issuer, the DOH database is the source of truth. Employers, staffing agencies, other state boards, and the public all verify against the same screen. If a document or a third-party site disagrees with Provider Credential Search, the search wins.

The lookup covers every DOH-issued healthcare credential, so the same tool verifies registered nurses, home care aides, and medication assistant endorsements alongside nursing assistants. That matters if you are checking a coworker who moved from HCA to NA-C: both credentials appear under one name.

Step-by-step: verifying a credential

1. Open Provider Credential Search on the DOH website. No account or login is required.
2. Choose your search method. You can search by name (last name required, first name optional) or by credential number. Name searches on common surnames return many rows, so add a first name or a credential type filter.
3. Filter by credential type if offered. Look for "Nursing Assistant Certified" or "Nursing Assistant Registered." The two are different credentials and appear as separate rows for people who held both.
4. Open the record. The detail page lists the fields described in the table below.
5. Save the evidence. Employers generally want a dated printout or PDF of the detail page, not just a screenshot of the results list.

Searching by credential number is the most reliable method, because it avoids name variants (hyphenated names, name changes after marriage, transposed first and last names). If you are looking up yourself, your credential number is on your original DOH certificate letter and on every renewal receipt.

Reading the record

What each status means in practice

• Active. The person may work as a nursing assistant in Washington today.
• Pending. An application has been received but not approved. The person cannot work as an NA-C on a pending application; they may hold an Active NAR alongside it, which would appear as its own row.
• Expired. The annual renewal was not completed. The person cannot legally work in the role until it is reactivated. Under three years expired, reactivation is a late renewal; three years or more generally means retraining. Our article on reinstating an expired CNA license in Washington explains both paths.
• Suspended, Revoked, or with conditions. Discipline is in effect. Read the linked documents rather than assuming what happened; some orders permit practice with restrictions, others prohibit it entirely.

Employer verification: what a hiring manager actually checks

Washington nursing facilities must confirm that every nursing assistant they employ is on the state registry with an Active credential before the person works with residents, and they re-verify at renewal time. A typical facility checklist looks like this:

Facilities also run the DSHS background check and their own reference checks; the lookup is only the credential piece. Details of what appears in the state check are in our article on the Washington CNA background check.

Looking yourself up: the three moments it matters

After passing the exam. Passing both parts of the NAC exam does not create a credential. Your training program reports completion, your skills pass is recorded, Credentia transmits the knowledge test result, and then the DOH processes your application. Check the lookup after you submit the application; the row appears as Pending and flips to Active when approved. New graduates of Huduma CNA Programs are told to expect this to take from two to six weeks for a complete file.

Before each renewal. Confirm the expiration date shown matches your birthday and that your address on file is current, since renewal notices go there. The steps are in our Washington CNA renewal guide.

Before applying out of state. Other state boards verify your Washington standing from this record. Any discrepancy in name spelling between your ID and the record slows an endorsement, so fix it first. Name changes, address changes, and duplicate certificates are handled through the DOH, as described in our piece on Washington CNA name and address changes.

When the record looks wrong

Records are usually accurate, but four problems come up repeatedly:

1. No result under your name. Try the credential number, then a maiden or former name. If you truly have no row and you completed training recently, your application may not have been entered yet; contact the DOH with your application confirmation.
2. Status shows Pending long after the exam. The usual cause is a missing document: an unpaid fee, an unanswered background question, or a training completion report the program has not filed. Ask your program to confirm the report was submitted.
3. A NAR row but no NA-C row after certification. The NA-C is a separate credential and may take a few days to appear after approval.
4. Discipline you do not recognize. Contact the DOH immediately. Identity mix-ups are rare but possible with common names, and the record is what employers see.

Exam-related questions, including whether a skills pass has been recorded, go to the WABON skills-testing contact at nac.exam@doh.wa.gov. Credential status and application questions go to DOH customer service.

Third-party and national lookups

Job boards, staffing agencies, and background-screening companies sometimes show "registry status" pulled from data feeds. Those feeds lag behind the live DOH database, sometimes by weeks. There is no national CNA registry; each state keeps its own, and out-of-state employers checking a Washington NA-C should be pointed to Provider Credential Search directly. Washington's terms also differ from other states: what a job posting calls a "CNA" is the credential the lookup labels "Nursing Assistant Certified." Our explainer on what a NAC is in Washington covers the vocabulary.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Washington CNA registry the same as Provider Credential Search? Yes. Washington does not maintain a separate nurse aide registry site. The DOH Provider Credential Search is the official registry record for NA-C and NAR credentials.

Does the lookup cost anything or require an account? No. It is free and public, and no login is needed.

Can I verify a CNA credential by Social Security number? No. Searches run by name or credential number only. The DOH does not expose Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or home addresses in the public record.

How quickly does the lookup update after I renew? Online renewals usually show as Active within a few business days once payment clears. If a yes answer on the attestation questions triggers a review, the update waits for that review.

What is the difference between NA-C and NAR on the results screen? NA-C means the person completed approved training and passed the two-part exam. NAR is a provisional credential that allows facility employment before certification. Our comparison of NAR vs NAC in Washington goes deeper.

Once your own record shows Active, the next thing employers ask for is experience. Our overview of CNA jobs in Washington lists the major hospital systems, nursing facilities, and adult family homes that hire directly from the registry.