NCSBN's nurse aide exam · delivered by Credentia
The NNAAP nurse aide exam: format, 2024 content outline and practice questions
NNAAP is the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program, a two-part nurse aide exam from NCSBN that about 25 states used as of Oct 2026. Credentia delivers it, Pearson VUE did before, and the written test is 70 multiple-choice items in 2 hours, 60 of them scored.
- 70NNAAP written items: 60 scored + 10 pretest
- 2 hNNAAP written-test time limit
- ~25states using NNAAP, as of Oct 2026
What the NNAAP exam is
The NNAAP exam is the nurse aide competency test that puts you on the state registry in the states that adopted it. NCSBN, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, develops it. Each state decides whether to use it and sets its own passing standard, and you get a pass or fail, not a public score.
Like every state's nurse aide test, it has two parts:
- Written or oral test: multiple choice, entry-level, set in long-term care.
- Skills evaluation: a few randomly drawn hands-on skills, performed in front of an evaluator.
Entry-level means entry-level
The written test never asks you to do a nurse's job. Giving medications, adjusting oxygen, touching an IV, sterile procedures, reading lab values or naming a diagnosis are all out of scope. If an option has the aide doing one of those, it is the wrong answer, however helpful it sounds.
Note
NNAAP is a registered mark of NCSBN. This site is an independent practice resource, not affiliated with NCSBN or Credentia. The questions here are original practice questions written in the style of the NNAAP written test.
Who delivers it: Credentia, formerly Pearson VUE
Credentia delivers the NNAAP exam as of Oct 2026. Pearson VUE ran it before, which is why older handbooks and forum threads still say "Pearson VUE nurse aide exam". The program stayed the same; the company that registers you and runs test day changed.
It matters on test day because the deliverer writes the rules you will be held to: which ID counts, what your admission letter looks like, when to arrive and where your phone goes. Those come from your state's current Credentia handbook, not from a video recorded under the old vendor.
| If you see | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| NNAAP | The exam itself, whichever company delivers it. |
| Credentia | The current deliverer of NNAAP, as of Oct 2026. Your state's candidate handbook comes from them. |
| Pearson VUE | The previous deliverer. Format notes may still hold; fees, forms and scheduling steps are out of date. |
| CNA365 | Credentia's online candidate system, covered further down this page. |
Vendor contracts change. Check the date on any handbook before you trust it.
Studying on a break? The app keeps the whole deck in your pocket, with progress saved between shifts.
Get the appNNAAP written and oral format
The NNAAP written test has 70 multiple-choice items and a 2-hour limit. Ten are pretest items that don't count, and they look exactly like the rest. Answer every one as if it counts.
- 60scored written items
- 10unscored pretest items, mixed in
- 60 + 10oral version: 60 multiple choice + 10 word recognition
NNAAP, delivered by Credentia, as of Oct 2026. Prometric and Headmaster/D&S tests have different counts.
The oral version
If reading English against a clock is the hard part for you, ask about the oral version when you register. The questions are read aloud, and a short word-recognition section of 10 items checks that you can read common words from the job, the kind you will see on a care plan or a door sign.
Two hours for 70 short items is about 1.7 minutes each, generous for stems of one or two sentences. Spend the spare time on the handful you hesitated over, not on rereading the ones you already knew.
Plan the two hours
Eat something quiet in the car and skip the second coffee. A growling stomach at minute 90 is a worse distraction than any hard question, and so is a full bladder.
The 2024 NNAAP content outline
The outline that took effect in April 2024 spreads the 60 scored items across nine areas in three groups. Basic Nursing Skills (35%) and Activities of Daily Living (22%) together make up more than half of the test.
| Content area | Weight | ≈ Items of 60 |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Care Skills · 64% | ||
| Activities of Daily Living | 22% | 13 |
| Basic Nursing Skills | 35% | 21 |
| Self Care / Independence | 7% | 4 |
| Psychosocial Care Skills · 10% | ||
| Emotional and Mental Health Needs | 8% | 5 |
| Spiritual and Cultural Needs | 2% | 1 |
| Role of the Nurse Aide · 26% | ||
| Communication | 7% | 4 |
| Client Rights | 8% | 5 |
| Legal and Ethical Behavior | 5% | 3 |
| Member of the Health Care Team | 6% | 4 |
NNAAP written content outline, effective April 2024 (60 scored items). Prometric and Headmaster/D&S outlines are similar, not identical.
This page keeps the outline short on purpose. The study guide goes area by area, with what to know and the traps in each one.
High-yield
Client Rights is only 8% of the outline, but rights hide inside other questions too: a resident who refuses a bath, a sealed letter, a closed door during care. Learn the rights once and they pay off across the whole test.
NNAAP-style practice: 10 questions
These 10 cards follow the NNAAP pattern: a client or resident, a short situation, four options, one best answer. After each rationale, ask yourself which came first in the key: safety, rights, getting the nurse, infection control, or comfort.
Card 1 of 10
Basic Nursing Skills
60:00
A resident's pulse oximeter reads 88% and the resident looks short of breath. The nurse aide SHOULD:
Pick an answer. The rationale flips up right here, on the back of the card.
0 right · 0 missed · 10 to go
Want more? The full practice deck covers all nine areas, and the timed mock runs 60 cards on a clock.
The NNAAP skills evaluation
In the skills half you perform a few randomly drawn skills while an evaluator checks each step. The skill list and how many you draw are set out in your state's NNAAP candidate handbook, and they get revised. A list from someone who tested a few years ago may not match yours.
What carries across every skill is the frame around it: identify the client, explain, provide privacy, wash your hands, keep the bed and wheels safe, and leave the call light in reach. The skills test guide covers how a session runs and where people lose points.
Practise with a reader
Hand a friend or classmate your handbook's steps for one skill and have them read along while you perform it. That is close to what the evaluator does, and you will hear the step you skip long before test day.
Credentia and the CNA365 portal
CNA365 is the name of Credentia's online candidate system in the states where Credentia delivers the nurse aide exam. It is not a separate exam or a separate credential. In those states it is where candidates typically register and schedule, and your state's candidate handbook spells out the exact steps.
This site cannot see your account and cannot help with sign-in, scheduling or results. Those questions go to Credentia. Questions about your listing after you pass go to your state's nurse aide registry.
Before you schedule
- Your name exactly as it appears on the ID you will bring
- Your training program's completion details, ready if the form asks
- This month's copy of your state's candidate handbook
- A test slot after a day off, not at the end of a double
Which states use NNAAP
About 25 states used NNAAP as of Oct 2026. The rest use Prometric, Headmaster/D&S or a state-run program, and contracts move: California switched to Headmaster in 2025. Confirm with your training program or your state's current handbook rather than a list online. If yours turns out to be a Prometric state, the Prometric practice page fits better, and the CNA test overview compares all the vendors.
Questions people ask
What is a NNAAP exam?
The National Nurse Aide Assessment Program: NCSBN's two-part nurse aide competency exam, a written or oral test plus a skills evaluation. About 25 states used it as of Oct 2026, and passing it is how you get onto the nurse aide registry in those states.
How many questions are on the Credentia CNA exam?
In NNAAP states, the written test Credentia delivers has 70 multiple-choice items, 60 scored and 10 pretest, with 2 hours to finish. The oral version has 60 multiple-choice items plus 10 word-recognition items. Figures as of Oct 2026.
Is the Credentia CNA exam hard?
The written items are entry-level and short. What makes them tricky is two answers that both sound caring. Once you know the order keys follow (safety, then rights, then getting the nurse, then infection control, then comfort), most items narrow to one clear choice. Your state sets the passing standard and reports pass or fail.
Is CNA 365 the same as Credentia?
CNA365 is Credentia's candidate portal, not a different company or a different exam. In an NNAAP state, the test you schedule through it is still the NNAAP exam.
Can I take the NNAAP oral exam instead of the written one?
In most NNAAP states you can choose the oral version when you register. It has 60 multiple-choice items read aloud plus 10 word-recognition items. Your state's current handbook says whether it is offered and in which languages.