Texas CNA Registry: Lookup, Renewal & Reciprocity Guide

The Texas CNA Registry is the official state-maintained database of every certified nurse aide eligible to work in a Texas nursing facility. If you trained in Texas, transferred your certification from another state, or you are an employer running a pre-hire check, the registry is the single source of truth. It tells you whether a CNA is on active status, when their certification expires, and whether any abuse, neglect, or misappropriation findings sit against their name. Without an active listing, no Medicaid- or Medicare-certified facility in Texas can legally put you on the schedule.

The registry lives under the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). You may still see it called the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) registry — DADS was folded into HHSC back in 2017, and the function moved with it. The public lookup tool runs at txnar.hhs.texas.gov, and it is free to use.

Anyone can search — a hiring manager, a worried family member, or you, checking your own status before a renewal deadline. This guide walks through every part of the registry: how to look someone up, how to land on it in the first place, how to renew, how to transfer in from another state, and what happens when something goes wrong.

If you are still in the certification phase, our broader CNA license guide and step-by-step how-to-get-licensed walkthrough sit alongside this Texas-specific deep dive. If you want to compare Texas to other states, the master CNA Registry state lookup hub covers every U.S. registry, and the registry verification guide explains national patterns. Texas does things a little differently than most states — bigger training hours, a separate medication aide pathway, and a strict abuse-finding list that follows you for life — so it pays to read the local rules carefully.

What the Texas CNA Registry Actually Is

Think of the registry as Texas's permanent record of every nurse aide who ever passed the state competency exam and was placed in good standing. Federal law (OBRA 1987) requires each state to keep one, but states get to pick the training hour minimum (federal floor is 75 hours; Texas raised it to 100) and the renewal cycle (Texas runs on a strict 2-year clock). The HHSC Long-term Care Regulatory department manages it day to day.

The list is public for one reason: families putting a loved one into a nursing home, an assisted-living center, or hiring a private-duty aide deserve to know whether the caregiver in front of them is who they say they are.

Every entry on the registry pulls together five pieces of information: the CNA's full legal name (as it appeared on the exam application), the certification number issued by HHSC, the effective date of placement, the expiration date, and a status flag — Active, Expired/Lapsed, or Revoked. Alongside that sits a second layer most people don't realize exists: the Nurse Aide Registry Abuse/Neglect Findings list.

CNAs convicted (administratively or criminally) of patient abuse, neglect, or theft from a resident are marked here permanently. Once you are on the findings list, no Texas nursing facility may employ you in a CNA capacity. Period. No appeal after a certain point, no expungement, no expiration.

Texas also runs an adjacent registry called the Employee Misconduct Registry (EMR). The EMR covers unlicensed staff in all kinds of facilities (not just nursing homes), and findings on the EMR are also checked before hire. A serious finding can land you on both the Nurse Aide Registry abuse list and the EMR. Employers in long-term care must verify all three checks — Nurse Aide Registry status, abuse findings list, and EMR — before scheduling a single shift.

How to Find Your Texas CNA Registry Number

Your registry number is the unique HHSC-assigned ID that follows you for life. You will need it for every renewal, every new job application, and every transfer request. Three reliable places to find it:

• txnar.hhs.texas.gov — search by your legal name. The result page shows your registry number front and centre.
• Your exam pass certificate from Pearson VUE Headmaster — the number is printed alongside your name and pass date.
• Your current or former employer's HR file — facilities are required to record CNA numbers on file before scheduling shifts.

If you cannot find it anywhere, you can email HHSC's Nurse Aide Registry team. They will verify your identity (date of birth, last four of SSN, legal name) and email the number back. Don't pay any third-party service to look it up — the public lookup is free and instant. For a deeper walkthrough of looking up your record, see our CNA license lookup guide.

What Happens If Your Texas CNA License Lapses

The day after your expiration date, your registry status flips from Active to Expired or Lapsed. From that moment, you cannot legally work as a CNA in a Texas nursing facility. Here is what the recovery path looks like.

Lapsed less than 24 months

If you act fast — within two years of expiration — you can reinstate without retesting. You need to show that during your active certification you completed at least 8 hours of paid CNA work, submit a renewal application, and pay the renewal fee. HHSC will review, restore active status, and you can go back to work. This window is generous but unforgiving: miss it, and you start over.

Lapsed 24 months or more

If your certification has been lapsed for two full years or longer, you are treated as a new applicant. You must retake the NACEP (both written and skills) and pay the full exam fee. You do not need to redo the 100-hour training program if your original NATCEP completion is on file — but if HHSC cannot verify it, you may have to retrain too. The retest path is genuinely tough; many CNAs underestimate how much hands-on muscle memory fades after a couple of years out of the field.

If your status shows Revoked

Revocation is different — it usually follows an abuse, neglect, or theft finding and may be permanent. We cover this in detail in the disciplinary actions section below.

Disciplinary Actions, Revocation, and the Abuse Findings List

The Texas CNA Registry isn't just an administrative list — it's a public-protection tool. When HHSC's Long-term Care Regulatory team investigates a complaint at a nursing facility, they can issue a substantiated finding against an individual nurse aide.

The most common reasons for revocation or an abuse-list finding include theft or financial exploitation of a resident (taking cash, jewellery, prescription medications, or fraudulently using a resident's bank card or identity), physical abuse (hitting, rough handling, inappropriate restraint, or sexually inappropriate contact), neglect (failure to provide food, hydration, hygiene, repositioning, or to respond to a call light, where harm or serious risk results), drug or alcohol impairment on shift (especially where it directly affects resident care), and fraudulent documentation (falsifying charts, signing for care that wasn't given, or forging credentials).

The investigation is administrative, not criminal — though criminal charges often run in parallel. HHSC sends a notice of intent, you have the right to an administrative hearing (formal due process through the State Office of Administrative Hearings, or SOAH), and you can present evidence, call witnesses, and have legal representation. If the finding is sustained after the hearing, your name goes on the Nurse Aide Registry Abuse/Neglect Findings list. From that day forward, no Texas nursing facility may employ you in a CNA role — and most other state registries will reciprocate the bar.

A finding on the abuse list is, in practice, permanent for serious offences. There is a narrow appeal window after the SOAH decision, and in some less-severe neglect cases involving first-time aides, there is a process to request removal after a period of years — but it is rare and case-specific. The takeaway: take any complaint seriously, get legal advice early, and don't ignore HHSC notices.

How DPS and Federal Checks Affect Your Application

The fingerprint-based Texas DPS check covers convictions and pending charges across Texas and (via FBI cross-reference) nationally. Certain convictions are automatic bars — patient abuse, child or elder abuse, controlled-substance offences related to healthcare delivery, theft over a threshold from a healthcare provider, and any felony where the victim was vulnerable. Other convictions trigger a case-by-case review with HHSC. Self-reporting any criminal history on your registry application is mandatory — concealing it is grounds for revocation if discovered later.

A federal LEIE listing is the most serious flag. If your name appears on the OIG exclusion list, you cannot work at any facility that bills Medicare or Medicaid — which is essentially every Texas nursing home. LEIE listings can follow you for years and require a formal reinstatement application to the federal Office of Inspector General. Don't try to hide it; employers cross-check this list weekly.

Transferring Into Texas From Another State (Endorsement)

If you trained and certified in another state — California, Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, anywhere — you can transfer your certification to Texas through the endorsement process. It is faster than starting from scratch but not automatic. HHSC needs three things from you: proof your training met or exceeded Texas's 100-hour minimum, current active status on your home-state registry with no abuse findings, and a clean background check.

The most common snag is training hours. Federal minimum is 75 hours, and many states (including California and Florida) sit between 75 and 120 hours. If your program was under 100 hours, HHSC may require completion of gap hours through a Texas-approved supplemental program, a successful challenge exam (pass the Texas NACEP without redoing the training), or both, depending on how short your hours were and how long ago you certified.

Compare programs across states using our California CNA programs guide and Florida CNA classes guide. If your home state has a shorter training program and you are moving for work, contact HHSC before you relocate — the gap hours can take weeks to complete, and you cannot work in Texas during that window.

The endorsement application packet typically includes: a verification letter from your home-state registry (mailed directly from that state to HHSC), your training certificate, your exam pass certificate, the endorsement application form, a fingerprint-based Texas DPS background check, and the application fee. Approval timing varies but usually runs 4–8 weeks from a complete packet. Our CNA reciprocity guide covers state-by-state quirks in more depth.

Military to Civilian — Medics Transferring to Texas CNA

If you served as a military medic, corpsman, or healthcare specialist, Texas recognises that you already have far more clinical experience than a civilian CNA needs. There is a streamlined path: HHSC reviews your military training records (DD-214 plus military training transcripts), compares them against the Texas NATCEP curriculum, and identifies any gap content. Most military medics need a short gap-training module covering Texas-specific resident rights, long-term care protocols, and abuse-reporting requirements — content the military didn't formally cover.

Once gap training is done, you sit the Pearson VUE Headmaster NACEP just like any other candidate. HHSC waives some fees for veterans, and several Texas community colleges and nursing-home-based programs offer free or reduced-tuition gap modules specifically for military-to-civilian transitions. The transition can be completed in a few weeks rather than a few months — far quicker than the full 100-hour pathway. If you are leaving service and considering CNA work as a stepping stone toward an RN or LPN credential, this is one of the fastest civilian healthcare credentials available.

Texas CNA Registry vs Texas Board of Nursing — Don't Confuse Them

This trips people up constantly. The Texas Board of Nursing (TX BON) licenses Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs, what other states call LPNs), and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs). The BON does not license CNAs. The Texas CNA Registry, run by HHSC, is the only authority for certified nurse aides. If a website tells you to check the BON for a CNA license, it is wrong — that lookup will return nothing.

Where it gets a bit more interesting: Medication Aides. Texas has a separate Medication Aide certification administered by HHSC (not the BON) that lets a current CNA give medications in a long-term care setting. The Medication Aide Training Program is a 100-hour add-on (60 classroom + 40 clinical) on top of your CNA certification. You take a separate state exam, and once certified, you appear on a separate Medication Aide registry. It is a useful career step — medication aides earn meaningfully more than standard CNAs and are in high demand in Texas long-term care.

For a sense of how CNA pay scales across roles, our CNA hourly pay guide breaks down standard CNA, medication aide, hospital CNA, and travel CNA wages — the gap between baseline and medication-aide pay is often $3–6 per hour in Texas.

How to Challenge a Registry Finding (Administrative Hearing Process)

If HHSC issues a notice of intent to make a finding against you — abuse, neglect, or misappropriation — you have a defined window (usually 30 days from the notice date) to request an administrative hearing. Skip the deadline, and the finding goes onto your record by default.

The process runs in seven stages. A Notice of Intent arrives by certified mail (read every line, note the deadline, and don't sign anything yet). You request the hearing in writing before the deadline, which preserves your due-process rights at SOAH. Get legal advice from a healthcare-licensing attorney or legal-aid organisation.

From there, complete discovery and evidence prep — request all HHSC investigation records, witness statements, and any video or documentary evidence; you can call your own witnesses. Then attend the hearing day where an administrative law judge hears both sides, review the Proposal for Decision (PFD) written by the judge, and finally receive the final order from HHSC's decision-maker.

If the finding is sustained, it goes on the registry. If reversed, no finding is recorded. You can appeal a sustained final order to a Texas district court, but the appeals window is short. Whatever you do, do not ignore the notice. The cost of fighting a wrongful finding is high, but the cost of losing one without a fight is your career.

Texas CNA Hiring Markets at a Glance

If you are hiring across state lines and want a sense of how Texas compares to neighbouring markets, our CNA jobs in Florida guide and CNA jobs in California guide cover regional pay, hiring norms, and which facilities tend to recruit aggressively. Texas demand is strong year-round, particularly in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin metros. Long-term care facilities, hospitals' nursing assistant pools, home health agencies, and hospice providers all compete for the same workforce, and signing bonuses for newly certified Texas CNAs are now common in metro areas.

Costs, Fees, and Free or Low-Cost Training Options

A common worry is whether you can afford the certification at all. The HHSC fees themselves are modest — roughly $25 application plus $30 exam fee, around $55 total. The bigger cost line is training tuition. Community college NATCEP programs in Texas typically run $500–$1,500. Private vocational schools can run $1,000–$2,500. Red Cross chapters run free or reduced-cost programs in some cities. Many nursing facilities offer tuition-paid training in exchange for a 6–12 month work commitment after certification — you train for free, they get a known new hire, you exit with no debt.

For ways to lower or eliminate the cost, our free CNA classes guide covers the Red Cross, employer-sponsored training, workforce-development grants through Texas Workforce Commission, and several no-cost online-plus-clinical hybrid options. Don't pay full tuition without exhausting the free routes first.

What to Do If Your Registry Information Is Wrong

Sometimes the registry shows incorrect data — wrong expiration date, misspelled name, missing renewal credit, or even a status that doesn't match what HHSC told you. Don't panic, but do act. Start by documenting what's wrong: screenshot the registry record and note the date and time. Then gather your proof — your exam pass certificate, renewal confirmation receipt, employer verification letter, and any HHSC correspondence.

Email or call HHSC's Nurse Aide Registry team using the contact info on the txnar.hhs.texas.gov site, and include your registry number, the error you see, and the supporting documents. Allow 7–14 business days for correction, and follow up if you don't hear back — clerical updates aren't always automatic.

If the issue is more serious — a wrongful lapsed flag, an abuse-finding that shouldn't be there, a confused identity — request an administrative review in writing. This is a formal process and you may want legal advice. An incorrect listing is more than a paperwork annoyance. Employers won't schedule shifts against a record that shows lapsed or revoked status, and they won't usually wait for HHSC to fix it. Catch errors fast and document everything.

Bottom Line on the Texas CNA Registry

The Texas CNA Registry is the backbone of the state's long-term care workforce. Get on it, stay on it, and protect your standing. The basics: complete the 100-hour state-approved training, pass the Pearson VUE Headmaster NACEP, pay your fees, and watch your name appear at txnar.hhs.texas.gov.

After that, the rules are simple — work at least 8 paid CNA hours every two years, renew on time, keep your contact info updated, and never give HHSC a reason to open an investigation. Treat the registry as your professional credential, not a piece of paperwork, and it will carry you through a long Texas healthcare career.

For broader CNA career planning across all states, our Certified Nursing Assistant hub is the starting point. For pay benchmarks, see the CNA hourly pay guide. For how Texas stacks up against other big states, compare our Florida CNA market and California CNA market guides. And if you are looking up someone else's certification — yours, an employee's, a parent's caregiver — bookmark txnar.hhs.texas.gov and the master CNA Registry hub. The information is free, the lookup is instant, and using it is the single most important habit anyone in Texas long-term care should build.