The Relias app has become one of the most widely used mobile learning tools in the American healthcare industry, giving nurses, behavioral health workers, long-term care staff, and clinical educators the ability to complete mandatory training, earn continuing education credits, and track certification progress directly from their smartphones or tablets. For organizations that rely on Relias Learning's platform — which serves more than 11,000 healthcare and human services organizations across the United States — the app is often the primary interface through which staff access required coursework, competency assessments, and compliance modules every single day.
The Relias app has become one of the most widely used mobile learning tools in the American healthcare industry, giving nurses, behavioral health workers, long-term care staff, and clinical educators the ability to complete mandatory training, earn continuing education credits, and track certification progress directly from their smartphones or tablets. For organizations that rely on Relias Learning's platform — which serves more than 11,000 healthcare and human services organizations across the United States — the app is often the primary interface through which staff access required coursework, competency assessments, and compliance modules every single day.
Understanding how the Relias app works, what it can do, and how to get the most out of it is essential whether you are a frontline healthcare worker logging in for the first time or a learning and development manager overseeing hundreds of employees.
The app mirrors much of the functionality available on Relias's browser-based platform, but it is specifically optimized for mobile devices, making it possible to complete shorter learning modules during breaks, commute times, or any moment of downtime in a busy clinical environment. This accessibility is one of the primary reasons healthcare organizations value the platform so highly.
If you are exploring opportunities tied to the relias app and want to understand how certifications earned through this platform can advance your healthcare career, this guide will walk you through every relevant aspect of the application — from initial setup and navigation to advanced features like offline learning, progress tracking, and certificate downloads. We cover the practical realities that healthcare workers encounter every day, not just theoretical overviews.
The Relias app is available for both iOS and Android devices and is offered at no direct cost to end users — your employer or organization must hold an active Relias subscription and assign you a user account before you can log in. This distinction matters because the app itself is simply the access point; all of your course assignments, progress data, certificates, and compliance records are stored in your organization's Relias account on the backend servers, synchronized in real time whenever you have an internet connection.
One of the most frequently misunderstood aspects of the Relias app is what it can and cannot do compared to the full desktop platform. While the mobile app handles coursework completion, assessments, video content, and certificate viewing extremely well, certain administrative functions — such as creating custom learning paths, pulling organization-wide compliance reports, or adjusting account settings — are reserved for the desktop interface. Knowing this distinction upfront saves a lot of frustration when you find yourself looking for a feature that simply lives on the other side of the platform.
This guide is designed to serve as a comprehensive resource for anyone using or considering the Relias app in a healthcare context. We will cover technical requirements, step-by-step setup, the most important features, honest pros and cons, and expert tips for getting through your assigned training as efficiently as possible. Whether you need to complete annual compliance modules, pursue specialty certifications, or prepare for Relias assessments, understanding the app deeply will save you time and reduce the stress that often comes with mandatory training deadlines.
Access and complete assigned training modules, watch video content, and submit assessments directly from your smartphone or tablet, allowing you to finish required coursework from virtually anywhere with a data connection.
Download select courses for offline access, enabling you to continue training in areas with poor connectivity such as rural healthcare facilities, hospital basements, or during commutes on public transit.
View, download, and share your completed course certificates and official training transcripts directly from the app, making it simple to demonstrate compliance to supervisors or submit proof of continuing education.
Monitor your completion status for all assigned learning paths, track upcoming due dates for mandatory training, and see a history of completed modules — all presented in an easy-to-read visual dashboard.
Receive automated reminders about approaching training deadlines, newly assigned courses, and expiring certifications, helping you stay ahead of compliance requirements without manually checking the platform.
Getting started with the Relias app is straightforward but requires a few important prerequisites that every new user should understand before downloading. First and most critically, you must have an active Relias account assigned by your employer or organization.
The app itself is freely available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store by searching for "Relias" — you will recognize the official app by its teal and white branding. However, downloading the app without a valid organizational login will only get you to the login screen, since Relias does not offer individual public subscriptions through the mobile app.
Once you have your login credentials from your employer — typically your work email address and a temporary password sent to that same address — open the app and enter your organization's Relias portal URL or select your organization from the search function. Some organizations configure single sign-on (SSO) through systems like Okta or Microsoft Azure AD, in which case you may be redirected to your organization's identity provider rather than entering Relias credentials directly.
If you are unsure which login method your organization uses, check with your HR department or the person who set up your account, as entering credentials in the wrong field is one of the most common sources of login frustration for new users.
After your first successful login, the app will display your personalized learning dashboard, which shows all courses currently assigned to you, their due dates, and your completion status for each one. If you see no courses listed, do not assume the app is malfunctioning — it is possible that your administrator has not yet assigned courses to your account, or that there is a delay in synchronization. Giving the app a few minutes and then pulling down on the dashboard to trigger a manual refresh typically resolves most syncing issues.
The Relias app also allows you to customize some basic notification settings within your profile, which is located by tapping the person icon in the upper corner of the main screen. From this section you can adjust when and how the app notifies you about upcoming deadlines, toggle push notifications on or off, and update contact information if your employer allows self-service profile edits.
It is worth spending five minutes in these settings when you first set up the app, since the default notification timing may not align with how far in advance you prefer to be reminded about training due dates.
For users on Android devices, there is one additional step that sometimes trips people up: ensuring that the app has permission to send notifications at the operating system level. Android's permission model requires apps to explicitly request notification access, and if you accidentally denied this permission during installation, you will not receive any reminder alerts even if you have them enabled in the app settings.
Go to your phone's Settings, find Apps or Application Manager, select Relias, and verify that notifications are toggled on. This small step prevents the common experience of missing a training deadline because reminders were silently blocked.
If your organization uses Relias's offline learning feature — which must be enabled at the administrative level before individual users can access it — you will see a download icon on eligible courses. Tapping this icon caches the course content to your device storage, allowing you to work through video lectures, reading materials, and even some interactive elements without an active internet connection.
Completed offline work syncs automatically the next time your device connects to the internet, and your progress and any assessment scores are recorded in your transcript as if you had completed the course online. This feature is particularly valuable for home health workers, traveling nurses, and staff in facilities with unreliable wireless networks.
Compliance training modules are the backbone of the Relias app experience for most healthcare workers. These courses cover mandatory topics such as HIPAA privacy regulations, workplace safety, infection control, abuse and neglect prevention, and fire safety protocols. They are typically assigned by your organization on an annual or biannual basis, with strict completion deadlines tied to your employment requirements. Most compliance modules take between 15 and 45 minutes to complete and end with a knowledge check quiz that you must pass before the course is marked complete in your transcript.
One important detail about compliance training in the Relias app is that most modules require you to view a minimum percentage of the video content — often 80 to 100 percent — before you are permitted to take the final assessment. Attempting to skip through video segments using the progress bar is generally blocked, which means you need to budget your actual time, not just assume you can fast-forward to the quiz. Some modules also include interactive elements like drag-and-drop exercises or scenario-based decision points that cannot be completed on auto-play, requiring your genuine attention and input throughout the course.
Clinical skills courses on the Relias app go significantly deeper than basic compliance modules, targeting specific competencies relevant to your role and specialty. Registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, behavioral health technicians, and social workers each have access to role-specific course libraries covering topics like medication administration, wound care, patient assessment techniques, crisis intervention, and evidence-based treatment approaches. These courses are built with input from clinical subject matter experts and often include detailed video demonstrations, case study analyses, and multi-question assessments with rationale explanations for each answer choice.
Passing scores for clinical skills assessments on the Relias platform typically range from 70 to 80 percent depending on the course and your organization's configured standards. If you do not pass on the first attempt, most courses allow you to retake the assessment after reviewing the material, though some organizations limit the number of attempts or require supervisor notification after repeated failures. Tracking which questions you answered incorrectly and reviewing the provided rationales before retaking the assessment is the single most effective strategy for improving your score on subsequent attempts, since Relias assessments often draw from question banks that repeat similar items.
For licensed healthcare professionals, continuing education units are a critical component of maintaining active licensure, and the Relias app provides access to an extensive library of accredited CE courses covering dozens of clinical specialties. Courses on the platform are approved by bodies such as the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), and numerous state licensing boards, meaning credits earned through Relias are accepted toward real licensure renewal requirements in most US states. The CE catalog is updated regularly to reflect current clinical guidelines, regulatory changes, and emerging evidence in areas like behavioral health, dementia care, and infection prevention.
Completing CE courses through the Relias app generates a certificate of completion that specifies the course title, the number of contact hours or credit units awarded, the accrediting body, and the completion date. You can download this certificate as a PDF directly from the app or access it through the Relias web platform. Many licensing boards now accept digital certificates, but it is always worth verifying your specific state board's requirements for CE documentation before assuming a screenshot or PDF download will suffice. Keeping an organized digital folder of your Relias certificates is a simple habit that pays dividends at licensure renewal time.
Every course you complete through the Relias app is logged in a permanent transcript tied to your account, not just your current employer. If you change jobs within a Relias-connected organization, your training history may transfer, saving you from repeating certifications you have already earned. Always download your certificates before leaving an employer, as access to your organizational account may be revoked upon departure.
Certification and progress tracking are two of the most practically valuable features the Relias app offers for healthcare professionals, and understanding how they work can help you manage your continuing education and compliance requirements with far less stress than the typical last-minute scramble that many healthcare workers experience. Your progress dashboard is the central hub for all of this information, displaying a real-time view of every course assigned to you, its due date, your current completion percentage, and whether you have passed any associated assessments.
The app organizes assigned training into learning paths, which are curated sequences of courses grouped around a specific topic or competency area. For example, a new employee orientation learning path might include courses on HIPAA, workplace safety, and organization-specific policies, all presented in a logical sequence with a combined completion deadline. Understanding that learning paths function as a group rather than as individual standalone assignments helps you plan your time more effectively, since completing some but not all courses in a path typically still shows as incomplete from your employer's compliance reporting perspective until every item is finished.
When you complete a course and pass its final assessment, the Relias platform generates a certificate of completion that you can view and download directly within the app by navigating to your Transcript section.
This certificate is the official documentation of your training and typically includes the course name, the number of continuing education hours or contact hours awarded, the relevant accreditation body if the course carries CE credit, and the date you completed it. For nurses and other licensed professionals, these certificates serve as the primary proof of continuing education when you submit your licensure renewal application to your state board.
One nuance that frequently confuses users is the difference between course completion and certificate availability. Most courses generate a certificate immediately upon passing the final assessment, but some CE-accredited courses have a short processing delay — typically 24 to 72 hours — before the official certificate becomes available in your transcript.
This delay occurs because Relias must verify your completion data with the accrediting body before generating a formally recognized certificate. Planning your CE completion a few days before any hard deadline accounts for this processing window and prevents the panic of a certificate not appearing the morning of a renewal submission.
Relias also tracks competency-based assessments separately from training course completions. These assessments are typically assigned by clinical educators or learning and development staff to measure your proficiency in specific skills rather than your completion of a training module. Scores from competency assessments appear in your transcript alongside course completions but may be treated differently from a compliance standpoint — some organizations use competency scores to determine whether additional training is required, while others use them solely for quality improvement data collection. Understanding your organization's policies around competency assessment scoring is worth a quick conversation with your supervisor or education department.
For users who work across multiple Relias-connected organizations simultaneously — a common situation for per diem nurses, travel healthcare workers, and contract therapists — it is important to understand that each organization maintains its own separate Relias account. Your learning history from one employer's Relias system is not automatically visible to another employer's system, even if both are on the Relias platform.
Some organizations have agreements to share training records, and Relias does offer features to support this, but it requires deliberate configuration on the administrative side. When starting a new assignment, always clarify with the new organization whether they can access your existing Relias training records or whether you will need to repeat coursework you have already completed.
Finally, it is worth noting that your Relias certification records and transcript data are stored server-side and are not lost if you delete the app from your device, get a new phone, or change employers. Reinstalling the app and logging in with your existing credentials will restore access to all historical completion data tied to that account. The app itself is just the interface — the actual records live in Relias's cloud infrastructure, which is why backing up your certificates as downloaded PDFs is still advisable as a precaution against organizational account changes beyond your control.
Passing Relias assessments consistently requires more than just watching the assigned videos — it demands an active, engaged approach to the material that most healthcare workers have to consciously develop amid the pressures of busy clinical schedules. The most effective strategy is to treat Relias assessments the way you would treat any professional examination: review the objectives, engage with the content critically, and test your knowledge before the formal assessment rather than treating the first attempt as a discovery exercise. This mindset shift alone dramatically improves first-attempt pass rates for most users.
Before starting any Relias course assessment, take two minutes to review the learning objectives listed at the beginning of the module. These objectives are not decorative — they directly telegraph the topics that will be tested, and courses are built specifically to assess whether you have mastered each stated objective.
Writing down these objectives or keeping them visible in a second tab while you work through the course content helps you pay attention to the right information rather than trying to absorb everything equally. Clinical training modules are dense, and knowing what the assessment will prioritize helps you allocate your mental focus efficiently.
For clinical skills assessments in particular, Relias uses question formats that require application of knowledge rather than simple recall. Scenario-based questions present a patient situation and ask you to select the most appropriate nursing action, the correct medication dosage calculation, or the best therapeutic intervention — questions that punish pure memorization and reward genuine clinical reasoning.
Practicing with realistic scenario-based questions before tackling your Relias assessments builds exactly the kind of applied thinking these modules test. Using available practice resources that mirror this format is one of the best ways to improve your performance and build confidence before sitting down to complete official coursework.
When you do not pass a Relias assessment on the first attempt, the most important next step is to carefully read the rationale provided for each incorrect answer before attempting a retake. Relias assessments typically display your score and the correct answers with explanations immediately after submission, and this feedback is genuinely useful if you engage with it.
Many users rush straight to the retake without reviewing the rationales, which means they are essentially taking the same assessment again without addressing the specific knowledge gaps that caused them to fail the first time. Spending even ten minutes reviewing feedback before retrying increases your retake success rate substantially.
Time management within individual course sessions also matters more than most users realize. Relias modules often have built-in timers for certain assessment sections, and the cognitive load of clinical content can cause time to pass faster than expected, particularly for longer assessments covering multiple topics. Starting coursework with adequate uninterrupted time — rather than beginning a 45-minute module with only 20 minutes available before your next shift — prevents the rushed, incomplete state that leads to both poor assessment performance and the frustration of incomplete progress that does not save properly when a session is cut short.
Relias's question bank approach means that different users may see different specific questions on the same assessment, but the underlying topics remain consistent with the stated learning objectives. This design prevents simple question-sharing between colleagues from functioning as a reliable preparation shortcut, which is another reason that genuinely understanding the material — rather than memorizing specific answers — is the only reliable path to consistent assessment success across the full range of modules you will encounter throughout your career on the platform.
For those who want to maximize their preparation before tackling official Relias assessments, structured practice using realistic question formats is the gold standard approach. The practice quizzes available through PracticeTestGeeks are designed to mirror the content areas and question styles you will encounter in actual Relias assessments, providing an evidence-based preparation experience that translates directly to improved performance on the platform. Combining deliberate practice with the content engagement strategies described above gives you the strongest possible foundation for completing your Relias training efficiently and with high scores that reflect your genuine clinical competency.
Beyond the basics of logging in and completing assigned courses, there are several practical strategies that experienced Relias users have discovered over time that can make a meaningful difference in how smoothly and efficiently you navigate the platform. These tips come from the day-to-day realities of using the app in actual healthcare settings, not from the platform's official documentation, which tends to describe ideal scenarios rather than the workarounds and habits that save real time in real workplaces.
One of the most commonly overlooked features is the ability to resume courses exactly where you left off if you are interrupted mid-module. The Relias app saves your position within a course at regular intervals, meaning that if you receive an urgent call, need to step away from a patient's room unexpectedly, or simply run out of battery, you can return to the app later and pick up near where you stopped rather than starting the entire module over from the beginning.
This bookmarking function works across devices — if you start a course on your phone and want to finish it on a computer later, logging in to the desktop platform with the same credentials will show your mobile progress preserved.
Keeping your app updated to the latest version is more important on Relias than on many other applications because Relias regularly releases updates that address compatibility issues with evolving mobile operating systems and security patches required by healthcare data compliance standards. An outdated Relias app version occasionally causes courses to fail to load properly, assessments to not submit correctly, or certificates to not generate after completion. Setting the app to auto-update in your device settings or making a habit of checking for updates monthly eliminates this entirely preventable source of frustration.
For healthcare workers who use the Relias app across very different work contexts — say, both during quiet overnight shifts and during hectic day shifts — adjusting screen brightness and audio settings before starting a course is a small habit that pays off in comfort and focus.
Many Relias video modules include instructor narration that is important for understanding the content, and trying to watch a 30-minute clinical skills video in a noisy break room without headphones significantly degrades your absorption of the material. Keeping a pair of earbuds accessible specifically for Relias sessions is a simple tool that many experienced users swear by.
When facing a large volume of newly assigned courses — as often happens after annual compliance reset dates or organizational policy updates — prioritizing by due date rather than by personal interest or perceived difficulty is the most rational approach to workload management. Create a simple list of all your assigned courses ordered by their deadlines and work through them top to bottom.
This approach prevents the common mistake of completing all the interesting or easy courses first and then facing a pile of difficult compliance modules due simultaneously with very little time remaining before the deadline. Steady, deadline-ordered progress distributes the workload evenly and avoids the stress of last-minute completion marathons.
Communicating proactively with your supervisor or learning and development team when you anticipate difficulty completing assigned training by the deadline is always a better strategy than waiting until the deadline passes. Many organizations have provisions for deadline extensions in cases of high patient census, emergency staffing situations, or personal circumstances — but these extensions must generally be requested before the deadline, not after.
The Relias app gives you full visibility into your completion status and due dates, which means you always have the data you need to have an informed conversation with your manager about workload and training timeline well before any crisis point arrives.
Finally, if you find that you are consistently struggling with Relias assessments in specific content areas — for example, repeatedly failing pharmacology-focused clinical skills assessments or consistently scoring below the passing threshold on behavioral health modules — this pattern is clinically meaningful and worth addressing proactively rather than treating each failure as an isolated event.
Dedicated preparation using practice resources focused on your weak content areas, combined with reflective review of your past Relias assessment feedback, creates a targeted improvement plan that builds real competency over time rather than just getting through the required modules by the minimum standard required for compliance.