CNA classes in Texas

The free online classroom course

HHSC runs its own computer-based training (CBT) course that covers the 60-hour classroom part of nurse aide training online. The course is free. When you pass it, you get a Certificate of Completion, without a final grade.

HHSC says anyone who tries to charge for this course will be referred to its Office of Inspector General, and treats it as fraud that can cost the person their training or nurse aide certificate. If a school asks you to pay for the HHSC course itself, that is a warning sign.

The CBT course covers the classroom only. You still need to finish the 40-hour clinical part with an approved program before you can take the exam.

Source: Texas HHSC: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Program (NATCEP), checked November 2, 2026.

Clinical training in Texas

• Every approved program gives at least 100 clock hours of training, including 40 clock hours of hands-on resident care in a nursing facility.
• A program may hold clinical hours in a lab instead only when no suitable clinical site is within 20 miles of the program, or when HHSC decides facility training is risky because of a declared disaster.
• If you did the classroom part through the free CBT course, you finish the 40 clinical hours with an approved program.

Source: Texas HHSC: Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Program (NATCEP), checked November 2, 2026.

Renewing a Texas CNA certificate

Texas renewal works in two-year periods. You can renew starting three months before the expiration date on your certificate.

• Complete at least 24 hours of in-service education every two years, including training in geriatrics and in caring for residents with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.
• Have documented work experience in each two-year period since your certificate was issued or last renewed.
• Renew yourself by creating a TULIP account and completing a Certified Nurse Aide Renewal Application, or have your employer file a Nurse Aide Facility Staff Renewal for you.
• Once approved, print your updated certificate from TULIP.
• If your certificate expired and you don't have the work experience, HHSC's other renewal options involve retraining or retesting.

Source: Texas HHSC: Renew or Make Changes to a Nurse Aide Certificate, checked November 2, 2026.

Checking a CNA on the Texas registry

Anyone can look up a nurse aide's certificate on HHSC's TULIP public search. Employers use it to confirm a certificate is active, and you can use it to check your own record after you pass the exam.

Source: Texas HHSC TULIP public search, checked November 2, 2026.