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Arkansas Nurse Aide Competency Exam
Find the current format, timing, scoring, fees, eligibility, and testing options for Arkansas CNA, with direct links to official sources.
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Questions75 multiple-choice questions (knowledge exam) plus 3 or 4 randomly assigned manual skill tasks
Testing timeKnowledge exam: maximum 60 minutes; Skill test: maximum 30 minutes
ScoringKnowledge exam: score of 76% or better to pass. Skill test: must correctly perform all key steps (bold) and 80% of all steps on each assigned task. Both parts must be passed.
Exam feeUSD 30 knowledge exam (or Spanish version) / USD 40 audio version (English or Spanish) / USD 95 skill test, per attempt or retake; DHS pays the test fee for candidates employed by (or with a letter of intent from) a Medicaid-certified nursing facility
Prep options
Study resources for Arkansas CNA
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Courses and study resources
Exam overview
What to know before choosing your prep
- Who runs it
- Arkansas DHS
- Category
- Nurse Aide & Nursing Assistant
- Current version
- Current specification; no public version label (DHS-approved Arkansas test plan; Candidate Handbook Version 10.0, updates effective July 1, 2026)
- Where it applies
- US-AR, United States
- Exam languages
- English, Spanish
- Score scale
- Percentage score per part (knowledge and skill), no combined scale published
- Testing provider
- D&S Diversified Technologies (D&SDT) - HEADMASTER, LLP
- Format
- Computer-based knowledge exam at Arkansas test sites or remotely proctored from home; in-person manual skill test
- Availability
- Scheduled test events at Arkansas test sites plus a remotely proctored knowledge exam option; on-site cities listed include Springdale, Bentonville, Fort Smith, Ozark, Harrison, Blytheville, Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Batesville, Jonesboro, Monticello, and Benton
- Results
- Official results available in the candidate's TMU account after 7:00 PM CT the business day after the test event; no postal mail results
- Remote testing
- Varies by jurisdiction
Exam structure
Two parts, both required: (1) a 75-question multiple-choice knowledge exam delivered on computer (English, Spanish, or audio versions) covering 12 subject areas from the DHS-approved Arkansas test plan; (2) a manual skill test in which the candidate performs 3 or 4 randomly selected tasks before an RN Test Observer
Where rules vary
Arkansas state competency exam; passing both parts places the candidate on the Arkansas Nurse Aide Registry (ARNAR).
Eligibility
Completion of an Arkansas DHS-approved nurse aide training program (or a documented comparable program of at least 90 hours / student-nurse fundamentals course), entered by the training program in TMU; eligibility to test must be used within one year of training completion
Retake policy
Failed parts may be retaken on payment of the per-part retake fee; candidates must pass both parts within one year of training completion or retraining is required; on a skill retest, one of the tasks will be one previously failed