Georgia CNA Registry: Verify a Certification
Verify a Georgia CNA through the Georgia Department of Community Health's nurse aide registry, accessed through the state's MMIS portal linked on this page. The Department of Community Health operates the registry, which lists everyone certified to work as a nurse aide in Georgia. Federal law requires nursing facilities and home health agencies to check this registry before hiring anyone as a nurse aide, so employers in those settings cannot skip this step. The registry does not list a separate public phone number, so use the online portal itself to search or to resolve questions about a specific record. New graduates, aides moving to Georgia from another state, and CNAs checking their own status all use this same lookup.
Official Georgia lookup
Run by Georgia Department of Community Health.
How to verify in three steps
- 1
Open the official lookup
Use the Georgia lookup linked above. It is free and public.
- 2
Search by name
Enter the aide’s full legal name. If you have it, a certification number narrows the result fastest; some states also ask for city or date of birth.
- 3
Read the status
An active status means the certification is current. Also check for any substantiated finding of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation, which bars employment as an aide.
Georgia registry at a glance
| Run by | Georgia Department of Community Health |
| Renewal cycle | Every 24 months (federal baseline) |
| Training required | 85 hours (24 clinical) |
| Federal minimum | 75 hours (16 clinical) |
What the lookup shows
- ✓Certification status (active, expired, or inactive)
- ✓Certification details on file with the registry
- ✓Any substantiated finding of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation (bars employment as an aide)
A registry check is not a criminal background check.
43,440
CNAs working in Georgia
$37,680
Median pay per year ($18.12/hr)
$42,260
National median
85 hrs
Required training (24 clinical)
CNA median pay in Georgia, 2015 to 2025
$22,060 in 2015 to $37,680 in 2025 (BLS OES).
Wages and employment: BLS OES, May 2025.
What you need for a lookup
A search normally requires the aide's full legal name, since the lookup matches on name. A result shows whether the person holds active Georgia CNA certification and basic status details for that certification. The registry also records substantiated findings of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of property; anyone with such a finding is barred from working as a nurse aide, and that record shows up in a search. This lookup is not a full employment or criminal background check, and employers should not treat it as one.
Renewal, lapses, and moving to Georgia
Georgia CNA certification follows the federal baseline: it runs on a 24-month cycle and must be renewed within that window. Under federal rules, certification lapses if an aide goes 24 months without any paid nurse aide work, and a lapsed certification usually means retesting rather than a simple renewal. Aides moving to Georgia from another state also go through the registry, since Georgia recognizes out-of-state certification through reciprocity or endorsement rather than an automatic transfer. Exact renewal steps, required documentation, and reciprocity rules are set by the Georgia registry itself, so confirm current requirements through the MMIS portal before assuming a certification carries over unchanged.
CNA work in Georgia, by the numbers
About 43,440 CNAs work in Georgia, earning a median wage of $37,680 a year, or $18.12 an hour, according to BLS May 2025 figures. That is about $4,580 below the national median CNA salary of $42,260. Pay has grown substantially over the past decade, up roughly 70.8% from a $22,060 median in 2015. Georgia also requires more training than the federal floor: the state's program runs a minimum of 85 hours, including 24 hours of hands-on clinical training, compared with the federal minimum of 75 hours with at least 16 supervised practical hours. Nationally, the CNA field is projected to add 196,200 job openings a year through 2035, a sign that demand for trained aides stays strong even in a state where wages lag the national median.
Verifying an aide certified in a different state? Every state runs its own registry: find the right one in the state directory.
Common questions
How do I look up a CNA license in Georgia?
Search the Georgia Department of Community Health's nurse aide registry through the state's MMIS portal, using the aide's full legal name. The portal returns whether that person holds active CNA certification in Georgia. Employers at nursing facilities and home health agencies are federally required to run this check before hiring, and CNAs or job seekers can use the same tool to confirm their own listed status.
I passed my CNA exam. How long until I appear on the registry?
You are added to the registry once your exam results and paperwork are processed by the Georgia Department of Community Health, not immediately after testing. Processing time varies, so there is no fixed number of days to expect. If a reasonable amount of time passes and you still do not appear, contact the registry directly through the MMIS portal instead of assuming something is wrong.
What if I search and can't find someone?
Try name variants first, such as a maiden name, hyphenated last name, or a different middle initial, since the lookup matches on the name as entered. Not finding a match is not proof that someone is uncertified; it may just mean the name was entered differently than expected. Confirm directly with the Georgia Department of Community Health through the MMIS portal before drawing any conclusion.
How often does a Georgia CNA certification need to be renewed?
Georgia CNA certification runs on the federal 24-month renewal cycle, the same baseline used nationwide. Specific renewal steps and documentation requirements are set by the Georgia registry, so check the MMIS portal for the current process rather than assuming it matches another state's.
How many hours of training does a CNA need in Georgia?
Georgia requires a minimum of 85 hours of CNA training, including at least 24 hours of hands-on clinical instruction. That is more than the federal floor of 75 hours, which requires at least 16 supervised practical hours. Training programs must meet Georgia's higher standard for graduates to qualify for the state exam.
How do I update my name or address on the registry?
Contact the Georgia Department of Community Health through the MMIS portal, since that is the office that holds your certification record. Updating a name or address after marriage, divorce, or a move is a routine request, but the exact steps and documentation needed are set by the registry, not standardized across states.