CNA Classes in New Hampshire | 10 Best OptionsTo Start Your Career

Jobs can be pretty dull if your heart isn’t in them. That’s why it’s important you love what you do and really try to make a difference. You want your work to mean something, and you have a real passion for helping people. That’s why you want to know more about CNA classes in New Hampshire. 

Becoming a nursing assistant is a great way to share your compassion and make the difference in someone’s life. Everyone needs care and compassion, no matter what they’re going through, so consider getting your CNA license in New Hampshire to begin your new career.

This guide will walk you through the New Hampshire CNA requirements and help you learn what you need to do to get a CNA certification in New Hampshire. You’ll learn about the average CNA salary in New Hampshire and the best programs to take CNA classes in New Hampshire. 

One of the first things to know about New Hampshire is that they have a bit of a different nomenclature. Rather than Certified Nursing Aides (CNAs), this state calls them LNAs, or Licensed Nurse Aides.  In this article, CNA and LNA will be used interchangeably. Just know the difference when you are looking for your programs. 

Regulatory Body for CNAs in New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Board of Nursing is the regulatory body for the LNA certification process. They approve all program curriculum state wide, and recognize only the training programs that meet their standards. 

CNA Exam Administration in New Hampshire

Unlike most states, New Hampshire actually has 3 separate testing organizations so you can choose the one that works the best for your needs. The American Red Cross New Hampshire and Vermont Region offers acceptable testing facilities. Pearson Vue also offers the examination, along with several practice tests and study guides. They’re a national company that administers several different examinations and certifications. 


Excel Testing is a New Hampshire based company that administers the LNA certification examination. They are a fantastic option specialized for New Hampshire. They’re friendly and efficient, quick and accurate, and their website has several practice exams. 

​CNA Exams in New Hampshire

You should arrive early for your CNA exam and be prepared to sit for your skills exam. This means that you should be wearing scrubs and on-skid shoes with a watch that has a second hand. Bring proper identification and leave the electronics and smart watches behind because they will not be permitted inside the testing area. 

Your written exam will cover physical skills, like hygiene, dressing and grooming, rest and comfort, elimination, and nutrition and hydration; basic skills, like safety and emergency procedures, therapy procedures, data reporting and collections, and infection control; psychosocial care, for emotional and mental health needs and spiritual and cultural sensitivity; and the role of a nurse aide, like communication, legal and ethical behavior, client rights, and how you fit in to the health care team. 

This test will cover 60 multiple-choice questions and 10 reading comprehension questions. You will have 2 hours to complete the exam and will be given a 15-minute warning. 

You will then take skills evaluation, administered by an RN Test Observer. You will practice these skills on another CNA candidate, and you will be expected to volunteer as a patient for another CNA candidate if you are physically able. 

The skills evaluation scores how you handle the practical tasks of the job, so treat your volunteer as a person not a mannequin. There’s a reason you are working with a living, breathing person rather than a CPR dummy for this evaluation.

You will be given a card with 5 skills you must perform. All candidates will have to demonstrate proper hand washing. The other 4 skills will be chosen randomly. You must correctly perform each skill to a passing standard, and there are Critical Element Steps that will automatically fail you if you do them wrong, even if you achieve a passing score overall. 

If you make a mistake or forget something, you can say so out loud during your exam and correctly perform those steps for your instructor. You will not have to redo the entire skill, just the steps you believe you performed incorrectly. The exception to this is if you miss a major critical step and are corrected by your RN Test Observer. If your step is order-dependent, you must let your RN Test Observer know when the corrected step should be performed or you will not receive credit for simply performing it. 

Be sure that you have correctly performed each skill before moving on to the next one, because you may not go back and correct a previous skill once you have moved on to another skill.    

CNA Test Cost in New Hampshire

The fees vary based on whom you are choosing to take your examination with and whether you will need an oral examination for you knowledge test. Many of the training programs on this list include examination fees in their program tuition rates. 

If you take your CNA exam through Excel, it will cost $160. The clinical exam is $80 and so is the written. New students must take both exams in the same day.  The American Red Cross charges $125 for both exams. 

CNA Test Facilities in New Hampshire

The Excel testing facility is located at 10001 Elm Street Suite 105, Manchester, NH 03101. The American Red Cross has a facility in Concord, NH.  Pearson Vue has several facilities throughout the state. 

Lots of the state certified training programs would include testing with their program. These facilities offer on site testing at the end of your training program for a convenient way to become certified by your graduation date. 

Average CNA’s Salary in New Hampshire

CNAs make about $32,000 per hear in New Hampshire. They make just under $16 per hour on average, which is well above the national average. They also typically receive $6,000 in overtime pay per year. 


The salary range is around $29,000 to $35,000, which is because most qualified and experienced CNAs in New Hampshire love the career so much they continue their education and become RNs and LPNs. 

CNA Schools in New Hampshire

Okay, so you decided that you’re still really excited about becoming a CNA. Who knew it was that quick and easy to certify, right?? Now it comes down to the Big Decision: Which program is right for you? Here are some great state certified CNA training programs for you to check out. There’s bound to be one in your area!

Keene State College

Keene State College has one of the best nursing programs in the state. Start your education in their pre-nursing program, working with an advisor as you earn your CNA certification. Once you complete it, you can continue through to their BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) degree and make a full career!   

Their program is designed to give you a great foundation with the CNA certification. Their schedule is flexible enough to work around most jobs, and most students find satisfying work as CNAs while completing their full BSN. 

River Valley Community College

river valley community college

River Valley offers certifications for people with no experience.

They know the importance of teaching the basics and can help you begin the foundation of a great career. 

You complete their coursework and begin a great new career. 

They are state certified, and their program prepares you for the LNA certification and even an ASN degree in nursing! Continue your education with them to apply for the RN licensure exam instead of just the CNA!  

Lakes Region Community College

Lakes Region Community College offers an accelerated 8 week course, so you can be prepared to pass your certification exam in as little as 2 months! Their NURS100L class involves 46 hours of classroom lectures and labs and w hopping 60 hours of clinical practice, so you get 106 hours of coursework before your examination and lots of hands on experience in real working environments. 

The clinical take place at a local healthcare facility, and the college can also accommodate semester long classes. When you complete the course, you will be ready to register for the state competency exams.   

White Mountains Community College

White Mountains Community College offers both LNA and MNA courses, so if you finish your LNA certification you can also certify as a medication aide. Their coursework trains you for the certification exams and offers job assistance and placement in Grafton, Coos, and Carroll counties, where the demand is high.

Thanks to this high demand for LNAs, they also offer scholarships based on your income needs and educational success guidelines. This will help you get ready for a brand new career in a growing field.  

Rockingham County

rockingham county cna grads

Rockingham County works hard for its residents. The Rockingham County officials want their residents to succeed and their needs to be met, so they have started filling the gaps in high growth industries by training their residents to be skilled in those areas.

They offer approved LNA training to people who would like to become LNAs and help them pass the examinations.

Once certified, they will help you find a great job as an LNA in Rockingham County. 

Crotched Mountain

Crotched Mountain is a great organization that works with people who have disabilities. From kindergarten through adulthood, they have programs and a school to help educate and develop that lets people with disabilities connect, learn, and grow.

They also offer LNA certification training in their facility. You can get real world, hands on experience as you train for the LNA examination.  

Saint Joseph School of Nursing

Saint Joseph is one of the most well known nursing programs in the country. They are a massive program with very high quality facilities. Start your education by receiving LPN training. Once you’ve gotten certified, you can keep training and become an RN or an LPN!  

The Edgewood Centre

The Edgewood Centre is an extremely well respected nursing home. They have a 96% satisfaction rate among both residents and their families and a beautiful facility. 

If you want to get a head start on your career, then you can take LNA classes right from them, getting completely hands on training among their residents and quickly determining whether or not you’re in the right place. If you make a good enough impression, you might just find a job waiting for you upon completion of your certification exam! 

Golden View Health Care

golden view health care

Golden View is a nonprofit community for long-term care and senior living. They also offer short-term rehabilitation. Their program is designed to give you hands on training and experience in real world situations, whether that’s memory assistance, assisted living, independent care, or completely dependent patients.   

Clinical Career Training

The Clinical Career Training School also offers LNA and MNA certifications. The NH Board of Nursing and the NH Department of Education approve their programs. They partner with agencies throughout the state of NH to get you hands on clinical training in locations close o where you live. Their facility also provides assistance in rural areas that don’t have access to the same kind of quality programs as urban areas. 

Their school is great because they have payment options so it isn’t all due right up front, and they also help you find financial aid.