2016 Nursing Exams
There are several requirements for those who want to become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), a Registered Nurse (RN), or Licensed Nurse Practitioner (LPN) by examination.
Certified Nursing Assistant
Basic requirements for applicants who wish to become a Certified Nursing Assistant by examination are:
- A high school diploma or its equivalent
- You must be at least 18 years old
- You must have completed the curriculum developed under the Enterprise Florida Jobs and Education Partnership Grant and must have achieved the minimum passing score. If the nursing assistant competency exam is failed three times, the applicant would not be able to take another examination unless an approved training program is completed
- Complete a background screening
The exam is a two-part examination, which is made up of a written section and a skills section. The written exam is 90 minutes long with 60 multiple choice questions. The skills evaluation requires applicants to perform 5 randomly chosen nursing assistant skills.
Licensed Practical Nurse & Registered Nurse
Basic requirements for applicants who wish to become a Licensed Practical Nurse & Registered Nurse by examination are:
- Graduation from an accredited nursing program in Florida
- Graduation from an Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing or Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education that has been issued an NCLEX code
- Graduation from an approved nursing program in any jurisdiction that has been issued a NCLEX code
- Graduation from a military nursing education program that has been issued an NCLEX code
- Graduation from an LPN or RN program that has been issued an NCLEX code
- Graduation from a jurisdiction like Puerto Rico that the board determines to be equivalent to an approved program
For more information on what may be needed for the state of Florida examinations, please visit,