How to Verify a Home Health Aide's Certification

Quick answer

Search the state nurse aide registry — this is the primary verification tool for HHAs in states that track them alongside CNAs. Also check the state adult protective services abuse registry (sometimes called the nurse aide abuse registry) for findings of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation. Run an OIG exclusion check for any Medicare/Medicaid home health agency role.

HHA certification requirements

CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) requires that HHAs employed by Medicare/Medicaid-certified home health agencies meet specific training standards. Requirements vary by agency type:

Agency Type	Federal HHA Training Requirement
Medicare-certified home health agency	75 hours of approved training + competency evaluation
Medicaid-certified home health agency	State Medicaid requirements (often mirror Medicare minimums)
Private pay / non-Medicare agency	State-specific requirements; no federal minimum applies

For Medicare/Medicaid agencies, CMS requires that HHAs demonstrate competency in specific skills — personal care, observation, reporting, and emergency response — through a written or oral competency evaluation administered by a registered nurse.

Step 1: State nurse aide registry

Many states track HHAs through the same registry that tracks Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) — the state nurse aide registry. This registry shows:

CNA or HHA listing status (active, expired, or absent)
Any findings of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation of property
Training completion dates

Not all states separately track HHAs in the nurse aide registry — some track only CNAs. Check the relevant state's registry to understand what records are maintained.

Key state nurse aide registry portals

California: CA Department of Public Health — cahealthworkforce.org
Texas: TX Nurse Aide Registry — hhs.texas.gov/nursaideregisty
Florida: FL Board of Nursing / Nurse Aide Registry — flhealthsource.gov
New York: NYS DOH Health Professions Databases — nyhealth.gov
All states: CMS state registry directory — cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification

Step 2: Abuse registry check

Federal law (42 CFR §484.80) requires Medicare-certified home health agencies to check state abuse registries before employing HHAs. An individual with an abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation finding on the nurse aide abuse registry cannot be employed by a Medicare-certified agency.

The abuse registry search is typically part of the nurse aide registry lookup — confirm with the state whether abuse findings are included in the standard registry search or require a separate query.

Step 3: OIG exclusion check

For any HHA employed by a Medicare or Medicaid home health agency, run an OIG exclusion check at oig.hhs.gov/exclusions. An excluded HHA cannot be employed in any capacity by a federally funded home health agency.

OIG exclusion checks should be run at hire and monthly thereafter for Medicare-participating agencies — the LEIE is updated monthly and ongoing monitoring is an HHS compliance expectation.

Background check requirements

Beyond registry checks, federal and state law imposes background check requirements for HHAs. At the federal level, CMS requires Medicare-certified home health agencies to query the HHS OIG exclusion list. Many states impose additional requirements:

Criminal history background check (typically FBI fingerprint-based for positions involving vulnerable adults)
State criminal record check through the state bureau of investigation or equivalent
Sex offender registry check
Some states require checks through the state adult protective services (APS) registry

Verify HHA training program credentials

CMS requires HHA training from an approved program. Some HHA training is offered by vocational schools and community colleges. Use VerifyED to confirm that a claimed home health aide training program comes from a legitimate institution.

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