Key Points
- A CNA in Michigan gives hands-on patient care under a nurse's supervision, including bathing, feeding, transfers, and recording vital signs.
- The state requires a nurse aide training program of at least 75 hours plus a passing score on the two-part competency evaluation.
- Training usually takes 4 to 8 weeks, and part-time or evening formats run longer.
- Michigan's competency evaluation is run by Headmaster, not Prometric, and registry placement is a separate $40 step after you pass.
- Michigan CNAs earn a median of $39,570 a year ($19.02 an hour), about $2,690 below the national median.
What a CNA Does in Michigan
A CNA spends more direct time with patients than almost anyone else in a healthcare facility. Working under a licensed nurse, you handle the daily personal care that keeps patients safe, clean, and comfortable. Michigan's nurse aide curriculum covers 12 subject areas, including basic nursing skills, infection control, communication, resident rights, safety, personal care, and the aging process.
Day to day, a Michigan CNA:
- Helps patients bathe, dress, and use the bathroom
- Assists with eating and drinking
- Measures and records vital signs like temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure
- Repositions patients and helps them move between bed and wheelchair
- Watches for changes in a patient's condition and reports them to the nurse
- Offers companionship and basic emotional support
Most CNAs work in nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, hospitals, assisted living communities, home health agencies, and hospice settings.
The 5 Steps to Become a CNA in Michigan
The path runs through five steps: meet the eligibility rules, finish a state-approved program, pass the competency evaluation, join the registry, and start working. Our guide to getting a CNA certification covers the general process, and the Michigan specifics are below.
Step 1: Meet the Eligibility Requirements
Michigan does not set a single statewide minimum age, and it does not legally require a high school diploma or GED to become a CNA. Individual programs set their own rules, and most ask for the following:
- At least 18 years old, though some programs accept students at 16 or 17, often through high school programs
- A high school diploma or GED, if the program requires one
- The ability to read and write English
- A negative TB test within the past year
- A passed criminal background check
- Current immunizations required by the clinical site
Check each program's exact list before you apply, since the details vary from school to school.
Step 2: Complete a State-Approved Nurse Aide Training Program
Michigan requires a Nurse Aide Training Program approved by the Bureau of Community and Health Systems (BCHS), part of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). Every approved program includes at least 75 hours of classroom instruction, lab practice, and supervised clinical experience, usually completed in a licensed care facility. Most programs run 4 to 8 weeks full time, with part-time and evening options taking longer.
Tuition typically ranges from about $500 to $2,000, depending on the school and format. Comparing the cheapest and fastest programs can save you real money before you commit, and online and hybrid options can cover the classroom hours while you complete clinicals in person.
Here is what the full path to certification usually costs:
Michigan also has cost-coverage options to look into first. The Michigan Achievement Skills Scholarship covers up to $2,000 a year for eligible training, and federal rules require Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing facilities to cover or reimburse training and testing costs for CNAs they hire within 12 months of finishing a program. On Dreambound, you can line up Michigan CNA programs side by side and filter by schedule, price, and city.
Step 3: Pass the Michigan Nurse Aide Competency Evaluation
After you finish your program, you have 24 months to pass the state competency evaluation, administered by Headmaster (D&S Diversified Technologies). Michigan ended its contract with Prometric, so any older guide pointing you to Prometric is out of date. The evaluation has two parts:
- A 65-question knowledge test, 60 minutes long, in written or audio format. You need 74% or higher to pass.
- A skills test where you perform three or four randomly assigned tasks in 30 minutes, including hand hygiene as a required step. You need 80% on each task.
The fee for the first attempt covering both parts is $175, paid through Headmaster's TMU portal before you schedule. You can attempt each part up to three times within the 24-month window. If you do not pass, you must retrain before testing again. A little structure helps here, so it is worth learning how to prepare for the CNA exam before your test date.
Step 4: Apply to the Michigan Nurse Aide Registry
Passing the exam does not add you to the registry automatically. You apply through MI-NATES (Michigan Nurse Aide, Training, and Enforcement System) and pay a $40 fee:
- Create a MILogin account
- Request access to MI-NATES and complete your profile
- Submit the registration application and pay the $40 fee
- Wait for your record to be approved
One practical note: MI-NATES does not work in the Safari browser, so use Chrome or Edge. Once your application is approved, your name and active status appear on the Michigan Nurse Aide Registry, and you can work as a CNA anywhere in the state.
Step 5: Apply for CNA Jobs
With your name on the registry, you can apply at hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, and hospice providers across Michigan. The clinical rotations you completed during training are a useful reference point when you decide where to apply. If you are starting out, our guide to getting a CNA job with no experience covers how to stand out.
CNA Salary in Michigan and Job Outlook
The median pay for a Michigan CNA is $39,570 a year, or about $3,298 a month and $19.02 an hour, based on May 2025 data. That runs about $2,690 below the national median of $42,260. Pay varies by setting and metro: hospitals and unionized long-term care facilities tend to pay more than non-union skilled nursing facilities, and shift differentials of a few dollars an hour are common for evenings, overnights, and weekends.
Nationally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of nursing assistants to grow about 2% through 2034, with roughly 211,800 openings each year, mostly to replace workers who change jobs or leave the field. Because training is short, the timeline from training to your first job is one of the fastest in healthcare.
Working as a Temporary Nurse Aide While You Test
Federal regulation lets a graduate of a state-approved program work as a paid temporary nurse aide in a skilled nursing facility for up to 120 days while you complete testing. Temporary nurse aide is the federal term for a CNA who is waiting to be placed on the registry. Michigan applies this rule directly, so an employer can hire you right after you wrap up your program while you schedule and take the Headmaster exam.
The 120-day clock starts when your temporary employment begins. If you have not passed both parts of the exam within those 120 days, the facility can no longer keep you in that role until you are on the registry. In practice, this means you can start earning a paycheck within weeks of finishing classroom training instead of waiting for an exam date.
One renewal note for later: effective March 23, 2026, Michigan CNAs must complete at least 12 hours of continuing education each year within every two-year renewal period, including content on abuse, neglect, and care planning, under Administrative Rule 400.315.
Where CNAs Work in Michigan
CNAs work across the full healthcare spectrum in Michigan, with the heaviest concentration in long-term care. Skilled nursing and long-term care facilities make up the largest single setting, followed by hospitals and health systems like Corewell Health, Henry Ford Health, Michigan Medicine, Trinity Health, and McLaren Health Care. Assisted living communities are expanding quickly across metro Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor, while home health agencies and hospice providers add care in homes across both urban and rural counties. Detroit has the largest share of CNA jobs in the state, followed by Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and Lansing.
CNA Programs in Michigan
If the timeline and pay fit your plans, the next step is picking a state-approved program. These Michigan CNA programs are available through Dreambound:
- In-person CNA course in Traverse City
- Adds Teepa Snow's PAC dementia training and a dementia certificate
