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CNA Classes in Maryland: 117 State-Approved Programs (2026)

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CNA Classes in Maryland: Programs, Costs, and State Requirements

Published June 18, 2026 · Last updated June 18, 2026

Maryland gives you a deep statewide menu to compare: 117 state-approved CNA programs spread across 62 cities, from Baltimore and the Silver Spring suburbs out to Frederick, Hagerstown, and the Eastern Shore. To certify, you complete 100 hours of approved training, including 40 hours of hands-on clinical work, then pass the NNAAP exam through Credentia. That 100-hour requirement runs about a third above the 75-hour federal minimum set under OBRA ’87, so Maryland training sits well above the national floor.

Sourced from Maryland MBON registrySourced from MBONBLS salary dataBLS dataLast verified Jun 18, 2026Verified Jun 18
Illustration of a certified nursing assistant caring for an elderly patient, CNA classes in Maryland

AT A GLANCE

Your Maryland CNA path

Four steps from interest to certification. Most students complete this in 6–8 weeks.

  1. Step 1.Complete 100 hours of approved training.
  2. Step 2.Finish 40 supervised clinical hours.
  3. Step 3.Pass the Credentia written and skills exam.
  4. Step 4.Get listed with the Maryland Nurse Aide Registry.
See the full How to Become guide →

Key numbers before you compare programs

Typical program length
3–15 weeks
Typical paid program cost
$975–$3,750
Average CNA salary
$43,240/yr (BLS, May 2025)
Reciprocity accepted
Yes, with conditions

All 117 state-approved Maryland CNA programs

Sort by cost, length, format, or city. Filter with the chips above the table. Click any row to expand full address, phone, clinical site, and next cohort.

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How this list works. Every program below is state-approved by the Maryland Nurse Aide Registry (MD MBON). Cost, length, and format come directly from each program’s published materials. Blanks (“N/A”) mean the program hasn’t published that detail yet. Programs with a linked name have a verified profile we maintain. Last verified June 18, 2026.
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Showing 1–25 of 117
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Showing 1–25 of 117

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Fastest CNA programs in Maryland

At the quick end of Maryland’s menu, a full-time program like Heritage Care in Hyattsville or Precise Academy in Owings Mills runs about 3 weeks, against roughly 15 weeks at the slower-paced end. But the honest answer to “how long does it take” is set by the state, not the calendar. Maryland requires at least 100 hours of instruction, including 40 clinical hours, and every approved program delivers them. A 3-week course packs that requirement into longer days, not a lighter syllabus.

ProgramCityLengthTotal CostSponsored

Schedules verified June 18, 2026, sourced from each program’s published calendar.

Is a 3-week CNA program in Maryland long enough?

What makes Precise Academy’s 3-week track in Owings Mills “fast” is the calendar, not the curriculum. Maryland’s 100-hour requirement, about a third above the 75-hour federal minimum under OBRA ’87, holds whether you finish in 3 weeks or 15. A short cohort compresses those hours, so what climbs is the weekly load, not the total you cover.

That pace works if you can give it full attention and want to certify sooner. It gets hard if you’re balancing a job around the Baltimore-Washington corridor or covering childcare, because a compressed schedule leaves little slack to make up a missed day. A fast cohort is only the right cohort when your weeks can absorb it.

And the part of the requirement that takes time is the part worth keeping: 40 clinical hours, two and a half times the 16-hour federal clinical minimum under OBRA ’87, are real supervised shifts with patients. So weigh weeks last. Pick the pace you can carry all the way through the Credentia exam, not the one that looks shortest on paper.

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Online, hybrid, weekend & evening CNA programs in Maryland

Maryland’s schedule options run wide across the Baltimore-Washington corridor and out to the smaller metros. Across the 117 approved programs you’ll find evening cohorts, weekend cohorts, and hybrid formats that move the lecture load online. What Maryland doesn’t offer is a CNA course you can finish entirely from home. The 100-hour requirement includes 40 clinical hours of supervised patient care, and those hours, along with the skills lab, only happen in person. The honest framing for the “online CNA classes” search is this: the theory can go online, the hands-on hours cannot.

ProgramCityFormatLengthTotal CostSponsored

Format and schedule options verified June 18, 2026. Confirm current online, hybrid, evening, and weekend availability with each program.

Which flexible format is right for working adults?

When people search “online CNA classes,” the format that actually fits in Maryland is hybrid. Precise Academy in Owings Mills and Aspire School of Learning in Laurel both run it: the lecture and reading move online, then you report in person for skills practice and your clinical rotation. For someone commuting around the Beltway, trading classroom seat-time for online lecture time is the part of the week you most want back.

Maryland’s evening and weekend cohorts answer a different need. They stay fully in person but sit outside the workday, which suits you if a classroom keeps you on track better than a laptop does, or if your home internet isn’t steady enough for self-paced study. Whichever format you pick, it still has to clear the same 100-hour requirement, including the 40 clinical hours; the format only changes which days and hours you trade to earn them.

So choose against your real week, not an ideal one. A Silver Spring parent tied up at school drop-off may only make an evening cohort work, while someone on rotating shifts may need the weekend track.

The one thing no format removes is showing up in person for clinicals, so check that site before you sign. A program that looks flexible falls apart if its rotation meets across the bay or down on the Eastern Shore on a day you can’t get there. Confirm the clinical location is reachable first.

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Cheapest CNA programs in Maryland

Tuition in Maryland starts at $975 at Cambridge Nursing Assistant Academy in Gaithersburg, and 8 programs across the state come in at or under $1,000. Of the 33 programs with a verified price, costs run from $0 up to $3,750, so the spread is wide. A handful of no-cost seats exist too, including Heritage Care Inc. in Hyattsville at $0. Be honest with yourself about the floor, though: at $975, Maryland’s cheapest paid course sits on the higher side, and among the 33 programs with a verified price the paid options mostly land in the four figures, climbing as high as $3,750.

ProgramCityLengthTotal CostSponsored

Costs verified June 18, 2026, sourced from each program’s published tuition materials.

Is the cheapest CNA program always the best value in Maryland?

At $975, Cambridge Nursing Assistant Academy in Gaithersburg sets Maryland’s paid floor, and a no-cost seat at Heritage Care in Hyattsville drops that to nothing. The gap between them isn’t the whole story, though. Every approved Maryland program has to deliver the same 100-hour requirement, including 40 clinical hours, and prepare you for the same NNAAP exam, so a lower price doesn’t buy you a lighter course.

What the price tag doesn’t show is location and timing. A $0 seat that meets an hour away, on a start date you can’t move, may fit your week worse than a $975 program ten minutes from home. The eight programs at or under $1,000 cluster in metros like Gaithersburg, Hyattsville, and Baltimore.

So read past the headline number. Weigh tuition against where the program meets, when its cohorts run, and how reachable its clinical site is. In Maryland the cheapest option and the one that actually fits your week aren’t always the same program.

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Free & employer-sponsored CNA training in Maryland

Maryland does list real no-cost options: 5 free programs, funded through government dollars, scholarships, or, in one case, a sponsoring employer. Heritage Care Inc. in Hyattsville and Tribute Home Care in Baltimore both run training at $0. Most of the five are grant- or scholarship-funded rather than employer-tied, so the strings attached vary from one program to the next.

Free programs you can enroll in directly

ProgramCityLengthTotal CostSponsored

With only five no-cost seats statewide, the real question isn’t how to combine funding but which program’s location and work terms fit your life. Four of the five are grant- or scholarship-funded and one is employer-sponsored, so before you enroll, get the terms in plain language and confirm the site is reachable for the in-person skills lab and the 40 clinical hours.

What’s the catch with free CNA training in Maryland?

The five no-cost paths in Maryland aren’t one arrangement, and the difference decides what you owe afterward. Four are funded through government dollars or scholarships, which usually carry no obligation to work anywhere in particular, though each has its own eligibility rules, so check each program. Just one of the five is employer-sponsored: a facility funds your 100 hours, and in exchange you commit to working there after you certify.

That distinction matters more than the word “free.” A scholarship seat and an employer-sponsored seat can both read as $0 on a list, but only one asks you to sign a work commitment. Before you enroll, ask the coordinator plainly what, if anything, you’re agreeing to repay or work off, and get the terms in writing.

Location is the other quiet cost. A $0 seat at Heritage Care in Hyattsville or Tribute Home Care in Baltimore only helps if you can reach it for the in-person skills lab and the 40 clinical hours, which no funding source lets you skip.

Five no-cost seats statewide is a thin supply. If free is the goal, call the coordinator early, get the commitment in plain terms, and keep a paid option like the $975 program in Gaithersburg in reserve so a waitlist doesn’t push your start date back a season.

CNA salary in Maryland

BLS wage data for Maryland and its top 3 metros.

CNAs in Maryland earn a median of $20.79 an hour, about $43,240 a year, according to BLS OEWS data from May 2025. That’s roughly 2.9% above the national median of $20.21, which puts Maryland at #22 of 50 by CNA pay, in the middle of the pack rather than at either extreme. The 10th percentile earns about $17.34 an hour, while the 90th percentile reaches around $23.72.

Entry-level (10th)
$17.34/hr
$36,067/yr
Median (50th)
$20.79/hr
$43,240/yr
Top end (90th)
$23.72/hr
$49,338/yr

Pay by setting in Maryland

SettingMedian hourlyNotes
Hospitals$21.83/hrEstimated from the state wage distribution
Skilled nursing / SNF$20.79/hrEstimated
Assisted living / residential$19.33/hrEstimated

Setting figures are estimated from the verified Maryland wage distribution (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS (Nursing Assistants, 31-1131), Maryland, May 2025); actual pay varies by employer.

In Maryland the gap between care settings is the clearest split in the wage data. The BLS setting medians put hospitals highest at $21.83 an hour, skilled nursing facilities at $20.79, and assisted living at $19.33, about a $2.50 spread for the same certification. The $20.79 statewide median sits right in the middle of that range, so the setting you land in is worth weighing alongside the headline number.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), occupation 31-1131. Cost-of-living differential: Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (2024).

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Maryland SNAPSHOT

What makes CNA training in Maryland different

State-specific context (hours, exam vendor, and funding density) now that you’ve seen the options.

TRAINING HOURS

100 hours required

Maryland requires at least 100 hours, including 40 clinical, running 1.3x the 75-hour federal minimum (OBRA '87).

EXAM VENDOR

Credentia, NNAAP

A 70-question NNAAP written test plus a timed 5-skill practical, both booked through Credentia for $130.

PROGRAM COUNT

117 across 62 cities

Maryland's 117 approved programs span 62 cities, ranking it #23 of 50 by program count.

Above-floor training
Statewide program choice
Same NNAAP exam

Maryland's 100 hours sit above the federal floor

Maryland sets CNA training at a minimum of 100 hours, about a third more than the 75-hour federal floor under OBRA '87, and within that mandates 40 clinical hours against a federal clinical minimum of just 16. The clinical share is the part to notice: at two and a half times that federal minimum, Maryland builds in far more supervised, hands-on patient time before you certify. Those extra hours go straight into bedside skills.

Credentia and the NNAAP are Maryland's certification gate

Maryland certifies through Credentia, which runs the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program. The written path is 70 questions; test orally instead and it's 60 multiple-choice items plus 10 reading-comprehension questions. Either way you also complete a 5-skill practical inside a 30-minute window while an evaluator scores you. The full exam costs $130 and is offered in English. Knowing the vendor lets you drill in the exact NNAAP format.

Renewal every 24 months, plus a no-cost GNA add-on

Your certification lives with the Maryland Nurse Aide Registry under the Maryland Board of Nursing, and it renews every 24 months for $40. Maryland also recognizes the Geriatric Nursing Assistant, or GNA, credential, and the Board charges nothing to certify or renew it; the registry listing itself is free as well. Pay statewide runs a median of $20.79 an hour, about 2.9% above the national figure. The registry is also where you confirm your own status before a renewal deadline.

Bottom line for Maryland students

With 117 programs across 62 cities, training that clears the 100-hour requirement, and a $40 two-year renewal, the Maryland question isn't whether to certify but which format and funding fit your week.

CNA classes by city in Maryland

Programs cluster where the people are, so Maryland’s metros list the most options. Baltimore leads with 15 programs, Silver Spring follows with 9, and Frederick, Hagerstown, and Hyattsville each list 4. Use the city breakdown below to find approved programs near you.

Top 10 Maryland metros by program count

  • Baltimore15 programs
  • Silver Spring9 programs
  • Frederick4 programs
  • Hagerstown4 programs
  • Hyattsville4 programs
  • Bel Air3 programs
  • Salisbury3 programs
  • Waldorf3 programs
  • Laurel3 programs
  • Gaithersburg3 programs

Maryland Nurse Aide Registry: contacts & reference

Your certification lives with the Maryland Nurse Aide Registry, run by the Maryland Board of Nursing (MBON). Use the contact details below to verify your status, renew, or ask a question.

Managing agencyMaryland Board of Nursing
Phone(410) 585-1900
Websitehealth.maryland.gov
Typical processingN/A
Renewal windowEvery 24 months
Fee structureCNA renewal $40 for the 2-year period; no charge for GNA certification or renewal; no cost for the registry listing

Always verify with the registry directly before enrolling. Approved-program lists update periodically.

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers to what Maryland CNA candidates ask most about transfers, the registry, the NNAAP exam, and renewal.

Can I transfer my CNA license to Maryland?
Yes, with conditions. Maryland accepts CNA reciprocity, so instead of repeating the 100 hours of training and the NNAAP exam, you apply to the Maryland Nurse Aide Registry to have a certification from another state recognized. Because the exact conditions depend on where you’re transferring from, the Maryland Nurse Aide Registry, run by the Maryland Board of Nursing, has the current rules and the documents you’ll need. You can reach the Board at 410-585-1900 to confirm what applies to your situation.
How do I check my CNA license status in Maryland?
You check your status through the Maryland Nurse Aide Registry, maintained by the Maryland Board of Nursing (MBON). The registry’s verification page is at health.maryland.gov, and you can call the Board at 410-585-1900 if a result looks off. It’s worth confirming your own record before a renewal deadline so you know your Maryland certification shows as current.
What can stop you from getting your CNA license?
In Maryland, the clear requirements are completing 100 hours of state-approved training, including 40 clinical hours, and passing the NNAAP exam through Credentia; missing either will stop your certification. Eligibility can also involve a background review, but Maryland’s specific disqualifiers aren’t spelled out in our data, so the Maryland Nurse Aide Registry, under the Maryland Board of Nursing, is the place to confirm how your particular record is weighed. You can reach the Board at 410-585-1900.
What shows up on a CNA background check?
Our data doesn’t spell out exactly what a Maryland CNA background check covers, so the most reliable source is the Maryland Nurse Aide Registry, run by the Maryland Board of Nursing. They can tell you what the check includes and how any item on your record is handled before you enroll. You can reach the Board at 410-585-1900 to ask about your specific situation.
How many questions are on the CNA test in Maryland?
Maryland’s NNAAP written exam has 70 questions. If you take the oral version instead, it’s 60 multiple-choice questions plus 10 reading-comprehension items. On top of the written or oral test, you complete a 5-skill practical evaluation within 30 minutes, where an evaluator watches you perform nursing-assistant tasks. The full exam, administered by Credentia, costs $130 and is offered in English.
Can I renew my CNA license online?
Maryland CNA certification renews every 24 months through the Maryland Nurse Aide Registry, under the Maryland Board of Nursing, for $40. Whether you can complete that renewal online, and the exact steps involved, are handled by the registry, so check health.maryland.gov or call the Board at 410-585-1900 for the current process. Have your certification number ready before you start.
How much is CNA renewal in Maryland?
Maryland CNA renewal costs $40 for the two-year period through the Maryland Board of Nursing. If you also hold the Geriatric Nursing Assistant (GNA) credential, there’s no charge for GNA certification or renewal, and the registry listing itself carries no cost. Renewal comes due every 24 months, so note your date when you first certify with the Maryland Nurse Aide Registry.
Can I still work if my CNA license expires?
Maryland CNA certification renews every 24 months through the Maryland Nurse Aide Registry, run by the Maryland Board of Nursing, for $40. What happens if it lapses, and how you restore active status, are governed by the registry’s rules rather than anything we can state here, so contact the Board at 410-585-1900 before your date passes. The safest move is to renew ahead of the deadline so your status never has a gap.
How long does CNA renewal take in Maryland?
Maryland doesn’t publish a typical processing time for CNA renewal in our data, so it’s best not to wait until your expiration date. Renewal runs every 24 months through the Maryland Board of Nursing and costs $40. Filing early is the safe approach: submit ahead of your deadline and confirm with the Maryland Nurse Aide Registry once your renewal posts.
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