Examination Information
Upon receipt of a complete application and approval of the application for a Nursing Home or a Community Residential Care Facility administrator, the applicant is required to take the national and state examinations to become licensed in South Carolina. Board staff will send qualified applicants, by mail or email, the Examination Approval Notice.
This notice provides instructions on how to register for the examination(s). The applicant will have thirty days as stated in the approval letter to register for the national and/or state exam with National Association of Board for Long Term Care Administrators (NAB). Upon registering for the exam, an ATT (Authorization to Test letter) will be e-mailed to the applicant with instructions on setting up the test dates for the examination(s). The applicant will be given a 60 day window to take the examination(s).
Applicants must be approved by the Board prior to being issued an Examination Approval Notice. Applicants will not be able to apply with NAB to take the exam without the notice.
Community Residential Care Facility Administrator exam fees:
National and SC State $500;
National only $325;
SC State only $190
Nursing Home Administrator:
National and SC State $550;
National only $375;
SC State only $190
The Community Residential Care Facility Administrator
The national examination for Community Residential Care Facility Administrators consists of 150 multiple-choice questions. The national exam consists of the National Association of Boards of Long Term Health Care Administrators (NAB) Core of Knowledge Exam (CORE) and the Residential Care and Assisted Living Administrators (RC/AL) Line Of Service exam. Study material such as the Exam Candidate Handbook, NAB Study Guide, Exam References and Practice Exams can be found on the NAB website.
The state exam for Community Residential Care Facility Administrators consists of 50 multiple-choice questions. The state exam is based on S.C. Regulation 61-84, Standards for Licensing Community Residential Care Facilities established by the Department of Health and Environmental Control-Division of Health Licensing. Please contact DHEC at (803) 545-4370 for the regulation book or go to www.scdhec.gov.
Nursing Home Administrator
The national examination for Nursing Home Administrators consists of 150 multiple choice questions. The national exam consists of the National Association of Boards of Long Term Health Care Administrators (NAB) Core of Knowledge Exam (CORE) and the Nursing Home Administrators (NHA) Line of Service exam. Study material such as the Exam Candidate Handbook, NAB Study Guide, Exam References and Practice Exams can be found on the NAB website.
The state exam for Nursing Home Administrators consists of 50 multiple-choice questions. The state exam is based on S.C. Regulation 61-17, Standards for Licensing Nursing Homes established by the Department of Health and Environmental Control Division of Health Licensing. Please contact DHEC at (803) 545-4370 for the regulation book or go to www.scdhec.gov.
How often is the license exam given?
The license exams are given year-round by computer-based testing. The exams are given at Prometric (a.k.a. Sylvan) Testing Centers throughout the United States.
How long can one spend taking the examination?
The time limit for the national portion of the exam is 3 hours. The time limit for the state portion of the exam is 2 hours.
How many questions are on the exam?
There are 150 multiple-choice questions on the national exam and 50 multiple-choice questions on the state exam. This applies to both the nursing home administrator and community residential care facility administrator license exams.
- The examinations are administered on a computer at PSI Testing Centers throughout the United States.
- RECIPROCITY INFORMATION: South Carolina does not issue a reciprocal license to out-of-state licensed administrators. However, licensed administrators from out-of-state who have already passed the national examination (NAB) may have their score transferred to the South Carolina Board or have the state of original licensure complete the Endorsement Licensure Questionnaire.
- Endorsement Licensure Questionnaire.pdf