Free Illinois CNA Practice Test 2026 — 85-Question SIUC/INACE Exam

Here is everything Illinois candidates need to know before scheduling their exam — Illinois's exam is structured differently from almost every other state, not just a different question count: • Training required: 120 hours (at least 40 hours supervised clinical) — well above the 75-hour federal minimum • Exam vendor: Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC), running the Illinois Nurse Assistant Competency Exam (INACE) via nurseaidetesting.com, on behalf of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) • Written exam: 85 questions, 90 minutes — more questions than the standard 70-question format • Passing score: 75% — higher than the 70% most states require • Skills evaluation: NOT given by SIUC on exam day. Your own training program's instructor (or an independent "Outside Approved Evaluator" for facility-based programs) evaluates you on the state's 21 official Performance Skills — you must be prepared on all 21, since you aren't told in advance which ones will be checked. You must pass this before you're even eligible to register for the written exam. • Exam fee: $85 for the written exam (first attempt); $85 to retake after a fail; $55 to reschedule a no-show — all within 12 months of completing training • Retake limit: 2 retakes (3 total attempts), all within 12 months of your training program's completion date — a shorter window than the 24-month window most states use • Registry: Illinois Health Care Worker Registry (HCWR), maintained by IDPH If you've studied using a generic "70 questions in 2 hours, skills test at the testing site" practice plan, recalibrate on two fronts: the written exam itself (85 questions, 90 minutes, 75% to pass) and the skills requirement, which your training program — not SIUC — is responsible for signing off on before you can even schedule the written exam.

To become a Certified Nurse Assistant in Illinois, you must complete a state-approved Basic Nursing Assistant Training Program (BNATP), pass a performance skills evaluation administered by your own training program, and then pass the Illinois Nurse Assistant Competency Exam (INACE) — the written exam — administered by Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) on behalf of IDPH. Illinois requires a minimum of 120 hours of CNA training, including at least 40 hours of supervised clinical practice in a long-term care setting. Unlike most states, Illinois splits its two certification requirements between two different parties: • The skills evaluation: your training program's instructor (or an outside evaluator, for facility-based programs) tests you on the state's 21 official Performance Skills. You must pass this before your instructor will submit you as eligible to register for the written exam. • The written exam: administered separately by SIUC — 85 multiple-choice questions, 90 minutes, 75% passing score. Only after both are complete does your name go on the Illinois Health Care Worker Registry.

Illinois doesn't use the national NNAAP content outline — SIUC's own job-task validation study groups the INACE written exam into six broad duty areas, based on 200 validated nurse aide tasks: • Performing Basic Nursing Skills (59 of 200 tasks, ~30%) • Performing Personal Care Skills (43 of 200 tasks, ~22%) • Performing Basic Restorative Skills (42 of 200 tasks, ~21%) • Communicating Information (31 of 200 tasks, ~16%) • Providing Residents' Rights (14 of 200 tasks, ~7%) • Providing Mental Health and Social Service Needs (11 of 200 tasks, ~6%) SIUC doesn't publish these as an official locked-in per-question percentage table the way some other vendors do — this breakdown reflects the underlying task-analysis study that the 85-question exam blueprint is built from. Either way, there's no single dominant category like the 45% Physical Care Skills weighting most states use: Basic Nursing Skills and Personal Care Skills together make up around half the exam, with the rest spread across the other four areas.

The Illinois INACE written exam is administered at IDPH-approved testing sites managed through nurseaidetesting.com. Testing is available throughout the state including: • Chicago (multiple locations) • Aurora and the western suburbs • Rockford • Springfield • Peoria • Champaign-Urbana • Joliet • Elgin • Naperville To find the nearest testing site and available exam dates, visit nurseaidetesting.com and search for Illinois nurse aide testing. You can only register for a written exam seat after your training instructor has verified you passed the skills evaluation and submitted you on the official class roster. Chicago-area testing slots fill up quickly — schedule as soon as your instructor confirms your eligibility.

Unlike every other state on this site, Illinois's skills evaluation is not administered by the exam vendor and does not happen on the same day as the written exam. It happens during or at the end of your training program, administered by your own instructor (or, for facility-based programs, an independent "Outside Approved Evaluator" with no financial ties to your employer). The state defines 21 official Performance Skills. Your program is required to test you on a minimum of 5, but because you won't be told in advance which ones, you need to be prepared to demonstrate any of all 21 competently. Handwashing is embedded in every skill — perform it correctly at the start and end of each one, since missed hand hygiene is a common reason candidates fail. Your instructor cannot submit your name on the official roster for the written exam until you've passed the skills evaluation. There's no published statewide time limit for this step — it's set by each individual training program.

Illinois's 120-hour training requirement is one of the most thorough in the country, but the written exam still has a real failure rate — don't treat the extra training hours as a substitute for dedicated exam prep. 1. Take a full 85-question diagnostic practice test before studying. Illinois's content split doesn't have one dominant 45% category, so review your scores across all six duty areas rather than assuming one topic matters most. 2. Prioritize Basic Nursing Skills and Personal Care Skills — together close to half the exam — but don't neglect Basic Restorative Skills and Communicating Information, which combined are nearly as large. 3. Practice under timed conditions — 90 minutes for 85 questions. 4. Target 85% on practice tests before your real exam — a real buffer above Illinois's 75% passing bar. 5. For the skills requirement, remember your instructor decides which of the 21 official skills to test and won't tell you in advance — practice all 21 to mastery, not just a handful. CertPrepAcademy.com offers a free NNAAP-style practice test with 500+ questions — no account required.

After you pass both the training-program skills evaluation and SIUC's written exam, your name is added to the Illinois Health Care Worker Registry (HCWR) maintained by IDPH. Illinois employers are required by law to verify registry status through hcwrpub.dph.illinois.gov before hiring — they're not permitted to accept your test results letter or certificate as proof of registry status. To keep your certification active, you must work at least 8 hours of paid nursing-related services under a licensed nurse's supervision during each rolling 24-month period. If you fall inactive, Illinois offers a testing-only recertification pathway rather than requiring you to redo the full training program, provided your background check remains clear. You can verify your Illinois nurse aide registry status through the IDPH Health Care Worker Registry online portal.