Free South Dakota CNA Practice Test 2026 — 80-Question Exam

Here is what every South Dakota CNA candidate needs to know before sitting for the exam — South Dakota recently restructured its process, and it's now genuinely different from the generic NNAAP template in more ways than one: • Training required: 75 hours (federal minimum) • Written exam vendor: HDmaster (D&S Diversified Technologies), approved by the South Dakota Board of Nursing • Skills evaluation: NOT given by HDmaster. Your own training program provides an RN Skills Evaluator who tests you on 4 of 22 official skills (randomly assigned based on your birth month and day), typically during your skills lab or at the end of your 75-hour training — before you even register for the written exam. • Written exam: 80 questions, 60 minutes • Passing score: 75% • Exam fee: $45 for the written exam (first attempt or retake, including audio) — this covers HDmaster's portion only; your training program handles the skills evaluation separately, typically at no extra HDmaster fee • Retake limit: 2 retakes (3 total attempts) on the written exam; after that, additional instruction is required • Registry: South Dakota Nurse Aide Registry, maintained by the South Dakota Board of Nursing 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 (80 questions, 60 minutes) and the skills requirement, which your training program — not HDmaster — is responsible for.

To become a Certified Nurse Aide in South Dakota, you must complete a 75-hour Board-approved training program, pass a Board-approved skills evaluation administered through your training program, and pass the South Dakota nurse aide knowledge exam administered by HDmaster (D&S Diversified Technologies) on behalf of the South Dakota Board of Nursing. Unlike most states, South Dakota splits its two certification requirements between two different parties: • The skills evaluation: your training program provides an RN Skills Evaluator who tests you on 4 of 22 official skills, randomly assigned based on your birth month and day. • The written exam: administered separately by HDmaster — 80 multiple-choice questions, 60 minutes, 75% passing score. You have 2 years from completing training to test. Only after both requirements are complete does your name go on the South Dakota Nurse Aide Registry.

South Dakota doesn't use the national NNAAP content outline — the Board's own test plan breaks the 80 questions into 9 broader content domains: • Basic Nursing Skills, Data Collection, and Personal Care (24 questions) — a combined mega-category covering acts and activities necessary to perform the job of a CNA • Physical Health and Illness (10 questions) • Role and Responsibility (8 questions) • Infection Control (7 questions) • Mental Health and Illness (7 questions) • Safety (7 questions) • Basic Rights (6 questions) • Communication and Interpersonal Skills (6 questions) • Aging Process (5 questions) The combined "Basic Nursing Skills, Data Collection, and Personal Care" category alone makes up 30% of the exam — the closest thing South Dakota has to a dominant category, though it's structured very differently from the generic 45% Physical Care Skills weighting most states use.

The South Dakota CNA written exam is administered by HDmaster (D&S Diversified Technologies) at testing centers in the state: • Sioux Falls • Rapid City • Aberdeen • Brookings • Watertown • Mitchell • Huron • Pierre To find the nearest testing center and available exam dates, visit hdmaster.com and search for South Dakota nurse aide. Sioux Falls and Rapid City have the most testing availability.

Unlike every other state on this site, South Dakota's skills evaluation is not administered by HDmaster and does not happen on exam day. It happens during or at the end of your 75-hour training program, administered by an RN Skills Evaluator affiliated with your training program. The state defines 22 official skill checklists. You're randomly assigned 4 of them based on your birth month and day — for example, if you were born in March, your assigned skills are determined by that month. Because you won't know in advance which skills apply to your birthdate until assigned, you need to be prepared on all 22. Handwashing is embedded in the skills evaluation — missed hand hygiene is a common reason candidates don't pass. Your training program's instructor submits your completed skills checklist forms directly to the Board — you don't need to separately schedule or pay for this step through HDmaster.

South Dakota's written exam first-attempt pass rate is approximately 70–75%. 1. Take a full 80-question diagnostic practice test before studying. South Dakota's categories are broader than most HDmaster states — review your scores across all nine domains. 2. Prioritize the combined "Basic Nursing Skills, Data Collection, and Personal Care" category — 30% of the exam, the largest by far. 3. Practice under timed conditions — 60 minutes for 80 questions, a faster pace per question than the generic format. 4. Target 85% on practice tests before your real exam — a real buffer above South Dakota's 75% passing bar. 5. For the skills requirement, practice all 22 official skills — your training program decides which 4 apply to you based on your birthdate, not a computer-random draw. CertPrepAcademy.com offers a free NNAAP-style practice test with 500+ questions — no signup required.

After you pass both the training-program skills evaluation and HDmaster's written exam, your name is added to the South Dakota Nurse Aide Registry maintained by the South Dakota Board of Nursing. South Dakota employers must verify registry status before hiring nurse aides in licensed facilities. Your South Dakota CNA certification is valid for 24 months. To maintain active status, you must work as a nurse aide for at least 8 hours for pay during each renewal period. Lapsed certifications require retaking the competency exam. Registry status can be verified through the South Dakota Board of Nursing website.