An initial Alaska license takes age 19 or older, an associate degree or higher, one of three experience routes (the 1,000-hour Administrator-in-Training (AIT) program, 12 months of management experience or the NAB HSE credential) and the two national NAB exams. There is no state exam, and no continuing education requirement. Administrators licensed in another state can apply for a license by credentials, without the exam.
| Who licenses | The Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, through its Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing (AS 08.70.050) |
|---|---|
| Initial license | Age 19 or older, an associate degree or higher, an experience route and the NAB exams (12 AAC 46.010(a)). See the requirements |
| Experience | One of three routes: the AIT, 12 months of management experience, or the NAB HSE credential (12 AAC 46.010(b)) |
| AIT | 1,000 hours, finished within two years and approved by the Department before it starts (12 AAC 46.041). See the AIT rules |
| National exams | NAB CORE and NHA Line of Service, both required; $480 for the two together, paid to NAB |
| State exam | None. Alaska uses only the NAB exams, passed with a scaled score of 113 (12 AAC 46.030) |
| Continuing education | None required. Renewal is a signed statement plus $250 every two years (12 AAC 46.070) |
| License period | Two years, ending 31 December of even-numbered years; the next expiration is 31 December 2026 |
| Fees | $375 for a first license ($125 application, $250 for the first two years); $250 to renew (12 AAC 02.290) |
| Other ways in | License by credentials for administrators licensed in another state, and a six-month provisional license (AS 08.70.110(b), 08.70.130). See moving to Alaska |
| Official sources | commerce.alaska.gov (the Department) · AS 08.70 and 12 AAC 46 (the booklet) · nabweb.org (national exams) |
Checked against the sources above, September 2026. The current statute and rules govern.
Your license comes from the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. AS 08.70.050, “Regulation by department,” says “the department shall (1) adopt standards for licensing nursing home administrators,” and AS 08.70.180 defines “department” as that Department. Its program page says “The Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing staffs the nursing home administrator program.”
The law. The statute is AS 08.70 and the Department’s rules are 12 AAC 46. Fees are set in 12 AAC 02.290, in the Department’s general licensing rules (12 AAC 02).
| Website | Nursing home administrator program |
|---|---|
| Phone | (907) 465-2550 |
| NursingHomeAdministrators@Alaska.Gov | |
| PO Box 110806, Juneau, AK 99811-0806 | |
| Applications | Online through MyAlaska (MY LICENSE), or on form 08-4020 in the application packet |
12 AAC 46.010(a) sets five requirements for an initial license, whichever experience route you take. An applicant must:
Apply to the Department first. Its program page says applicants “must first submit an initial application (form #08-4020) to the department to request approval to apply for the NHA Examination.”
12 AAC 46.010(b) asks for one of these, and the application packet lists them as alternatives. The AIT is one route of three, not a requirement for everyone.
| 12 months of experience | At least 12 months of health care facility management experience; the months need not be consecutive (46.010(b)(1)). Each counted month needs at least 40 hours, supervised by a health care facility administrator, in institutional management: general administration, fiscal management, personnel, client care, the physical facility, federal and state regulations, and public relations (46.010(c)). A current or former supervisor verifies it on form 08-4020a |
|---|---|
| The AIT | 1,000 hours of training under a preceptor, finished within two years and approved by the Department before it starts, or an AIT approved by another licensing jurisdiction (46.010(b)(2), 46.041). See the AIT rules |
| NAB HSE credential | A valid and active Health Care Services Executive credential from NAB (46.010(b)(3)). The credential meets the experience requirement, and you still need the degree and the exam |
If you choose the AIT route, 12 AAC 46.041 governs the program.
| Hours | At least 1,000 hours of training and education (46.041(b)(3)) |
|---|---|
| Time limit | Finished within two years of the date of the AIT program proposal (46.041(b)(4)) |
| Content | Every activity and form in NAB’s National Administrator Residency/AIT Program Manual, 2021 Edition, which the rule adopts by reference (46.041(b)(2)). NAB’s manual page now offers 2025 revisions of Module 3, so ask the Department which edition to follow |
| Supervision | Under the guidance of a preceptor who meets 12 AAC 46.051 (46.041(b)(1)) |
| Approval first | Before you begin, you submit the license application (form 08-4020), the application fee and the AIT proposal (form 08-4020b). The Department’s program page says to “receive approval from the department before beginning the program.” (46.041(c); packet) |
| The proposal | Shows the expected completion date of each activity and the preceptor’s qualifications, and is “signed by both the applicant and the preceptor.” Form 08-4020b divides the program into five phases, each with an expected completion date |
| Fee | No separate AIT fee: the proposal goes in with the license application and its $125 fee (46.041(c)) |
| Late proposal | An applicant whose program began before the proposal was filed may apply if the program was “completed not more than 12 months before” the filing or “will be completed not more than two years after” it (46.041(d)) |
| Final report | On form 08-4020c the preceptor certifies that you met all the NAB manual requirements, that the program ran 1,000 hours or more, that weekly conferences were held and that it was finished within the two-year window |
Under 12 AAC 46.051, your preceptor must:
The preceptor must also “conduct a weekly supervisory conference with the AIT to monitor the education and activities of the AIT” (46.051(b)). NAB offers a free AIT manual and, for a $15 fee, preceptor training modules.
Other states: AIT Hours by State.
The AIT Planner spreads your hours across 11 department rotations. That split is our planning aid, not an Alaska rule: Alaska asks you to complete the activities in NAB’s AIT manual, and form 08-4020b divides the program into five phases with target dates. No account needed.
Open the free AIT PlannerAlaska has no state exam. 12 AAC 46.030(a) names a single exam: “the Nursing Home Administration Licensing Examination of the NAB,” the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards. Today that is the CORE exam plus the NHA Line of Service exam, and the application packet asks for the NHA and CORE exams through NAB. To pass, “an individual must receive at least a scaled score of 113” (46.030(b)).
| CORE | 125 questions (100 scored, 25 pretest); 130 minutes to answer, within 150 minutes in all, per NAB’s Candidate Handbook (September 2026) |
|---|---|
| NHA Line of Service | 75 questions (60 scored, 15 pretest); 70 minutes to answer, within 90 minutes in all, per the same handbook |
| Passing score | A scaled score of 113, as reported by NAB (12 AAC 46.030(b)) |
| Fee | $480 for CORE and NHA together, from 1 February 2026. Taken alone, CORE is $320 and NHA is $190 (NAB) |
| Scheduling | Pearson VUE, computer-based; book at least 48 hours ahead, with no walk-ins (NAB) |
Why we say there is no state exam. NAB’s handbook lists the state exams that NAB administers for some states: Florida, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. Alaska is not on the list, and 12 AAC 46.030 names only the NAB exam.
The Department’s exam description is out of date. Its program page still describes a 110-item core of knowledge section and a 55-item line of service section given through PSI. NAB’s Exam Info page and Candidate Handbook give 125 and 75 items through Pearson VUE, and this page follows NAB.
Each retake needs a new exam application to NAB. From 1 January 2026, NAB allows up to 4 attempts at each exam per cycle (1 July to 30 June). More in NAB Exam Format and The Core Domains Explained.
Once you run an Alaska nursing home, you work under the state’s nursing facility rules, 7 AAC 12, and under 42 CFR Part 483, Subpart B, which applies only if the home is certified for Medicare or Medicaid. On staffing, the federal side has no hours-per-resident-day minimum: CMS’s 2024 minimum staffing standards, which were never enforced, were repealed by an interim final rule published 3 December 2025 and effective 2 February 2026 (90 FR 55687). Four differences that matter on the job, each with the Alaska section:
| Topic | Federal rule (42 CFR 483) | Alaska rule | Alaska section |
|---|---|---|---|
| RN coverage | Sufficient nursing staff (483.35(a)) and a registered nurse “for at least 8 consecutive hours a day, 7 days a week” (483.35(b)(1)). No hours-per-resident-day minimum | A facility with more than 60 occupied beds needs “two registered nurses on duty during the day shift and one registered nurse on duty during other shifts”, so an RN is on duty on every shift. A smaller facility needs “a registered nurse on duty seven days a week on the day shift and five days a week on the evening shift”. A facility in the same building as a hospital follows a separate rule | 7 AAC 12.275(a), (b), (c) |
| Reporting abuse | Alleged abuse, neglect, exploitation or mistreatment goes to the administrator and the State Survey Agency “immediately, but not later than 2 hours” if it involves abuse or serious bodily injury, otherwise within 24 hours (483.12(c)(1)); investigation results within 5 working days (483.12(c)(4)) | Mandatory reporters include “an administrator or employee of a nursing home”. They report “not later than 24 hours after first having cause for the belief” to “the department’s vulnerable adult centralized intake office” (Department of Health). Knowingly failing to report is a class B misdemeanor. Both reports apply | AS 47.24.010 |
| Restraints and resident rights | Subpart B applies only to homes certified for Medicare or Medicaid. Resident rights are at 483.10 and freedom from abuse and neglect at 483.12 | Before a restraint or psychoactive drug is used, the facility documents less restrictive approaches, explains “risks and benefits” and obtains approval before use, except in a medical emergency. It must also meet 42 CFR 483.10, 483.12, 483.13 and 483.15, as amended 1 July 1991, whether or not it is Medicaid-certified | 7 AAC 12.258(b) to (f) |
| The administrator | The governing body appoints the administrator, who must be “Licensed by the State, where licensing is required” (483.70(d)(2)(i)); that paragraph sets no reporting schedule or budget plan | The administrator must “report to the governing body regularly and at least annually”. Each facility keeps an “institutional budget plan” with an annual operating budget and a three-year capital expenditure plan | 7 AAC 12.640(b)(3), (c) |
One more federal duty applies in every home that received at least $10,000 in federal funds during the preceding year. Each covered individual reports a reasonable suspicion of a crime against a resident to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and one or more law enforcement entities, within 2 hours if there is serious bodily injury and otherwise within 24 hours (483.12(b)(5); section 1150B of the Social Security Act). In Alaska it runs alongside the report to the vulnerable adult intake office.
Alaska: 7 AAC 12 (Justia’s copy, current through 30 May 2025) and AS 47.24.010 (Justia, 2025 code). Federal: 42 CFR Part 483, Subpart B, in the eCFR. In a certified home you meet both.
From 12 AAC 02.290 in the Department’s centralized licensing regulations and the application packet, unless the row names another source. Make payments to “State of Alaska.”
| Initial license application | $125, nonrefundable (12 AAC 02.290; packet) |
|---|---|
| Initial biennial license fee | $250 |
| Total for a permanent license | $375 |
| Provisional license | $100 application and $125 license fee, $225 in all |
| Biennial renewal | $250 |
| AIT proposal | No separate fee; it goes in with the license application (12 AAC 46.041(c)) |
| Late renewal | None set for administrators in 12 AAC 02.290 |
| Military temporary license extension (Department) | $100 |
| NAB exams, CORE and NHA together | $480, paid to NAB, from 1 February 2026. Taken alone, CORE is $320 and NHA is $190 (NAB handbook) |
| NAB score transfer | Free to the first jurisdiction, $70 for each additional one (NAB handbook) |
Alaska requires no continuing education hours. To renew, you send “proof of continued competence consisting of a signed statement completed by the licensee” and the biennial fee (12 AAC 46.070). The statement answers questions about AS 08.70.155 violations and fitness to practice.
Licenses are “issued for a two-year period and expire on December 31 of even-numbered years” (application packet). The Department’s expiration dates page lists nursing home administrators at 12/31/2026. The program page says the renewal application will be available no later than 1 December 2026 and that you cannot renew on any prior renewal form.
License by credentials. Under AS 08.70.110(b), the “department may issue a license without examination to a person holding a current license” as a nursing home administrator from another jurisdiction whose standards are substantially equivalent. You send the full application and arrange for direct verification from the other state (12 AAC 46.020(c)); the application packet says verification must be “sent directly to the department from each jurisdiction where the applicant holds or has ever held a license.”
Provisional license. AS 08.70.130 says “A provisional license may be granted without examination” to a person who meets the standards and is needed to fill an administrator vacancy. The license is “valid for six months and is nonrenewable.” The fees total $225, and you need a letter from the facility stating its need to fill the vacancy. The packet says a provisional license may be converted to a permanent license if the holder pays the additional fees and passes the NAB exams.
Acting as administrator. AS 08.70.080 requires a license to be an administrator. Its only exemption covers people who were managing an Alaska Pioneers’ Home or a hospital with skilled or intermediate care beds on 1 July 1980.
Military. Under AS 08.01.063 and 08.01.064 the Department issues a temporary license for 180 days, extendable once by 180 days for $100, to an active-duty service member with orders to a duty station in Alaska, or to a spouse married to and living with such a member, gives credit for military education, training and service, and defers requirements during combat deployment (AS 08.01.100(g)). Its military licensing page also covers service member and spouse portability under the SCRA, for most license types.
Child support. An applicant in arrears on child support may receive a nonrenewable temporary license valid 150 days (application packet).
The Department approves; it publishes no list. It approves your AIT proposal and your preceptor, and its program page does not publish a list of approved preceptors or programs. Contact it at NursingHomeAdministrators@Alaska.Gov or (907) 465-2550.
Your preceptor works at the training site. Because a preceptor must be a licensed administrator employed at the nursing home where you train (12 AAC 46.051), the practical route is to ask licensed nursing facilities directly.
Association. Alaska Hospital & Healthcare Association (AHHA) describes itself as “Alaska’s statewide association of hospitals, nursing homes, and healthcare partners.” Its workforce and Find Your Fit pages cover careers in the field.
For approaching facilities and preceptors step by step, see How to Find an AIT Preceptor and an Approved Program.
The legal sources for nursing home administrator licensure in Alaska, and the facility rules cited above.
Citations checked September 2026 against the Department’s booklet of AS 08.70 and 12 AAC 46, its application packet, NAB and the eCFR. The 7 AAC 12 and AS 47.24.010 links are Justia’s copies of the official text. Provided for reference, not legal advice; the current official text governs.
If you take the AIT route, at least 1,000 hours, finished within two years of the program proposal and approved by the Department before you begin (12 AAC 46.041). The AIT is one of three routes: 12 months of health care facility management experience or the NAB HSE credential also meet the experience requirement (12 AAC 46.010(b)).
For an initial license, the Nursing Home Administration Licensing Examination of the NAB, with a scaled score of 113 (12 AAC 46.030). Alaska has no state exam. License by credentials needs no exam (AS 08.70.110(b)).
The Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, through its Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing (AS 08.70.050). The rules are in 12 AAC 46.
None. Renewal takes a signed statement of continued competence and $250 every two years (12 AAC 46.070). Licenses expire on 31 December of even-numbered years, and the next expiration is 31 December 2026.
Yes, through license by credentials. AS 08.70.110(b) lets the Department issue a license without examination to a person holding a current license from a jurisdiction with substantially equivalent standards, with verification sent directly from each state (12 AAC 46.020(c)).
The Department approves the AIT proposal and preceptor, and its program page does not publish a list. Your preceptor must be a licensed administrator employed at the nursing home where you train (12 AAC 46.051), so ask licensed nursing facilities directly.
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