How to become a licensed nursing home administrator in Colorado: the three routes, the Administrator-in-Training (AIT) program, the NAB and Colorado state exams, and renewal, with section numbers.
| Who licenses | The State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators, Division of Professions and Occupations, Department of Regulatory Agencies (C.R.S. 12-265-106) |
|---|---|
| Who can apply | Age 21 or older, by one of three routes: the AIT, a qualifying degree, or a degree plus a year of administrative experience (C.R.S. 12-265-108(1)) |
| AIT requirement | 1,000 hours within one year, on the AIT route only; the Board can waive up to 500 hours for administrative experience (C.R.S. 12-265-109; Rule 1.12). The degree routes need no AIT |
| National exams | A Board-approved national exam (Rule 1.5); for NHAs, NAB’s Core of Knowledge (CORE) and NHA Line of Service |
| State exam | Required: a Colorado state exam as well as NAB, both passed within one year of approval to test (Rule 1.5) Details ↓ |
| Continuing education | None set: Colorado’s statute and rules set no continuing education hours for renewal (Rule 1.10) |
| Renewal | Every year; licenses expire on the last day of February, with a 60-day grace period (Rule 1.10) |
| Official sources | dpo.colorado.gov/NursingHome (the Board) · 3 CCR 717-1 (Secretary of State) · C.R.S. Title 12, Article 265 (Justia mirror) · nabweb.org (national exams) |
Verified September 2026. “Rule” numbers are sections of 3 CCR 717-1, the Board’s rules; C.R.S. is the Colorado Revised Statutes. Rule and statute text is quoted from the Justia and colorado.public.law copies, current through June 2025; the rule change of 14 September 2025 touched only Rule 1.16 and Appendix A.
The license comes from the State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators, in the Division of Professions and Occupations (DPO) of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). Its website is dpo.colorado.gov/NursingHome; the office is at 1560 Broadway, Suite 1350, Denver, CO 80202, phone 303-894-7800, email dora_NHA@state.co.us.
The law is the Nursing Home Administrators Practice Act, C.R.S. Title 12, Article 265, and the Board’s rules are 3 CCR 717-1, Rules and Regulations for Nursing Home Administrators; the current version took effect on 14 September 2025. Nursing homes themselves answer to a different agency, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), under its facility rules, 6 CCR 1011-1 (Chapter 2, General Licensure, and Chapter 5, Nursing Care Facilities).
Sunset review. SB 23-155, signed on 2 June 2023, continued the Board, and C.R.S. 12-265-123 now reads: “This article 265 is repealed, effective September 1, 2028.” The COPRRR review schedule lists Nursing Home Administrators under its 2027 sunset reports. The same bill added discipline for “failing to respond to a complaint” and, from 1 January 2024, requires administrators to submit to a check of the CDHS adult protective services (CAPS) data system.
Every applicant “is twenty-one years of age or older”, pays the fee and submits “evidence of suitability” (C.R.S. 12-265-108(1)). The statute then gives three routes to the exams, and only one of them is the AIT. Rule 1.7 fills in the degree routes and adds a time limit: the AIT or route (b) degree, or route (c)’s year of experience, must fall within the two years before you apply (Rule 1.7.B, C).
| Route | What you need | AIT | C.R.S.; 3 CCR 717-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) The AIT | Complete “the administrator-in-training program”. To enter it: two years of college-level study in areas relating to health care, or experience in its place (Rule 1.12.B) | Yes: 1,000 hours, of which the Board can waive up to 500 for administrative experience | 12-265-108(1)(a); Rule 1.12 |
| (b) A qualifying degree | A bachelor’s or higher in public health administration or health administration; a master’s in management or business administration; or “any degree or degrees deemed appropriate by the board” | No | 12-265-108(1)(b); Rule 1.7 |
| (c) A degree and a year of experience | An associate’s or higher in a health-care-related field, or a bachelor’s in business or public administration, plus at least one year of administrative experience in a nursing home or hospital | No | 12-265-108(1)(c); Rule 1.7 |
| Licensed in another state | A current unrestricted license (or a military occupational specialty), at least 1 year of active practice and the national exam, through endorsement | No; you still pass the Colorado state exam within 1 year | 12-265-112; Rule 1.8 |
If you take route (a), the Administrator-in-Training program is 1,000 hours. The statute makes you eligible “Upon successful completion of the one-thousand-hour training period” (C.R.S. 12-265-109(1)), and Rule 1.12.C asks for “A full AIT program plan for a period of 1,000 hours ... not to exceed one year”. The Board can shorten it by up to 500 hours for prior administrative experience. Applicants on routes (b) and (c) need no AIT at all.
Rule 1.12.E sets who can supervise you:
Other states: AIT Hours by State.
The free AIT Planner helps you plan your AIT hours across facility departments. Colorado’s rule asks for a Board-approved 1,000-hour plan with objectives and sets no department schedule, so any split is our planning aid, not a Colorado rule; agree on it with your preceptor. No account needed.
Open the free AIT PlannerRule 1.5 asks for “an examination formulated by a national association, approved by the Board”; it does not name the exams. For nursing home administrators, the national exams are NAB’s Core of Knowledge (CORE) and the NHA Line of Service. NAB is the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards, and Pearson VUE delivers both. The figures are from NAB’s Candidate Handbook (September 2026):
| Core of Knowledge | 125 questions (100 scored, 25 pretest), 150 minutes in all, 130 of them for answering questions |
|---|---|
| NHA Line of Service | 75 questions (60 scored, 15 pretest), 90 minutes in all, 70 of them for answering questions |
| Passing score | A scaled score of 113 on each |
| Fee | $480 for CORE and NHA applied for together, from 1 February 2026 (it was $455), paid to NAB. Taken alone, CORE is $320 and NHA is $190 |
| NAB attempts | Since 1 January 2026, up to 4 attempts at each exam per cycle (1 July to 30 June); states may set stricter limits |
| Colorado window | Pass the national and state exams “within one year after approval to take the examination has been granted”, or reapply and pay again (Rule 1.5) |
More in NAB Exam Format and The Core Domains Explained.
Colorado requires its own exam on top of the national one: every applicant “must successfully pass a Board approved national and state examination” (Rule 1.5). Applicants licensed in another state take it too, and must “schedule and pass the Colorado state exam within one year” (Rule 1.8).
| Who gives it | Not NAB: the state exams NAB delivers, listed in its Candidate Handbook, do not include Colorado. The statute has the Board prepare or approve its exams, and “Examinations shall be held at least semiannually” (C.R.S. 12-265-111) |
|---|---|
| Deadline | Pass it, and the national exam, within one year of approval to test, or reapply and pay again (Rule 1.5) |
| Format, score and fee | Rule 1.5 does not set the format, number of questions, passing score or fee. The Board’s State Specific NHA Exam Handbook describes the exam; the Board lists it, as the “State Specific NHA Examination Candidate Handbook”, on its applications page |
Rule 1.5 says the “content areas covered by the state examination may include questions in the following areas”:
Those areas point to CDPHE’s 6 CCR 1011-1, Chapter 2 (General Licensure) and Chapter 5 (Nursing Care Facilities), plus the statutes and rules named above. More in State NHA Exams Explained.
Three places where Colorado sets a different number, or adds a requirement, compared with 42 CFR Part 483. All three come from CDPHE’s Chapter 5 and a Colorado statute:
| Topic | Federal rule (42 CFR 483) | Colorado rule | Section |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered nurse on duty | Unless waived, licensed nurses on a 24-hour basis (483.35(a)(1)) and a registered nurse “for at least 8 consecutive hours a day, 7 days a week” (483.35(b)(1)) | At least one registered nurse “on duty on the premises” at all times, with a rural waiver in section 9.5 | 6 CCR 1011-1 Ch. 5, 9.3(B), 9.5 |
| Nursing hours | Sufficient nursing staff, including licensed nurses, on a 24-hour basis (483.35(a)(1)), with no hours-per-resident-day minimum. CMS repealed the 2024 minimum staffing standards, which were never enforced, by interim final rule published 3 December 2025 (90 FR 55687, effective 2 February 2026) | “No less than two hours of nursing time per resident per day” | 6 CCR 1011-1 Ch. 5, 9.3(C) |
| Reporting mistreatment | Alleged violations reported to the administrator and to officials including the State Survey Agency “immediately, but not later than 2 hours” if they involve abuse or serious bodily injury, otherwise within 24 hours (483.12(c)(1)); a reasonable suspicion of a crime also goes to the State Agency and law enforcement (483.12(b)(5), below) | Facility staff are mandatory reporters: mistreatment (“Abuse; Caretaker neglect; or Exploitation”) of an at-risk elder, 70 or older, or of an at-risk adult with an intellectual and developmental disability is reported “to a law enforcement agency not more than twenty-four hours after” it is observed or discovered. Both rules apply | C.R.S. 18-6.5-108(1); 26-3.1-102(1)(a.5); 18-6.5-102; Ch. 5, 4.8(A) |
The federal nursing home rules (42 CFR Part 483, Subpart B) apply only to facilities certified for Medicare or Medicaid, so a certified Colorado home must meet both sets of rules. On the administrator, the two agree: Chapter 5 requires “an active Colorado nursing home administrator license” (4.1(A)), and the federal rule requires one “Licensed by the State, where licensing is required” (483.70(d)(2)(i)). Federal text as of September 2026.
We build practice sets for state exams one state at a time: questions drawn from the state’s own rules, each cited to its section, the way our Illinois supplement is built. Colorado is not built yet. Leave your email and we will tell you if we build it.
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There is no list of approved programs. Colorado approves each AIT’s own 1,000-hour plan, with a named preceptor (Rule 1.12.C, E). The work, on route (a) only, is finding a qualified preceptor at a facility willing to host you.
Start with the Board. Its applications page has the AIT forms and the Program Plan Recommendations, and the Division’s license roster lists licensed administrators, a way to find possible preceptors near you.
Associations. The Colorado Health Care Association & Center for Assisted Living (CHCA) runs education events and may be able to connect you with member facilities. LeadingAge Colorado offers a 40-hour online training for assisted living administrators, a different role that Colorado does not license.
For the full step-by-step on approaching facilities and preceptors, see How to Find an AIT Preceptor.
NAB exams. $480 for CORE and NHA applied for together, paid to NAB (above).
Colorado fees. The Division’s NHA web pages carry no fee table for the Colorado application, state exam, license or renewal. The statute has the Board “establish ... and publish annually a schedule of fees” (C.R.S. 12-265-110), and the Board’s applications page lists a Nursing Home Administrators Licensing Guide. Ask the Division for the current amounts before you apply.
Your preceptor may not accept pay from you or on your behalf (Rule 1.12.E).
Every year. Colorado licenses “expire on the last day of February every year” (the Board’s applications page), and Rule 1.10.A reads: “A licensee is required to timely renew annually and submit the applicable fee.” You renew online through DORA’s licensing site.
Continuing education. Colorado’s statute and rules set no continuing education hours for renewal. Rule 1.10 asks only for the timely renewal and the fee, and neither C.R.S. 12-265-110 (licenses) nor 12-265-107 (the Board’s powers) mentions continuing education.
Grace period. Rule 1.10.B allows a “sixty day grace period after the expiration of the license”, with a delinquency fee, and practicing during it is not grounds for discipline. After 60 days you may not practice until the license is reinstated.
Reinstatement (Rule 1.11) takes an application and a fee. “If the license has been expired for more than two years”, you also send a National Practitioner Data Bank report and show competency in one of these ways: 2 years of active practice in another state, a restricted or probationary license, Board-approved courses, or another measure, which can include passing the state or national exam. A hardship waiver is possible.
Endorsement (C.R.S. 12-265-112; Rule 1.8). Licenses by endorsement go through the occupational credential portability program (C.R.S. 12-20-202(3)): a current unrestricted license, or a military occupational specialty; at least 1 year of active practice; the national exam; and the Colorado state exam, passed within 1 year.
Emergency temporary license (Rule 1.9.B). When an administrator dies, is terminated or resigns, the Program Director can issue a replacement administrator a temporary license, “not to exceed ninety days”, with one 90-day extension per occurrence, once the facility attests to the emergency. The holder has completed the AIT or has applied by exam, endorsement or reinstatement. The rules define no separate “acting administrator” status, and Chapter 5 requires the administrator to hold an active Colorado license (4.1(A)).
Hospital administrators (C.R.S. 12-265-110; Rule 1.9.C) can hold a temporary license for up to 12 months: 6 months plus two 90-day extensions, the second reviewed by the Board. It needs a letter from the hospital’s board and ends when the hospital job ends.
Military. Substantially equivalent military education, training or service counts toward licensure (Rule 1.6). A military spouse licensed in another state, whose husband or wife is on active duty and stationed in Colorado, is entitled to temporary licensure (Rule 1.6.B). The Division also offers a Military Spouse Renewal Exemption and Military License Reinstatement (dpo.colorado.gov/Military).
The laws, rules and other sources cited on this page.
Citations verified September 2026. The official rules are on the Colorado Secretary of State’s site; the Justia link is a labeled mirror. For reference, not legal advice; the current official text governs.
Only route (a) needs an AIT, and it is 1,000 hours, completed within one year under a plan and a preceptor the Board approves first (C.R.S. 12-265-109; Rule 1.12). The Board can waive up to 500 hours for prior administrative experience. Applicants with a qualifying degree, or a degree plus a year of nursing home or hospital administrative experience, need no AIT (C.R.S. 12-265-108(1)).
A Board-approved national exam, NAB’s Core of Knowledge and NHA Line of Service, with a scaled score of 113 on each, and the Colorado state exam. You pass both “within one year after approval to take the examination has been granted” (Rule 1.5).
Colorado’s own exam, which NAB does not deliver. Rule 1.5 says it may include long-term care facility laws, licensure and building and fire safety, and the laws and rules for administrators. The Board’s State Specific NHA Exam Handbook describes the exam. Applicants licensed in another state take it too (Rule 1.8).
Colorado’s statute and rules set no continuing education hours for renewal: Rule 1.10 requires a timely renewal each year and the fee. Licenses expire on the last day of February, with a 60-day grace period.
Colorado has no list of approved AIT programs; the Board approves each AIT’s plan and preceptor (Rule 1.12). Start with the Board’s AIT forms and its license roster. A preceptor has been licensed at least 3 years, with the last 24 months in Colorado, and takes one AIT at a time; the Board can make exceptions to the last two (Rule 1.12.E).
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