What it takes to become a licensed nursing home administrator in Georgia: the Administrator-in-Training (AIT) program and its six routes, preceptors and training sites, the NAB exams that come after the AIT, fees, continuing education, renewal and reciprocity.
| Who licenses | The Georgia State Board of Long-Term Care Facility Administrators (O.C.G.A. § 43-27-2), in the Secretary of State’s Professional Licensing Boards Division |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | Age 21 or older, reputable and responsible character, lawful presence and a Board-approved AIT (Rule 393-3-.02), then the NAB exams (Rule 393-3-.03) |
| AIT requirement | 500, 1,000, 1,500 or 2,000 hours, set by your education and experience (Rule 393-3-.02(d), (g)); none for licensure by reciprocity. See the routes below |
| National exams | NAB Core of Knowledge + NHA Line of Service, both required; taken only after the Board approves your completed AIT, with 6 months to pass (Rules 393-3-.03, 393-4-.02(6)(k)); $480 for the two, paid to NAB |
| State exam | None, and no jurisprudence exam. The Board’s FAQ asks for “both the NHA and CORE components” of the NAB exam, and NAB’s Georgia page lists no state exam |
| Continuing education | 40 hours every two years: at most 32 online, at least 8 in person or by live webinar (Rule 393-13-.01) |
| License renewal | Every two years; all licenses expire 31 December of odd-numbered years, next on 31 December 2027 (Rule 393-5-.01); $125 |
| Board fees | $225 for the AIT application and $100 for the license by exam (Board fee schedule); NAB’s exam fee is separate |
| Official sources | sos.ga.gov (the Board) · Department 393 rules · O.C.G.A. Title 43, Ch. 27 (Justia mirror) · nabweb.org (national exams) |
Verified against the sources above, September 2026. Requirements change; the current rules, as the Board applies them, govern, so confirm with the Board before you apply.
The Georgia State Board of Long-Term Care Facility Administrators licenses nursing home administrators. It was created under that name by O.C.G.A. § 43-27-2 when HB 987 took effect on 30 June 2020; before then it was the State Board of Nursing Home Administrators, the name you will still see on older documents. The Board sits in the Professional Licensing Boards Division of the Georgia Secretary of State, and its rules are Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. Department 393.
Since 30 June 2022 the Board has 11 members, 4 of them nursing home administrators. It also approves AITs, preceptors and training sites.
| Website | The Board’s page · FAQ |
|---|---|
| Applications | Online through GOALS; the Board no longer accepts paper applications |
| Phone | 404-424-9966, or the contact form on the Board’s page |
Rule 393-3-.02, last amended with effect from 25 March 2021, sets the base:
Rule 393-3-.02 sets your Administrator-in-Training (AIT) hours by route. Find the row that matches your education and experience:
| AIT hours | Education and experience | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 500 hours | A doctorate or master’s degree in health administration, health services administration, health care administration, nursing, or another related healthcare degree | 393-3-.02(d)1 |
| 1,000 hours | A bachelor’s degree in one of those fields or another healthcare related degree | 393-3-.02(d)2 |
| 1,500 hours | An associate degree in nursing or LPN certification, plus 4 years full time in a skilled nursing facility, the last 2 in management | 393-3-.02(d)3 |
| 2,000 hours | 6 years full time in a skilled nursing facility, the last 3 in management, plus at least 48 semester or 90 quarter units of college | 393-3-.02(d)4 |
| 2,000 hours | 8 years full time in a skilled nursing facility, the last 5 in management, plus a high school diploma | 393-3-.02(d)5 |
| 2,000 hours | A doctorate, master’s or bachelor’s degree in a field outside of healthcare | 393-3-.02(g) |
Management experience means “full-time employment as a department manager or licensed professional supervising a staff of two or more employees in a skilled nursing facility or skilled nursing hospital unit” (393-3-.02(e)). A year of college is 45 quarter or 24 semester hours at a regionally accredited school (393-3-.02(f)). So a high school diploma is enough only with 8 years full time in a skilled nursing facility, the last 5 in management, and a 2,000-hour AIT.
In Georgia the NAB exams come after the AIT. “No applicant shall be approved to register and sit for the national exam prior to” the Board approving your AIT completion (393-3-.03(1)). From the Board’s approval notice you have:
A training site needs “a minimum of sixty (60) licensed beds.” A home with 60 to 100 beds may train one AIT at a time, and a home with 101 or more beds up to two. The administrator of record applies for the site with a fee and copies of all its surveys from the last 18 months; affiliations can cure deficiencies. Site approval expires 31 December of odd-numbered years (393-4-.02(3)). Every preceptor and site in your AIT must be licensed by the Board (393-4-.05).
Under Rule 393-4-.02(4)(c), your preceptor must:
The preceptor is “solely responsible” for your compliance and signs your monthly and final reports (4)(a). A preceptor who leaves must tell the Board by registered mail within 10 business days (4)(e). Preceptor approval expires 31 December of odd-numbered years, and AIT hours logged from 1 January of an even year under a preceptor or at a training site that has not been re-approved are not accepted (393-4-.02(5)(c)).
Other states: AIT Hours by State.
The free AIT Planner turns your AIT hours into a plan across facility departments. The department split is our planning aid, not a Georgia rule; Rule 393-4-.02(6)(c) lists the areas your schedule must cover, so agree the plan with your preceptor. No account needed.
Open the free AIT PlannerGeorgia requires both exams from NAB, the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards; the Board’s FAQ asks for “both the NHA and CORE components.”
| Core of Knowledge | 125 questions (100 scored, 25 pretest); 130 minutes to answer, within 150 minutes of seat time, per NAB’s candidate handbook |
|---|---|
| NHA Line of Service | 75 questions (60 scored, 15 pretest); 70 minutes to answer, within 90 minutes of seat time, per NAB’s candidate handbook |
| Delivery | Pearson VUE |
| Fee | $480 for the Core and NHA together, paid to NAB, from 1 February 2026 |
More in NAB Exam Format and The Core Domains Explained.
Georgia has no state exam and no jurisprudence exam. The exam and AIT rules (393-3-.03, 393-4-.02) and the reciprocity rule (393-9-.02) name only the national exam; no Department 393 rule sets a state exam, and NAB’s Georgia page lists none.
The NAB exams are national exams, not Georgia exams. Once you run a Georgia nursing home, you answer to Georgia’s nursing home rules (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. Chapter 111-8-56) and statutes, and to 42 CFR Part 483 if the home is certified for Medicare or Medicaid. Five differences you will meet on the job, each with the Georgia section:
| Topic | Federal rule (42 CFR 483) | Georgia rule | Section |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing hours per resident | No numeric hours-per-resident-day minimum; the facility must have “sufficient nursing staff” (483.35). CMS’s 2024 minimums (3.48 hours per resident day and a 24/7 RN), which were never enforced, were repealed by an interim final rule published 3 December 2025 and effective 2 February 2026 (90 FR 55687) | “A minimum of 2.0 hours of direct nursing care per patient in a 24-hour period” | 111-8-56-.04(6) |
| Licensed nurses in the nursing staff | Licensed nurses on a 24-hour basis and a licensed charge nurse on each tour of duty (483.35(a)); a registered nurse “for at least 8 consecutive hours a day, 7 days a week” (483.35(b)(1)), unless waived; no ratio of licensed nurses to total nursing staff | At least one RN or LPN employed “For every seven (7) total nursing personnel required” | 111-8-56-.04(6) |
| Director of nursing | A registered nurse as director of nursing on a full-time basis, unless waived (483.35(b)(2)), who may serve as charge nurse only when average daily occupancy is 60 or fewer residents (483.35(b)(3)). Section 483.35 does not address the director of nursing also being the administrator | A full-time RN director of nursing who “shall not also be the administrator”. One director may also cover a nearby second facility if each has a full-time RN assistant | 111-8-56-.04(1), (3) |
| How many facilities one administrator runs | An administrator “Licensed by the State, where licensing is required” (483.70(d)(2)(i)); the rule sets no limit on the number of facilities | An administrator of “not more than one facility”, except that two facilities with common ownership or management on the same premises may share one; in exceptional circumstances the Department may grant a six-month waiver | 111-8-56-.03(1) |
| Reporting suspected abuse | The facility reports alleged abuse, neglect, exploitation or mistreatment, including injuries of unknown source, “immediately, but not later than 2 hours” if it involves abuse or serious bodily injury, and within 24 hours otherwise, to the administrator and to officials including the State Survey Agency (483.12(c)(1)), with investigation results within 5 working days (483.12(c)(4)). Each covered individual also reports a reasonable suspicion of a crime against a resident to the State Agency and law enforcement, within 2 hours if there is serious bodily injury, otherwise within 24 hours (483.12(b)(5); section 1150B of the Social Security Act) | Administrators, managers and other employees with reasonable cause to believe a resident has been abused or exploited report “immediately” by phone or in person to the Department of Community Health (DCH), also report to the appropriate law enforcement agency or prosecuting attorney, and file a written report with DCH within 24 hours | O.C.G.A. § 31-8-82 |
Georgia: Chapter 111-8-56 on Justia’s mirror (rules filed through 12 June 2025; Rules .03 and .04 unchanged since January 2022); O.C.G.A. § 31-8-82 on Justia. Federal: 42 CFR Part 483 in the eCFR. In a certified home you meet both reporting rules. Georgia also runs a fingerprint-based Long-Term Care Background Check Program (O.C.G.A. §§ 31-7-350 to 31-7-361) for owners, applicants and direct access employees; DCH’s FAQ on the program says administrators are fingerprinted too.
From the Board’s fee schedule (rev. 3/2022):
| AIT application | $225 |
|---|---|
| Nursing home administrator license, by exam | $100 |
| License by reciprocity (endorsement) | $200 |
| Training site approval / renewal | $100 / $75 |
| Preceptor approval / renewal | $75 / $50 |
| License renewal, every two years | $125 |
| Late renewal (renewal fee plus 50 percent) | $187.50 |
| Reinstatement | $200 |
| Inactive status / reactivation | $100 / $200 |
The Board’s fee schedule (rev. 3/2022) adds a processing fee to the $225: $10 on a paper application, $5 online. You pay through GOALS, which shows the fee due, so check the amount there. NAB’s Georgia page lists a $200 application fee; the Board’s schedule shows $100 for a license by exam and $200 by reciprocity. With the AIT, a first license comes to $230 ($225 plus the $5 online processing fee) and $105 ($100 plus $5) to the Board, and $480 to NAB.
“Forty (40) clock hours of continuing education are required biennially” (Rule 393-13-.01(1)). Under the rule as amended effective 7 April 2025, at most 32 of the 40 hours may be online, and “At least 8 clock hours must be obtained in-person or via live webinar,” meaning a live, instructor-led webinar with monitored participation (393-13-.01(3)).
“Administrator licenses shall expire on December 31st of each odd-numbered year” (Rule 393-5-.01(1)). The next expiration is 31 December 2027. You renew online in GOALS for $125.
| Lapsed 2 years or less | One cycle of CE, 40 hours |
|---|---|
| More than 2 but under 5 years | Double CE, 80 hours, earned in the prior 2 years |
| 5 years or more | Retake and pass the NAB exam “or another board recognized” exam, within the year before you apply |
| Active license in another state for 2 years or more | Verification of that license plus 40 hours of CE |
Inactive status. The Board may grant it on written request with the fee; you may not practice while inactive (393-12-.01).
Reciprocity. Under Rule 393-9-.02 you need: age 21, good character and lawful presence; verification of a current, unencumbered NHA license sent straight to the Board, plus verification from every state where you have ever been licensed; a pass on the NAB NHA exam “or a board recognized predecessor examination”; and evidence that your state’s standards are “substantially equivalent.” The Board “may consider experience, education, and/or training.” No AIT is required (393-4-.02(1)). The Board’s how-to guide asks for an experience affidavit. The fee is $200, plus a processing fee of $10 for a paper application or $5 online (Board fee schedule, rev. 3/2022). An administrator licensed in another state who holds NAB’s Health Services Executive (HSE) qualification applies on the Board’s separate HSE reciprocity form. Approval is not automatic: at its 10 April 2025 meeting the Board denied several reciprocity applications for lack of substantially equivalent standards.
Temporary licenses. The Board’s FAQ answers “No,” citing O.C.G.A. § 43-27-7, and the Department 393 rules contain no temporary permit. The statute, § 43-27-7(b), does let the Board issue a provisional license to a reciprocity applicant until required exam results are released; the Board’s stated practice is not to issue temporary licenses.
Military. Service members, transitioning service members and military spouses holding a license in good standing whose “training, experience, and testing substantially meet or exceed” Georgia’s can be licensed by reciprocity. Military training and experience gained in a licensed nursing home under a licensed administrator can count toward the AIT and experience requirements if they substantially meet or exceed Georgia’s requirements and are documented to the Board’s satisfaction (Rule 393-9-.03).
The Board does not publish a list of approved sites or preceptors. Its FAQ explains that a site is set up by a facility and its administrator of record to train one specific person, so in practice you build your own AIT.
The practical route. Look for a nursing home with 60 or more licensed beds whose full-time administrator has 5 years as an administrator, the last in Georgia, and has taken GHCA’s preceptor course. The home’s administrator of record applies for site approval and for preceptor approval, and then the Board can approve your AIT application.
Associations. The Georgia Health Care Association (GHCA) runs the preceptor course every Georgia preceptor must complete; phone (678) 289-6555. LeadingAge Georgia represents not-for-profit and other mission-driven aging-services providers. The Board’s rules page lists GHCA, the Georgia Senior Living Association and NAB as resources.
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 Georgia, and the facility rules cited above. Georgia has no state exam, but these are the rules you train and work under.
Citations verified against official sources, September 2026. Provided for reference, not legal advice; the current official text governs. Mirrors are labeled where an official public link is not available.
It depends on your route under Rule 393-3-.02: 500 hours with a master’s or doctorate in health administration, nursing or a related healthcare field; 1,000 with a healthcare bachelor’s; 1,500 with an ADN or LPN plus 4 years full time in a skilled nursing facility, the last 2 in management; 2,000 for the experience routes and for degrees outside healthcare. Reciprocity applicants need no AIT.
No. Georgia requires the two NAB exams, Core of Knowledge and NHA Line of Service, and no state or jurisprudence exam. You may sit for them only after the Board approves your completed AIT, and then you have 6 months to pass (Rules 393-3-.03, 393-4-.02(6)(k)).
40 hours every two years, with at most 32 online and at least 8 in person or by live webinar (Rule 393-13-.01). Hours must be earned within the cycle, so none carry over, and passing the national exam counts as 20 hours. Licenses expire 31 December of odd-numbered years.
The Board publishes no list. You find a nursing home with 60 or more licensed beds whose full-time administrator has 5 years as an administrator, the last in Georgia, and has taken GHCA’s preceptor course; the Board approves the site, the preceptor and your application before you start (Rule 393-4-.02).
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