What it takes to become a licensed nursing home administrator in Kansas (legally, an adult care home administrator): eligibility, the Administrator-in-Training (AIT) practicum, the NAB and Kansas exams, fees, continuing education, renewal and finding a preceptor, with section numbers.
| Who licenses | The Board of Adult Care Home Administrators, attached to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) (K.S.A. 65-3506); KDADS Health Occupations Credentialing processes applications |
|---|---|
| Education | A bachelor’s or higher degree from an accredited college or university; the rule names no field (K.A.R. 26-38-2(a)) |
| AIT requirement | 480 hours in no more than 3 settings, not in assisted living or residential health care; 20 hours off for an adult care home operator course and up to 240 for some administrator experience (K.A.R. 26-38-2(c), (d)) |
| National exams | NAB Core of Knowledge (CORE) and NHA Line of Service, a scaled score of 113 on each to pass, $480 for the two applied for together, paid to NAB (K.A.R. 26-38-4; NAB) |
| State exam | Required: the state law examination, given by the state. 75 percent to pass, and the rule sets no limit on retakes (K.A.R. 26-38-4(c), (j)) Details ↓ |
| Continuing education | 50 clock-hours every two years, with no carryover (K.A.R. 26-38-8) |
| Renewal | Every two years, by June 30 of the year the license expires; $100, or $50 more if late (K.A.R. 26-38-8, 26-38-11) |
| Official sources | kdads.ks.gov (the Board) · K.S.A. 65-3501 et seq. · K.A.R. 26-38 (mirror) · nabweb.org (national exams) |
Verified against the sources above, September 2026. K.S.A. is the Kansas Statutes Annotated; K.A.R. is the Kansas Administrative Regulations. Requirements change, so confirm with KDADS before you apply.
Kansas law calls the job adult care home administrator. The license is issued by the Board of Adult Care Home Administrators (BACHA), seven members appointed by the governor for three-year terms, three of them licensed administrators. The board is attached to KDADS (K.S.A. 65-3506), and KDADS Health Occupations Credentialing (HOC) processes applications and renewals. HOC’s phone is (785) 296-0061. The board’s rules are K.A.R. 26-38-1 to 26-38-11, all effective 2 October 2020.
You need the license to run a nursing facility, a nursing facility for mental health or an intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disability (ICF/IID), except one serving only people with intellectual disability and licensed for 16 or fewer beds, and also an assisted living or residential health care facility licensed for more than 60 residents (K.S.A. 65-3501(a), 65-3502).
The Administrator-in-Training (AIT) practicum is set out in K.A.R. 26-38-2:
A preceptor holds a current Kansas administrator license that is not suspended or limited, and, within the preceding five years, has had three years of full-time experience or 5,000 hours of experience as a licensed administrator of a nursing facility, a nursing facility for mental health or an ICF/IID (K.A.R. 26-38-1). The preceptor is either the full-time administrator of record or a licensed administrator who directly supervises the administrator of record, supervises you directly in the facility, and supervises no more than two trainees at a time (26-38-2(c)). Preceptors may claim 15 CE hours for each trainee (26-38-8).
Other states: AIT Hours by State.
The free AIT Planner turns your 480 hours into a plan across facility departments. That split is our planning aid, not a Kansas rule: your program’s board-approved curriculum comes first, so agree the plan with your preceptor. No account needed.
Open the free AIT PlannerK.A.R. 26-38-4(a) requires you to “pass a national examination and a state law examination”. The national exam is NAB’s, from the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards: the Core of Knowledge (CORE) and the NHA Line of Service, taken at Pearson VUE. Times are from NAB’s Candidate Handbook:
| 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 portion (26-38-4(c)) |
| Fee | $480 for CORE and NHA applied for together, from 1 February 2026, paid to NAB. A retake needs a new application and fee; the NAB handbook lists $320 for CORE or $190 for NHA taken alone |
| Kansas deadlines | Take the national exam within 12 months of finishing your AIT, with extensions for good cause, and pass it within 36 months (26-38-4(a)(1), (i)) |
| NAB attempts | Since 1 January 2026, up to 4 per exam per cycle (1 July to 30 June) |
If you fail a portion three times, you complete a board-approved remediation course of “at least 100 hours of administrator-in-training instruction” on that portion, plus hours in each domain, before a fourth attempt. After a fifth failure you complete a second 480-hour AIT and get 3 more attempts; after those, no more applications are accepted (26-38-4(e) to (h)). NAB’s cap of 4 attempts per cycle applies as well. More in NAB Exam Format and The Core Domains Explained.
The rule calls it the state law examination for adult care home administration (K.A.R. 26-38-4(a)). The state gives it, not NAB: NAB’s Kansas page lists “State Exam Administration: State”, so questions about it go to KDADS HOC.
| Passing score | “The minimum passing raw score for the state law examination shall be 75 percent” (26-38-4(c)) |
|---|---|
| Retakes | You “may retake the state law examination until the applicant passes”: the rule sets no limit on retakes (26-38-4(j)) |
| Fee | The fee rule, K.A.R. 26-38-11, lists no separate fee for the state exam |
| Not in the rules | The rules set only the passing score and the retake rule. KDADS’s application says the state exam is sent once your application and fee are received; ask KDADS HOC for the question count, time limit and any candidate handbook |
| Format | Johnson County Community College’s AIT badge describes it as an open-book test. Confirm the current format with KDADS HOC at (785) 296-0061 before you plan around it |
HSE holders: a conflict to settle with KDADS. K.A.R. 26-38-7(c) asks reciprocity applicants who hold NAB’s Health Services Executive (HSE) credential to document a current HSE and no serious disciplinary action; it does not mention the state law exam. NAB’s Kansas page says of HSE holders, “The state regulatory exam is still required.” Ask HOC which applies to you.
Johnson County Community College’s AIT badge describes the open-book test as covering two sources: the Kansas Nursing Facility Regulations and the Kansas Assisted Living/Residential Care Facility Regulations. In today’s K.A.R. numbering, those rules sit in these parts (our reading, not a KDADS study list):
Five places where the Kansas facility rules set a different number, or add a requirement, compared with 42 CFR Part 483:
| Topic | Federal rule (42 CFR 483) | Kansas rule | K.A.R. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse staffing hours | Sufficient nursing staff, 24 hours a day, to meet residents’ needs (483.35(a)); no hours-per-resident-day minimum. CMS repealed the 2024 minimum staffing standards, which were never enforced, by interim final rule (90 FR 55687, effective 2 February 2026). A registered nurse “for at least 8 consecutive hours a day”, 7 days a week, unless waived (483.35(b)(1)) | A “weekly average of 2.0 hours of direct care staff time per resident”, and a daily average of at least 1.85 hours in any 24-hour period | 28-39-154(a)(7)(A) |
| Nurse aide training | “No less than 75 clock hours of training” (483.152(a)(1)), including at least 16 hours of supervised practical training (483.152(a)(3)) | “At least a 90-hour nurse aide course”, with at least half of each of its two parts as clinical instruction | 26-50-20 |
| Medication aides | No medication aide credential in Part 483 | A Kansas role: a course of “at least 75 hours, which shall include at least 25 hours of clinical instruction”. To enroll, you must be a nurse aide on the Kansas nurse aide registry, or a qualified intellectual disability professional working in an ICF/IID | 26-50-30 |
| One administrator, more than one facility | The administrator must be “Licensed by the State, where licensing is required” (483.70(d)(2)(i)); Part 483 sets no limit on serving more than one facility | Only with department approval, requested in writing by the facilities’ governing bodies: the facilities must be close enough for daily on-site supervision if needed, with a combined capacity of no more than 120 residents, and the administrator must have at least 2 years of nursing facility administrator experience and have “demonstrated the ability to assure the health and safety of residents” | 28-39-163(a)(4) |
| Bedrooms | Up to 4 residents a room (2 for construction approved or newly certified after 28 November 2016); at least 80 square feet per resident in shared rooms and 100 in single rooms (483.90(e)(1)) | For each applicant for a nursing facility license and each addition to a licensed facility: at least 20 percent of residents on each unit in private rooms, and at least 120 square feet single and 200 double, not counting closets, toilet rooms and door swing. Other rooms hold no more than 2, as the federal rule also requires where construction plans were approved, or the facility newly certified, after 28 November 2016 | 26-40-302(a), (d)(1) |
The federal nursing home rules (42 CFR Part 483, Subpart B) apply only to facilities certified for Medicare or Medicaid. The Kansas administrator license also reaches assisted living and residential health care facilities licensed for more than 60 residents, which Part 483 does not cover. Federal: 42 CFR Part 483, Subparts B and D, September 2026.
On 2 October 2020, K.A.R. 26-38 replaced the old KDHE rules at K.A.R. 28-38. Material citing 28-38, or a CE split by subject, is out of date. More in State NHA Exams Explained.
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. Kansas is not built yet. Leave your email and we will tell you if we build it.
One email, only about a Kansas practice set. We never share it.
Thanks. You are on the list for Kansas.
What makes a program acceptable. The rule names no approved programs. Any practicum meeting K.A.R. 26-38-2 qualifies once the board approves its curriculum and your preceptor, before you start.
The KDADS list. The KDADS Licensure page links a list of AIT sponsors and practicum coordinators and its Preceptor Guidelines. HOC answers questions about preceptors at (785) 296-0061.
Current providers, as each describes its program on its own site:
Associations. LeadingAge Kansas, an association of not-for-profit and mission-driven aging services providers, is another way to meet administrators who could precept.
For the full step-by-step on approaching facilities and preceptors, see How to Find an AIT Preceptor and an Approved Program.
Board fees are set in K.A.R. 26-38-11, and “All fees shall be nonrefundable.”
| License application | $100, prorated at $4 a month when the first license period is under 24 months |
|---|---|
| NAB CORE and NHA exams | $480 for the two applied for together from 1 February 2026, paid to NAB; a retake needs a new application and fee: $320 for CORE or $190 for NHA taken alone |
| Renewal, every two years | $100 |
| Late renewal | $50 |
| Temporary license | $100 |
| Reciprocity | $120 plus the $100 application fee |
| Reinstatement | $120 plus the renewal fee |
| Criminal history advisory opinion | $50 (K.A.R. 26-38-5) |
Our estimate on the usual route: $100 + $480 = $580 in board and NAB fees for a first attempt at both exams, plus your practicum program (for example $2,150 at KACE, or $700 at Wichita State for non-degree students, by their own sites). Military spouses of active-duty members pay no board fees to get or renew the license (K.S.A. 48-3406(u)); NAB’s exam fee is separate.
You need 50 clock-hours of board-approved continuing education each two-year license period, “pertaining to the core of knowledge or the domains of practice” (K.A.R. 26-38-8). The current rule has no required hours by subject. A clock-hour is at least 50 minutes of instruction (26-38-1).
Renewal is every two years (K.S.A. 65-3505(f)), due “on or before June 30 of the year in which the license expires” (26-38-8(a)). Online renewal opens on 15 May, and you attest to your CE when you renew. A renewal postmarked after June 30 adds the $50 late fee; if it is not received within 30 days, “the license shall lapse” (26-38-8(b)). Your CE must still be finished by the expiration date. To reinstate, you apply with 50 clock-hours of CE from the preceding 24 months and pay $120 plus the renewal fee (26-38-8; 26-38-11).
Reciprocity (K.A.R. 26-38-7). You apply with the $120 reciprocity fee plus the $100 application fee and authorize a Kansas Bureau of Investigation criminal history records check (26-38-7(a)), and your other state’s board sends an affirmation of good standing directly. Then either that state’s requirements are substantially equivalent to Kansas’s (26-38-2 and 26-38-4), or you have been licensed continuously for the last 5 years and “annually attained at least 2,080 hours of experience as an administrator of record”. HSE holders applying by reciprocity have added documentation rules (26-38-7(c)); see the state exam section for the conflict over whether they take the state exam.
Endorsement. K.S.A. 48-3406, amended by HB 2745 in 2024 and again in 2025, covers servicemembers, their spouses and anyone who has established or intends to establish residency in Kansas, if they are licensed elsewhere with a similar scope of practice, have at least 1 year of work in the occupation, are in good standing and have no disqualifying criminal record. It sets 15 days from a complete application to a license for military applicants, and 45 days for others. Ask HOC how the board applies it.
Temporary license (K.A.R. 26-38-6). 60 days, with no more than two 60-day extensions. The facility states in writing that no current licensee is available to serve as its administrator, and its governing body endorses you in writing as the most qualified person available. You also need one of these: a bachelor’s degree and a passed state law exam; a finished degree with the practicum under way or about to start; a past Kansas license and eligibility for reinstatement; or another state’s license and eligibility for reciprocity. If you fail the national exam while on a temporary license, it expires with no extension and no reapplication. KDADS lists three kinds: reinstatement, reciprocity and emergency.
Military. “No licensee shall be required to pay a renewal fee” while in military service (K.S.A. 48-3402).
The laws, rules and other sources cited on this page.
Citations verified September 2026. Regulation text is linked on Cornell LII and labeled as a mirror of the official Kansas text. Provided for reference, not legal advice; the current official text governs.
480 hours, in no more than 3 settings and not in assisted living or residential health care, under a curriculum and preceptor the board approves before you start (K.A.R. 26-38-2). An adult care home operator course takes off 20 hours, and some administrator experience up to 240.
The NAB Core of Knowledge and NHA Line of Service exams, with a scaled score of 113 on each, and the Kansas state law examination, with 75 percent to pass (K.A.R. 26-38-4). NAB’s exams cost $480 for the two applied for together; the state gives the state law exam.
Johnson County Community College’s AIT badge describes an open-book test over the Kansas Nursing Facility Regulations and the Kansas Assisted Living/Residential Care Facility Regulations. Confirm the current format and study material with KDADS Health Occupations Credentialing.
50 clock-hours of board-approved CE every two years on the core of knowledge or the domains of practice, with no carryover, and renewal by June 30 of the year your license expires (K.A.R. 26-38-8).
Start with the list of AIT sponsors and practicum coordinators on the KDADS Licensure page. KHCA, KACE and Wichita State currently run programs, but the rule names none: any practicum by an accredited college or university, or an equivalent, can qualify once the board approves it.
A guided daily path of 100 NAB-style questions across all 4 domains, automatic weak-spot training, and a weekly timed Checkpoint Exam. Try 5 free questions first, no account needed.
Try 5 free questionsSee pricing