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The skills test is the hands-on part of the California CNA competency exam. You perform nurse aide tasks while a registered nurse watches and records each step. The rules below come from the D&S Diversified Technologies (Headmaster) candidate handbook. If you test with Credentia or the Regional Testing Center, use their handbook instead.
How the Headmaster skills test works
- You get 3 or 4 tasks and 30 minutes to finish them. You are told when 15 minutes remain.
- Your first task is one of four mandatory tasks. Hand washing with soap and water is part of each mandatory task.
- The other 2 or 3 tasks are chosen at random from the task list.
- Most tasks are done on a person playing the resident. Female catheter care and female perineal care are done on a manikin.
- To pass, you must do every critical step (shown in bold in the handbook) and at least 80% of the non-key steps on each task.
- The skills test fee is $100. You have 3 attempts within 2 years of finishing your training.
Source: Headmaster California Nurse Aide Candidate Handbook, October 2026, Version 9.0 (checked October 23, 2026).
The four mandatory tasks
- Assist a resident with a bedpan, then measure and record urine output
- Catheter care for a female resident (on a manikin)
- Put on a gown and gloves, empty a urinary drainage bag, measure and record urine output, then remove the gown and gloves
- Perineal care for a female resident (on a manikin)
Other tasks you may get
- Apply a knee-high anti-embolic (elastic) stocking
- Assist a dependent resident with a meal in bed
- Help a resident walk using a gait belt
- Denture care: clean an upper or lower denture
- Dress a resident who has a weak side, in bed
- Foot care for one foot
- Modified bed bath: face, one arm, hand and underarm
- Mouth care: brush a resident’s teeth
- Passive range of motion for the hip and knee
- Passive range of motion for the shoulder
- Position a resident on their side in bed
- Transfer a resident from bed to wheelchair with a gait belt
- Count and record radial pulse and respirations
- Take and record a manual blood pressure
The handbook lists the exact steps for every task. Practice from those steps, not from a summary.
How to practice
- Practice each task with your instructor until you can do every step without notes.
- Time yourself: 3 or 4 tasks in 30 minutes leaves about 7 to 10 minutes per task.
- Practice hand washing on its own. It is part of every mandatory task.
- Learn which steps are critical. Missing one critical step fails the task.
The knowledge test is separate. Practice it with 10 free CNA practice questions or by topic, such as infection control and daily care.
Sources
- D&S Diversified Technologies (Headmaster): California Nurse Aide Candidate Handbook, October 2026, Version 9.0 (checked October 23, 2026)
- CDPH: Certified Nurse Assistant Testing Vendors (checked October 23, 2026)
Rules and fees can change. Check your testing vendor’s current handbook before test day. Healthcare Exam Prep is independent. We are not affiliated with the California Department of Public Health or any CNA testing provider.