South Carolina and Vermont NHA State Exams Explained

South Carolina and Vermont NHA state exams both sit beside the national NAB exams, and they are not the same test. South Carolina’s Board says a nursing home applicant takes NAB CORE plus the NHA line of service, and a state exam based on S.C. Regulation 60-17. Vermont’s rules require a written NAB exam and a Vermont jurisprudence exam. Practice with NHA Ready SC or NHA Ready VT, and read the conflict in the South Carolina sources before you memorize a clock.

I am Chris Groves, a licensed nursing home administrator. I wrote both practice sets. They are not board publications, and they are not NAB’s exam. Where two sources disagree, both are printed below.

South Carolina: what the Board’s exam page says

After a complete application is approved, Board staff sends an Examination Approval Notice by mail or email. The Board’s exam page says you have 30 days, as stated in that letter, to register the national exam, the state exam, or both with NAB. You cannot apply with NAB until you have the notice. After you register, an Authorization to Test email gives you a 60-day window to take the exams.

The national exam is NAB CORE plus the NHA line of service. The state exam is based on S.C. Regulation 60-17, Standards for Licensing Nursing Homes. The Board tells you to visit NAB for fees. NAB’s exam page lists a CORE plus NHA combo application at $480 effective February 1, 2026. Read the Exam Candidate Handbook before you pay, because withdrawing the wrong application can withhold a processing fee.

Where the South Carolina sources disagree

The Board’s FAQ still describes the exams this way: they are given year-round by computer at Prometric centers, the national portion has a time limit of 3 hours and 150 multiple-choice questions, and the state portion has a time limit of 2 hours and 50 multiple-choice questions. The FAQ says that description applies to both the nursing home administrator exam and the community residential care facility administrator exam.

NAB’s current exam information page describes the national exams differently. CORE is 100 scored questions and 25 pretest questions, 125 total, with 150 minutes of seat time. The NHA line of service exam is 60 scored questions and 15 pretest questions, 75 total, with 90 minutes of seat time. Seat time includes the welcome, the non-disclosure agreement, and post-test questions. NAB tells approved candidates to schedule with Pearson VUE. The FAQ names Prometric.

The approval notice and the NAB handbook are the instructions for your sitting. Use the two descriptions as a reason to read that notice, not as a reason to ignore it.

The South Carolina passing rule that is in the regulation

Regulation 93-110, last amended effective May 26, 2023, says every nursing home applicant must pass the NAB examinations and must pass a state examination approved by the Board at a raw score of 75 percent. A candidate who is sitting for the first time for both portions, and who passes one portion, gets credit for the portion passed and is re-examined on the portion not passed. Applicants who fail the examination three times must petition the Board if they want to continue.

Vermont: a jurisprudence exam after NAB

Vermont’s rules, section 2.4 in the PDF dated March 15, 2009, require a written NAB exam and a jurisprudence exam. That exam may cover the rules, 18 V.S.A. Chapter 46, 3 V.S.A. Chapter 5, Subchapter 3, and the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living nursing-home licensing and operating rules.

An applicant who fails the NAB exam may retake it as NAB permits, and must submit a new application and fee each time. The rule does not print that fee. After passing NAB, the applicant may schedule the Vermont exam. An applicant who fails the Vermont exam may retake it. The rule does not print a Vermont question count, time limit, or passing score, so this article does not either.

Endorsement does not skip the state exam. Section 2.5 still requires the Vermont jurisprudence examination. The PDF I used is dated March 15, 2009, so read the current copy before you rely on it.

How to study the two states without mixing them

Read Regulation 60-17 next to the 75 percent rule in 93-110, and wait for the South Carolina approval notice before you lock a date. When the FAQ and NAB describe different clocks, follow the notice and the handbook. For Vermont, study the rules, 18 V.S.A. Chapter 46, and the DAIL licensing rules as an open-book subject, and pass NAB before you schedule the state exam. That is the order in section 2.4.

For the national half, use NHA Ready: NAB. Do not study the Vermont set as if it were the South Carolina state exam.

Practice sets for each state

NHA Ready SC has 158 original questions and a 50-question practice exam timed at 2 hours, the state-portion time in the Board FAQ. Follow your approval notice if it differs. Pro is $39 once, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by the South Carolina Board of Long Term Health Care Administrators. South Carolina NHA state exam practice is one shop page. NHA Ready VT has 160 original questions, open-book find-the-rule practice, and a 50-question open-book practice exam. That count is the practice set, not a figure from section 2.4. Pro is $39 once, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation. Vermont NHA state exam practice is the other. Five free questions a day, in the set for your state, is the habit I would keep.

Sources

• South Carolina Board exam page: approval notice, 30 days, 60 days, and Regulation 60-17
• South Carolina Board FAQ: 150 questions, 3 hours, 50 questions, and 2 hours
• S.C. Code of Regulations Chapter 93, section 93-110, raw score of 75 percent
• NAB exam information: CORE and NHA line of service
• Vermont nursing home administrator administrative rules, sections 2.4 and 2.5

Questions

NHA Ready SC is my practice set for the South Carolina state exam. Five questions are free each day. Try 5 free questions a day

NHA Ready VT is my open-book practice set for the Vermont jurisprudence exam. Five questions are free each day. Try 5 free questions a day

NHA Ready SC and the Vermont exam note

Talk with Chris or call (828) 490-9271.