Nanny certifications

No. No US state licenses or registers nannies who work in a family’s home. Childcare licensing applies to daycare centers and family childcare homes, which are different settings with different rules. Because no nanny license exists, certification is the only nanny credential a family can confirm independently. The US Nanny Association maintains a free verification page where a family, agency or employer can check whether a nanny holds a current certification.

Nanny certification isn’t one thing. The term covers several documents that don’t mean the same thing. A certificate of completion comes from whoever taught the course and shows you attended it. A CPR and first aid card shows you passed a skills test on a specific day. An agency badge applies inside that agency. An early childhood credential reflects coursework assessed against a published framework.

None of those on its own tells a family whether a nanny has training, documented paid experience, a current background check and tested knowledge together. A US Nanny Association certification covers all four. The Association requires documentation of each, reviews it, and tests knowledge against the National Nanny Standards with a proctored exam. The US Nanny Association does not sell training, so the certification is not a byproduct of a course you bought from us.

Everything it rests on is published, so nobody has to take the Association’s word for it. The National Nanny Standards are free to read in full, in English and Spanish, and every exam question comes from them. The criteria for accepted training are published, so a candidate can check whether their coursework qualifies before paying anything. Every current certification appears on a free public verification page, so a family can confirm a nanny’s status in seconds.

The process is not automatic. The US Nanny Association requires documentation for each requirement and reviews every submission. Applicants attest that what they submit is accurate and complete. The Association may contact employers and training providers about a submission, and relies on the information provided by applicants and third parties. Certification never requires training from any specific provider, and the exam requires a passing score of 80% with two attempts.

Match the certification to the work you do. The Certified Nanny (NCP) fits nannies caring for children of all ages and needs 2,000 paid hours. The Newborn and Infant Care Professional (NICP) fits those working with preemies, newborns and infants and needs 4,000 paid hours with that age group. The Professional Nanny and Childcare Provider (PNCP) is for career nannies with accredited post-secondary training and needs 6,000 paid hours.

The Certified Nanny (NCP) requires a high school diploma or GED from any country, 20 clock hours or 3 credit hours of childcare training from any reputable provider, 2,000 hours of documented paid childcare experience, current CPR and first aid certification, a background check, and a score of 80% or higher on a 100-question proctored exam. The fee is $299 and applications stay active for 90 days. See nanny certification (NCP).

The Newborn and Infant Care Professional (NICP) requires a minimum age of 21, a high school diploma or GED, 20 clock hours or 3 credit hours of newborn and infant training, 4,000 hours of documented paid experience caring for newborns and infants, current CPR and first aid certification, a background check, and a score of 80% or higher on a 100-question proctored exam. Candidates without a diploma can submit three professional references instead and earn the Newborn and Infant Specialist (NIS). See newborn care specialist certification.

The Professional Nanny and Childcare Provider (PNCP) requires a minimum age of 21, a high school diploma or GED, 50 clock hours or 6 credit hours of childcare or early childhood education from an accredited trade school, community college or university with an official transcript, 6,000 hours of documented paid childcare experience, current CPR and first aid certification, a background check, and a score of 80% or higher on a 200-question proctored exam. The PNCP is the only certification with no references route, so the diploma and the transcript are both required. See professional nanny certification (PNCP).

The requirements. The NCP needs a minimum age of 18, 20 clock hours or 3 credit hours of training from any reputable provider, 2,000 paid hours, and a 100-question exam with a 2-hour limit. The NICP needs a minimum age of 21, 20 clock hours or 3 credit hours of newborn and infant training, 4,000 paid hours with that age group, and a 100-question exam. The PNCP needs a minimum age of 21, 50 clock hours or 6 credit hours from an accredited institution with an official transcript, 6,000 paid hours, and a 200-question exam with a 4-hour limit. All three cost $299 and are valid for three years.

No. The US Nanny Association certifications are separate, not sequential. If you meet the requirements for the PNCP you can apply for it directly, without holding the NCP first and without paying two fees.

Yes. Many nannies who care for infants also care for older children, and the certifications stack. You meet the requirements and pay the $299 fee separately for each one.

Three professional references can replace the diploma for two of the certifications. Without a diploma you earn the Nanny Specialist (NS) instead of the NCP, or the Newborn and Infant Specialist (NIS) instead of the NICP. Every other requirement is identical. References must come from an employer, supervisor, or a family you provided paid childcare for, and must confirm your employment dates, responsibilities and childcare skills. References from relatives or friends are not accepted. The PNCP has no references route and a high school diploma is required.

For the NCP, NS, NICP and NIS, training may come from any reputable organization that issues a certificate of completion including the provider’s contact information. Childcare conferences, online courses and credential programs all qualify. Training can be completed in any language, and may be combined from multiple providers as long as the total meets the required hours. Accredited providers are preferred but not required.

For the PNCP, training must come from an accredited post-secondary institution such as a professional trade school, community college or university, documented by an official transcript. Certificates of attendance are not accepted for the PNCP.

Documentation must show your name, the training date, the course title, total hours or credits completed, and the provider’s contact information. Training that cannot be validated is not accepted. See the training we accept.

Paid work involving direct, independent supervisory responsibility for at least one child. Qualifying roles include nannies, daycare workers, teachers, camp counselors, pediatric medical assistants and pediatric nurses. For the NCP, NS and PNCP, the children must be aged 0 to 12, or up to 18 for children with special needs. For the NICP and NIS, the experience must be with newborns and infants ages say 0-18 months.

Caring for siblings, family members or dependents does not count, even when paid. Unpaid or volunteer childcare does not count. Experience gained before age 16 does not count.

The hours required are 2,000 for the NCP and NS, 4,000 for the NICP and NIS, and 6,000 for the PNCP.

The US Nanny Association accepts four forms of documentation for paid childcare hours:

Pay stubs or W-2 forms showing dates of employment and hourly rate, so total hours can be calculated. A signed letter of employment verification from the employer showing their name and contact information, dates of employment, weekly hours worked, ages of children cared for, and job duties. A signed nanny work agreement or contract that includes the employer’s name, contact information and job details. Or the Childcare Experience Form or the Childcare Reference Form, which are available to download on the credential instructions and must be completed and signed by the employer.

A tax document on its own is usually not enough. A W-2 showing only a company name or a person’s name does not establish hours or scope of work. Whatever you submit has to show the employer, the hours and what the work involved.

If an employer will not complete a verification, or cannot because of a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement, that experience cannot be counted toward the certification. The US Nanny Association recognizes that many childcare providers are paid in cash and may not have payroll records, which is what the Employer Verification Form is for, but an employer has to sign something. Make sure you can submit at least one accepted document for every role you want to include, and gather them before you pay the fee.

See the step by step guide for what each document must show.

Certification costs $299 and the fee is non-refundable under all circumstances, including failing to meet eligibility criteria, leaving an application incomplete, or not passing the exam. The fee covers the secure document portal, document review, exam management and issuing the certification. It does not cover childcare training, CPR and first aid training, or the background check, which are paid directly to the organizations providing them. The US Nanny Association does not offer financial aid.

Applicants should have completed their training, CPR and first aid and background check as well as reviewed the national nanny standards to guide their preparedness for the exam. Once the credential fee is paid, application have 90 days to complete all steps of the process. Most of the elapsed time goes into gathering documents, which is why the US Nanny Association recommends collecting everything before paying the fee. Submitted applications are reviewed within 5 business days. Once approved, the exam link is valid for three weeks. If an application expires, the process restarts and the fee is charged again.

Example questions are published in the certification instructions. Every exam question comes from the National Nanny Standards rather than from any training program’s curriculum. The certification fee includes a practice exam, with 25 questions for the NCP, NS, NICP and NIS, and 50 questions for the PNCP. Practice exams are untimed, can be retaken as often as you like, and show the correct answers to questions you missed.

You get two attempts and the passing score is 80%. After a failed first attempt the exam locks for seven days so you have time to study. Applicants who do not study between attempts rarely pass the second one. If you fail both attempts you restart the certification process and pay the fee again, so the seven days matter. Exam questions come from the National Nanny Standards, not from any single course, and training programs vary in how much of the standards they cover. Read the standards before you sit the exam and expect to study anything your training didn’t reach.

No. All applicants must meet the stated criteria for training, work experience, the background check and the proficiency exam. There are no waivers or exceptions to any requirement.

The US Nanny Association will tell you in writing which requirement was not met and why. You can ask the Association to reconsider the decision within 30 calendar days, at no cost. Email info@usnanny.org with the decision, what you believe was decided incorrectly, and any additional information you want considered. Reconsideration is an internal review rather than an independent appeal. The full policy is published at usnanny.org/about/certification-review.

US Nanny Association certifications are valid for three years. Renewal requires current CPR and first aid certification, 20 clock hours or 3 credit hours of continuing education from any reputable training organization, a new background check and the renewal fee. Current certification holders do not retake the exam. An expired certification cannot be renewed, so the full certification process has to be repeated. See renew certification.

Yes. The US Nanny Association welcomes applicants living anywhere in the world and accepts a high school diploma, GED or equivalent from any country, along with government identification from any country. Documents in another language must be submitted with an English translation. The National Nanny Standards, the certification programs and the exams are available in English and Spanish. Review classes are currently English only.

Certification does not help anyone obtain a US work visa or a visa for any other country.

Every current US Nanny Association certification appears on a free public verification page, which certification holders opt into. A family, agency or employer can check a name in seconds without contacting the Association. Certified nannies can also use the NCP, NICP, PNCP, NS or NIS logos on resumes, LinkedIn and job boards, and are encouraged to display their certification with its dates, for example Jane Smith, PNCP 2025-2028.

No. The US Nanny Association does two things: it certifies nannies, and it sets the continuing education required to keep a certification current. It does not place nannies, does not sell the training it accepts, and does not take fees from agencies.

That is deliberate. An organization that placed nannies would have a reason to certify the ones it could place. An organization that sold the required training would have a reason to require its own. The US Nanny Association does neither, which is why it can accept training from any reputable provider and why a certification means the same thing regardless of who taught you or who employs you.

Families and agencies do their own hiring and their own diligence. The Association’s role is to write the National Nanny Standards and confirm that a nanny has met them.

No. Paying the $299 fee starts the application process; certification is issued only after you meet all requirements, submit acceptable documentation, and pass the proctored exam with a score of at least 80%. Review the requirements and gather your documents before paying. The fee is non-refundable if you are ineligible, do not complete the application, or do not pass the exam.