Florida CNA Written Test content: the 7 areas
The Florida CNA written test pulls every question from seven content areas. Here is what each one covers and where the emphasis falls, so you study the right things.
update Updated 2026-07-20
The Florida CNA written test is 60 multiple-choice questions (50 scored plus 10 unscored pretest items) with a 90-minute limit, taken on a computer. Every question comes from one of seven content areas: Basic Nursing Skills, Personal Care Skills, Infection Control, Safety and Emergency Procedures, Mental Health and Social Service Needs, Communication, and Resident Rights and Ethics. Infection Control carries the heaviest emphasis and Resident Rights and Ethics is heavily tested, so weight your time accordingly while still covering all seven.
Knowing the format is only half the battle — knowing what is on the test is what lets you study efficiently. Below is each of the seven areas with a short description of its scope. Pair this with the Florida CNA study guide and you will always know why a given topic matters.
The 7 content areas
1. Basic Nursing Skills
This is one of the largest areas. It covers taking and recording vital signs and knowing normal ranges, measuring height and weight, tracking intake and output, elimination and catheter care, nutrition and feeding, and positioning to prevent pressure injuries. It also includes safe transfers and body mechanics, bedmaking, range-of-motion and restorative care, and the constant duty to observe changes and report them accurately.
2. Personal Care Skills
Personal Care focuses on the activities of daily living (ADLs). Expect questions on bathing, skin, oral, nail, and hair care, dressing (always the affected or weaker side first), grooming, and toileting. Perineal care is cleaned front to back, and feeding assistance is included here too. Throughout, the theme is promoting the resident's dignity and independence rather than doing everything for them.
3. Infection Control
This area carries the heaviest emphasis on the whole test, so give it the most study time. It covers the chain of infection, hand hygiene as the single most important defense, standard and transmission-based precautions, correctly donning and doffing PPE, isolation procedures, and safe handling of soiled linen and sharps. If you master one area, make it this one.
4. Safety and Emergency Procedures
Safety covers preventing falls and responding to emergencies. Topics include fall prevention, responding to choking with the Heimlich maneuver, the proper use of restraints and the alternatives you should try first, fire safety (remember RACE and PASS), oxygen safety, basic first aid, and completing an incident report when something goes wrong.
5. Mental Health and Social Service Needs
This area addresses the psychosocial side of care: meeting emotional and social needs, caring for residents with dementia and Alzheimer's, supporting people through grief and end-of-life care, and respecting cultural and spiritual needs. Questions often test how you help residents cope and how you respond with patience to confusion or agitation.
6. Communication
Communication covers verbal and nonverbal messaging and therapeutic communication techniques, plus adapting to sensory losses and conditions like aphasia. You should know the difference between objective and subjective information, the distinction between reporting (spoken) and recording (written), and how to use the chain of command appropriately.
7. Resident Rights and Ethics
This area is heavily tested, so do not treat it as an afterthought. It covers the Residents' Bill of Rights, privacy and confidentiality, dignity, and the right to refuse care. It also includes recognizing signs of abuse and neglect and your duty as a mandatory reporter, along with providing restraint-free care whenever possible.
The two areas that most often decide a pass are Infection Control (the heaviest) and Resident Rights and Ethics (heavily tested). Prometric does not publish exact percentages for each area, so ignore any source that quotes a precise "X% per area" figure — study by emphasis, not by chasing numbers.
A quick note on scoring: passing the written test is set by a scaled standard, not a fixed percentage, so there is no single "you need X%" line to aim for. The reliable target is your practice performance. Work through the study guide area by area, then confirm your readiness with a timed quiz until you are consistently scoring well across all seven topics.
Finally, remember the written test is only half of certification. Once you are solid on these seven areas, turn your attention to the hands-on portion covered in our Florida CNA clinical skills guide, and see the full two-part strategy in how to pass the Florida CNA exam.
Study every area
Practice questions with a rationale on every answer, organized by all 7 content areas. First 5 free.