F947 Nurse Aide In-Service Checklist for Nursing Homes
Short answer: F947 is the tag surveyors use for 42 CFR 483.95(g). It says each nurse aide's in-service training must be at least 12 hours a year, must include dementia management and resident abuse prevention, and must address weak spots found in the aide's performance review and in the facility assessment. Aides who care for residents with cognitive impairments also need training on that care. CMS tells surveyors to check the 12 hours and review training records. Print this page and tick off each item before your survey.
Updated October 15, 2026 · Checked against the official sources listed at the end
What 483.95(g) requires
The rule has four parts. Twelve hours is the minimum, not the goal: the training must be enough to keep aides competent.
- Enough training to keep nurse aides competent, and no less than 12 hours per year (483.95(g)(1)).
- Dementia management training and resident abuse prevention training (483.95(g)(2)).
- Topics that address weak areas found in each aide's performance review and in the facility assessment. It may also cover special needs of residents, as the staff decides (483.95(g)(3)).
- For aides who care for residents with cognitive impairments, training on the care of the cognitively impaired (483.95(g)(4)).
Who counts as a nurse aide
CMS's F947 guidance uses the definition in 42 CFR 483.5: anyone who gives nursing or nursing-related services to residents. That includes aides who work through an agency or under a contract. It does not include licensed health professionals, registered dietitians, or unpaid volunteers.
Paid feeding assistants are not nurse aides for this rule. They have their own state-approved training rule (483.95(h), tag F948). Private duty aides the facility does not employ or use on a contract, per diem or leased basis are also not covered.
Topic checklist
- ☐ At least 12 hours for each aide in the year.
- ☐ Dementia management.
- ☐ Resident abuse prevention.
- ☐ Care of the cognitively impaired, for each aide who gives that care.
- ☐ Each aide's weak areas from their last performance review. Every nurse aide needs a review at least once every 12 months (483.35(d)(7), tag F730).
- ☐ Needs named in your facility assessment, such as the conditions, cognitive disabilities and care needs of your residents and the staff skills needed to meet them (483.71(a)). The assessment must be reviewed at least once a year.
- ☐ Any special resident needs your staff has identified (optional under 483.95(g)(3)).
Training that 483.95 requires for all staff
Section 483.95 also lists topics for all staff, including contract staff and volunteers, as fits their roles. Each has its own tag. Aide in-service hours can cover some of these, but check them too:
- ☐ Effective communication, for direct care staff (483.95(a), F941).
- ☐ Resident rights and the facility's duties (483.95(b), F942).
- ☐ Abuse, neglect, exploitation and misappropriation of resident property: what they are, how to report them, and dementia management and abuse prevention (483.95(c), F943).
- ☐ Your QAPI program's elements and goals (483.95(d), F944).
- ☐ Your infection prevention and control standards, policies and procedures (483.95(e), F945).
- ☐ Your compliance and ethics program; yearly training if your operating organization runs five or more facilities (483.95(f), F946).
- ☐ Behavioral health, as your facility assessment calls for (483.95(i), F949).
Records checklist: what a surveyor looks for
CMS's probes for F947 tell surveyors to verify the program is no less than 12 hours a year and to review training records that support aide attendance. They also ask how training answered performance review weak spots and resident needs. Have these ready:
- ☐ Training records for each aide: date, topic, length and proof of attendance (a sign-in sheet or certificate).
- ☐ A yearly total for each aide, showing at least 12 hours. CMS says there should be a process to track aide participation.
- ☐ Agency and contract aides included, not only your own employees.
- ☐ Each aide's performance review from the last 12 months, and a note of which training addressed its weak areas.
- ☐ Your current facility assessment and the training needs it names.
- ☐ Curricula with learning objectives, performance standards and evaluation criteria, as CMS's guidance describes.
- ☐ Proof the training worked: CMS says adequacy can be measured by demonstrated competency, through a written exam or by aides applying the right care.
- ☐ How you decide when training content needs updating.
- ☐ How aides can raise concerns and ask for training, and how you respond.
How the survey works
If surveyors see poor care during the survey, they look at the training aides got in that subject. They may watch aides work, interview residents and their representatives, and ask aides what training they received. CMS says the survey team does not need to find a negative outcome to cite F947.
Training can mix in-person teaching, supervised practice and webinars, but CMS says it should not be webinars alone. Supervised practice means a person with relevant education or experience gives instruction and oversight.
How Pact helps
Pact keeps each aide's in-service hours and certificates on one page with their registry checks, license, TB and CPR, and reminds staff 30, 14 and 7 days before anything runs out. Aides upload certificates from their phone, and everyone is checked against OIG's exclusion list each month. $10 per active staff member a month, $250 minimum, first month free.
Pact doesn't teach the in-service or decide which training meets the rule. That stays with your facility, its staff development lead and your state survey agency.
Common questions
What is F947?
F947 is the federal survey tag for 42 CFR 483.95(g), the nurse aide in-service training rule for nursing homes: at least 12 hours a year, including dementia management and resident abuse prevention.
Is 12 hours of in-service always enough?
Not always. The rule says training must be enough to keep aides competent and no less than 12 hours. CMS says that may take more than 12 hours to meet staff or resident needs.
Do agency aides need in-service hours too?
They count as nurse aides under the definition CMS uses for F947, which includes people who give these services through an agency or under a contract.
What is the difference between F947 and F730?
F730 covers the performance review every nurse aide must get at least once every 12 months (483.35(d)(7)). F947 covers the in-service training, which must address the weak areas those reviews find.
Can F947 be cited if no resident was harmed?
Yes. CMS's guidance says the survey team does not need to find a negative outcome to cite a deficiency at F947.
Sources
- 42 CFR 483.95: Training requirements
- 42 CFR 483.35: Nursing services (nurse aide performance reviews)
- 42 CFR 483.71: Facility assessment
- CMS State Operations Manual, Appendix PP, tags F940 to F949 and F730 (PDF)