Nursing home administrator license requirements in Maine.

Board

Nursing Home Administrators Licensing Board (Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation) Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Education floor

A bachelor's degree Maine's board no longer issues new 'Nursing Home Administrator' licenses (existing holders may only renew); a new applicant who will run a nursing home instead earns the Multi-Level Long Term Care Facility Administrator license, which requires a bachelor's degree in health care administration, long-term care administration, business administration, or a field directly related to health care or social services, or a bachelor's degree in any field plus either a long-term-care-administration certificate or 12 semester hours of coursework including at least 6 in management (Ch. 23 Section 3). Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Administrator-in-Training hours

1,000 hours

• 1,000 hours: 1,000-hour Administrator-in-Training program, no less than 6 months and no more than 1 year, including a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 160 hours worked outside 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekday hours, covering resident care, personnel, financial, environmental, and organizational management plus applicable laws, regulations, and codes (Ch. 22). The preceptor must be continuously licensed in Maine for the preceding 5 years, employed full-time in Maine for at least 3 years, and free of recent discipline (Ch. 22 Section 8).

Board source · checked 2026-07-29

National NAB exams

Required (CORE of Knowledge + Nursing Home Administrator) Maine's Multi-Level license requires all three NAB exams: the CORE, the Nursing Home Administrator (NHA) Line of Service exam, and the Residential Care/Assisted Living (RC/AL) Line of Service exam, because the Multi-Level credential covers both nursing home and residential care practice (Ch. 23 Section 2). Passing scores are valid for 2 years. Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Separate state exam

Not required Maine's rules require only the national NAB exams (CORE plus the NHA and RC/AL Line of Service exams for the Multi-Level license); no separate Maine-specific written examination is named in Chapter 23. Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Initial license fee

$200 Multi-Level Long Term Care Facility Administrator license fee, a 1-year term, per the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation's Office of Licensing and Registration general fee schedule (02-041 C.M.R. Chapter 10, Board 24 fee table). The Administrator-in-Training license is $125, and a Temporary Administrator permit (up to 1 year) is also $125. Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Renewal fee

$200 Maine licenses this profession on a 1-year term rather than a multi-year cycle, so the $200 renewal fee is paid annually (02-041 C.M.R. Chapter 10, Board 24 fee table). Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Continuing education

24 hours per annual cycle 24 hours of continuing education between July 1 and June 30 each year for Nursing Home and Multi-Level Administrators (16 hours for Residential Care Facility Administrators); the requirement is waived for an administrator's first license renewal. Three semester hours of university coursework count as 12 continuing-education hours (Ch. 28 Section 3). Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Reciprocity / endorsement

discretionary Maine's current rules (Chapters 20 to 30) do not publish a dedicated endorsement or reciprocity chapter for out-of-state administrators; an out-of-state applicant is instead evaluated case by case against Maine's own education, AIT, and NAB-exam requirements for the license they are seeking. Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Assisted living / RCAL administrator license

Licensed separately Maine licenses a distinct Residential Care Facility Administrator credential (Ch. 26): an associate's degree in a healthcare-related field, or 5 years of experience working in a health-care facility, plus the NAB CORE and RC/AL Line of Service exams, with 16 continuing-education hours per year (Ch. 26 Sections 2 to 3, Ch. 28 Section 3). Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Statutes and rules: 32 M.R.S. chapter 2, Sections 61 to 69; Code of Maine Rules 02-371, Chapters 20 to 30, Rules of the Nursing Home Administrators Licensing Board. Figures change on the board's own schedule. Confirm against the board before you apply or pay.

1. Get your checklist. The requirements wizard resolves Maine's requirements for your exact degree.
2. Plan your hours. The AIT-hours tracker turns Maine's hour target into a finish date.
3. Moving here from another state? The reciprocity checker reads Maine's endorsement rule.
4. Also want assisted living? Read holding both a nursing home and an assisted living administrator license for how Maine's two credentials relate.