Florida · home health aide (HHA)
How to become a home health aide in Florida: the routes that qualify you, who regulates home health agencies in Florida, pay, free training options, and all 106 state-approved CNA programs, since a CNA certification also qualifies you as a home health aide.
Your route
Florida doesn’t license home health aides. What you need depends on the kind of agency you work for.
State-licensed agencies
40+
Medicare and Medicaid agencies
75 hrs
Why we list CNA programs: under federal rules, a state-approved CNA program plus good standing on the Florida nurse aide registry qualifies you as a home health aide. It’s the route that opens the most doors. See our Florida CNA guide.
The steps
The general path for most new aides.
Keep your hours up. Federal rules require at least 12 hours of in-service training a year, and if you go 24 months in a row without paid aide work, you must retrain.
Home health aide vs. CNA
The two jobs overlap, but the settings and pay differ.
| Home health aide | CNA | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you work | Clients’ homes, through home health and hospice agencies | Nursing homes and hospitals |
| Training | 75 hours federal minimum, or a CNA certification | State-approved CNA program |
| Official record | Your agency’s training and competency records | The Florida nurse aide registry |
| Median pay (FL) | $16.25 an hour* | $18.03 an hour |
*Federal pay data groups home health aides with personal care aides. About 90,170 of them work in Florida.
Help paying
Ways to cover the cost of training.
Many home health agencies train aides they hire, and nursing homes that hire you can’t charge you for CNA training under federal rules.
Directory
All 106 programs from our Florida CNA guide. Finishing one, passing the exam, and staying in good standing on the state registry also qualifies you as a home health aide for Medicare and Medicaid agencies.
| Program | City | County | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Allied Health Training | West Palm Beach | Palm Beach | (561) 975-1498 |
| Academy for Nursing and Health Occupation | West Palm Beach | Palm Beach | (561) 683-1400 |
| Affordable Training | Jacksonville | Duval | (904) 378-0102 |
| Alexander "Sandy" Nininger Veterans' Nursing Home | Pembroke Pines | Broward | (904) 940-2193 |
| Alliance Training Center | Delray Beach | Palm Beach | (561) 501-4450 |
| Alwyn C Cashe State Veterans' Nursing Home | Largo | Pinellas | (904) 940-2193 |
| Ardie R Copas State Veterans' Nursing Home | Largo | Pinellas | (772) 241-6132 |
| Atlantic Technical College – Arthur Ashe | Fort Lauderdale | Broward | (754) 322-2800 |
| Baker County Adult Education Center | Macclenny | Baker | (904) 259-0403 |
| Baldomero Lopez State Veterans' Nursing Home | Largo | Pinellas | (904) 940-2193 |
| Baptist Health Clinical School | Jacksonville | Duval | (904) 627-1336 |
| Believe Nursing Academy | Orlando | Orange | (321) 424-9966 |
| Bethune-Cookman University | Daytona Beach | Volusia | (386) 481-2109 |
| Big Bend Technical College | Perry | Taylor | (850) 838-2545 |
| C & M Gifted Hands Healthcare Institute | Fort Myers | Lee | (904) 508-3990 |
| Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology | Altamonte Springs | Seminole | (407) 265-8383 |
| Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology | Miami Gardens | Miami-Dade | (561) 381-4990 |
| Cape Coral Technical College | Cape Coral | Lee | (239) 574-4440 |
| Career Training Institute | Brandon | Hillsborough | (813) 955-4237 |
| Charlotte Technical College Nursing Assistant Program | Port Charlotte | Charlotte | (941) 255-7500 |
| Chipola College | Marianna | Jackson | (850) 718-2316 |
| Clifford Sims State Veterans' Nursing Home | Panama City | Bay | (904) 940-2193 |
| Clyde E. Lassen State Veterans' Nursing Home | St. Augustine | St. Johns | (727) 518-3217 |
| Coastal Technical Institute, Nursing Assistant Program | Palm Bay | Brevard | (386) 624-1453 |
| College of Health and Allied Development | West Palm Beach | Palm Beach | (561) 350-1697 |
| Crystal River Health and Rehab School of Health | Crystal River | Citrus | (352) 795-5044 |
| Dade Institute of Technology | North Miami Beach | Miami-Dade | (305) 671-3666 |
| Daytona State College | Daytona Beach | Volusia | (386) 506-3720 |
| De-Empire Academy for Healthcare Education | West Palm Beach | Palm Beach | (561) 951-6537 |
| DeSoto County Nursing Program | Arcadia | DeSoto | (863) 993-1333 |
| Donatello School of Nursing and Healthcare | Apopka | Orange | (407) 703-5814 |
| Doxa Academy | Vero Beach | Indian River | (772) 925-9181 |
| Eastern Florida State College – Astronaut | Titusville | Brevard | (321) 264-3000 |
| Eastern Florida State College – Bayside | Palm Bay | Brevard | (321) 956-5000 |
| Eastern Florida State College – Melbourne | Melbourne | Brevard | (321) 433-7745 |
| Eastern Florida State College – Rockledge | Rockledge | Brevard | (321) 636-3711 |
| Emerald Coast Technical College | DeFuniak Springs | Walton | (850) 892-1240 |
| EMS Safety & Healthcare Training Center | Fort Pierce | St. Lucie | (772) 742-8503 |
| Essential School of Nursing | Miami Gardens | Miami-Dade | (305) 432-3700 |
| Finlay Institute of Nursing | Tampa | Hillsborough | (813) 405-8190 |
| First Coast Nursing Assistant Training Center | Jacksonville | Duval | (904) 778-5547 |
| Flagler Technical College | Palm Coast | Flagler | (386) 447-4345 |
| Florida Gateway College | Lake City | Columbia | (386) 752-1822 |
| Florida Panhandle Technical College | Chipley | Washington | (850) 638-1180 |
| Fort Myers Technical College | Fort Myers | Lee | (239) 334-4544 |
| Fred K. Marchman Technical College | New Port Richey | Pasco | (727) 774-1700 |
| FTC Training Center | Oakland Park | Broward | (954) 608-9254 |
| FVI School of Nursing and Technology | Miami | Miami-Dade | (305) 665-1911 |
| FVI School of Nursing and Technology | Miramar | Broward | (954) 613-2900 |
| Gabriel Health Institute | Orlando | Orange | (407) 922-0466 |
| Genesis Vocational Institute | Miami | Miami-Dade | (305) 223-0506 |
| Grace School of Nursing | Loxahatchee | Palm Beach | (561) 324-0490 |
| Gulf Coast State College | Panama City | Bay | (850) 769-1551 |
| Healthcare Educational Center of Florida | Kissimmee | Osceola | (407) 361-1048 |
| Hearts Associates Institute | Boynton Beach | Palm Beach | (561) 810-6161 |
| Horizon Healthcare Institute | Fort Myers | Lee | (239) 939-1992 |
| Horizon Healthcare Institute | Port Charlotte | Charlotte | (941) 889-7506 |
| Horizon Healthcare Institute – Melbourne | Melbourne | Brevard | (239) 939-1992 |
| Immokalee Technical College | Immokalee | Collier | (239) 377-9900 |
| Indian River State College – Dixie Hendry | Port Saint Lucie | St. Lucie | (772) 336-6330 |
| Indian River State College – R. Duke Nels | Port Saint Lucie | St. Lucie | (772) 336-6330 |
| Indian River State College Chastain Campus | Port Saint Lucie | St. Lucie | (772) 336-6330 |
| Indian River State College School of Nursing | Vero Beach | Indian River | (772) 336-6330 |
| Institute of Health Careers | Lehigh Acres | Lee | (239) 303-4388 |
| iTECH Glades Technical College | Moore Haven | Glades | (239) 377-9500 |
| Lake Technical College | Eustis | Lake | (352) 589-2250 |
| Lindsey Hopkins Technical College | Miami | Miami-Dade | (305) 324-6070 |
| Lively Technical Center Nursing Assistant Program | Tallahassee | Leon | (850) 487-7449 |
| Lorenzo Walker Technical College – Day Program | Naples | Collier | (239) 377-0900 |
| Manatee Technical College | Bradenton | Manatee | (941) 752-8100 |
| Marion Technical College | Ocala | Marion | (352) 671-7222 |
| Medical Institute of Palm Beach | Greenacres | Palm Beach | (561) 964-5148 |
| Meridian West Central College | Sarasota | Manatee | (941) 917-0000 |
| Messiah EPIC Nursing Academy | Melbourne | Brevard | (321) 369-6827 |
| Miami Dade College School of Continuing Education & Professional Development | Miami | Miami-Dade | (305) 237-4039 |
| North East Florida State Hospital CNA Training | Macclenny | Baker | (904) 259-6211 |
| North Florida College – Advent Christian Village | Madison | Madison | (850) 973-1662 |
| North Florida Technical College | Starke | Bradford | (904) 966-6836 |
| Orange Technical College – Orlando Campus | Orlando | Orange | (407) 246-7060 |
| Palm Beach State College – Patient Care Technician Program | Lake Worth | Palm Beach | (561) 868-3431 |
| Palmetto Medical Institute Nursing Assistant Program | Palmetto Bay | Miami-Dade | (305) 964-7184 |
| Pinellas Technical College – CNA Program | Saint Petersburg | Pinellas | (727) 893-2500 |
| Post Education Institute College of Biblical and Healthcare Studies | Oakland Park | Broward | (754) 302-9301 |
| Radford M. Locklin Technical College | Milton | Santa Rosa | (850) 983-5700 |
| Riveroak Technical College | Live Oak | Suwannee | (386) 647-4200 |
| RMD Education & Training Services | Naples | Collier | (239) 452-2408 |
| Robert Morgan Educational Center and Tech College – Patient Care Technician | Miami | Miami-Dade | (305) 253-9920 |
| Santa Fe College | Gainesville | Alachua | (352) 395-5731 |
| Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System | Sarasota | Sarasota | (941) 917-9000 |
| Sharron Nursing Academy | Jacksonville | Duval | (904) 799-8059 |
| SMTL School of Faith & Nursing | Ocoee | Orange | (407) 857-0204 |
| South Florida Healthcare Institute | Boca Raton | Palm Beach | (800) 816-3489 |
| St. Johns River State College CNA Training | Palatka | Putnam | (386) 312-4267 |
| Sumter Career and Adult Education | Sumterville | Sumter | (352) 793-5719 |
| Suncoast Technical College | Sarasota | Sarasota | (941) 924-1365 |
| Tallahassee State College – Gadsden Center | Tallahassee | Leon | (850) 558-4516 |
| Tallahassee State College – Ghazvini Center | Tallahassee | Leon | (850) 558-4516 |
| Taylor College Nursing Assistant Program | Ocala | Marion | (352) 245-4119 |
| TLC Medical Training | Pompano Beach | Broward | (954) 917-8099 |
| Traviss Technical Academy | Lakeland | Polk | (863) 499-2700 |
| Treasure Coast Technical College | Vero Beach | Indian River | (772) 564-4970 |
| Trinity Training Center | Fort Myers | Lee | (239) 810-4726 |
| Triple Crown Academy for Nursing & Health | Tamarac | Broward | (321) 412-0833 |
| Ultimate Medical Academy | Clearwater | Pinellas | (727) 298-8685 |
| Universal Training Center | Lauderdale Lakes | Broward | (954) 990-7376 |
| West Palm Beach Nursing Academy | West Palm Beach | Palm Beach | (561) 355-5086 |
Tip: ask each program whether it also offers a home health aide add-on. For details, costs, and exam steps, see our Florida CNA guide.
FAQ
Short answers to what people ask most.
No. Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration says home health aides are not licensed or certified by the state. Agencies set requirements based on state rules (40 or 75 hours, or a competency test) or federal rules if they bill Medicare or Medicaid.
The two most common routes are completing a 75-hour home health aide training and competency evaluation, or becoming a CNA. Federal rules count a CNA in good standing on the Florida nurse aide registry as a qualified home health aide.
The median pay for home health and personal care aides in Florida is $16.25 an hour, about $33,800 a year, based on the May 2025 federal wage survey. Florida CNAs earn a median $18.03 an hour.
Yes, for Medicare and Medicaid home health agencies, if the CNA completed a state-approved program and is listed in good standing on the state nurse aide registry.
Yes. Federal rules require at least 12 hours of in-service training every 12 months for aides at Medicare and Medicaid agencies.