CCMA

You need a high school diploma or GED/high school equivalency, or be scheduled to earn one within the next 18 months. You must also have completed a medical assistant training or education program within the last five years, or have one year of supervised work experience in a medical assisting field within the last three years, or two years within the last five years. Check the Candidate Handbook for details.

The CCMA exam is multiple choice. You take it at your school, at a PSI testing center near you, or through live remote proctoring at the location of your choice. You schedule the date and location through your free NHA account after submitting your application, and the exam fee is paid at that scheduling step.

For online CCMA exams, NHA officially posts your certification results to your account page within two days of scoring your test. Plan around that window rather than expecting an immediate score at the end of the session, especially if an employer is waiting on your credential.

Difficulty depends on your training and clinical exposure. NHA's free CCMA Test Plan maps the key concepts covered on the exam, so download it first and use it as your study outline. Then work through the online study guide and the practice tests, which show where your knowledge is thin before you sit for the real exam.

NHA offers a set of three different online practice tests, and each medical assistant practice test allows up to 2 attempts. That gives you repeated exposure to question style across several sittings. Note that buying preparation materials is not required to sit for the exam, and using them does not guarantee a passing score.

Employers say professionalism and critical thinking are the most important soft skills when hiring a clinical medical assistant, so questions in those areas can trip up candidates who studied only clinical tasks. Weak spots also appear when candidates skip the test plan and study broadly instead of targeting mapped concepts, or never practice under exam-style conditions.

Certifications must be renewed every two years. Before your expiration date, complete 10 continuing education credits and pay your recertification fee; NHA describes the cost as just $8 per month. There is no penalty for renewing early, and the CE library is available online 24/7.

If your certification has expired, you have one year to reinstate it. Act within that window rather than letting it lapse further, since reinstatement is a defined pathway with its own steps. NHA's renew/reinstate pages and step-by-step instructions walk you through the process.

Not universally, but it is widely expected. NHA reports that 96% of employers require or encourage certification for medical assistants (Source: 2025 Industry Outlook), and that according to employers, 89% of organizations encourage or require their medical assistants to be certified. Certification can also support career advancement and higher responsibility.