NHA CCMA

The NHA describes the medical assistant role as spanning both clinical and administrative duties: vital signs, assisting with exams and procedures, injections and medications, EKG, phlebotomy and laboratory procedures, patient check-in and check-out, phone calls, and electronic health records. The free CCMA Test Plan maps the key concepts that appear on the exam, so download it and use it as your study outline.

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 supervised work experience in a medical assisting field: one year within the last three years, or two years within the last five years.

Create a free NHA account and submit the CCMA exam application through your account portal. Then choose your date and location - online or in person. The NHA says you take the exam at your school, at a PSI testing center near you, or through live remote proctoring at a location of your choice. An exam fee payment is required when you set the date.

For online CCMA exams, the NHA states it will officially post your certification results to your account page within two days of scoring your test. Plan accordingly if an employer is waiting on your credential, and keep your account login details handy so you can check the dashboard rather than emailing for updates.

Start with the free CCMA Test Plan to see which concepts are tested, then work through the online study guide with its games, quizzes and flashcards. Finish with the three practice tests, each allowing up to two attempts, and review every missed item before retesting. The NHA notes that buying prep materials is not required to sit for the exam and does not guarantee a passing score.

The NHA offers a set of three different online CCMA practice tests, and each one allows up to two attempts. That gives you up to six practice runs in total. Use the first attempt as a diagnostic, study the topics you missed, and save later attempts to confirm your readiness rather than burning through them early.

The NHA highlights professionalism and critical thinking as the soft skills employers most want in a clinical medical assistant, yet candidates often drill only facts and procedures. Weak spots also tend to be the administrative side - records, check-in and out, phones - because candidates assume the exam is purely clinical. Build both halves into your study plan.

Certifications must be renewed every two years. Before your expiration date, complete 10 continuing education credits and pay your recertification fee; the NHA says there is no penalty for renewing early. The CE library is online 24/7. If your certification has expired, you have one year to reinstate it.

The NHA reports that 96% of employers require or encourage certification for medical assistants, based on its 2025 Industry Outlook, and that 89% of organizations encourage or require their medical assistants to be certified. It also reports that 35% of employers believe medical assistants have more responsibility this year compared to last.