The Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) exam
Awarded by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) · what the exam is, how it is weighted, how it is scored, and what it takes to keep the credential.
| Questions on screen | 180 |
|---|---|
| Scored questions | 150 |
| Unscored pretest items | 30 |
| Time limit | 3 hours (about 1 minute per question) |
| Passing score | 390 out of 500, scaled |
| Version in force | CCMA 3.0, in effect since January 10, 2024 |
| Pass rate (2024) | 81.38 % of 78,681 exams administered in 2024 |
Source: NHA CCMA Test Plan, based on the 2022 job analysis (exam version in effect since January 10, 2024)
What the exam is
The NHA Certified Clinical Medical Assistant exam has 180 questions: 150 scored and 30 unscored pretest items, and you get 3 hours. That is one minute per question.
The version in force is the one NHA calls CCMA 3.0. It comes from a job analysis completed in 2022 and went live on January 10, 2024. NHA's announcement described minimal impact on topics and content areas, but the weights did move, and this app follows the current plan.
The test plan has seven domains, and the biggest one, Clinical Patient Care, is 84 of the 150 scored questions: more than half the exam. NHA breaks that domain into six subdomains (Patient Intake and Vitals, General Patient Care, Infection Control and Safety, Point of Care Testing and Laboratory Procedures, Phlebotomy, and EKG), and this app treats each of those as its own area so that you can study and be tested on them separately.
Source: NHA Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) Test Plan, based on the 2022 job analysis
The areas and their weight
| Domain | Scored questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Foundational Knowledge and Basic Science | 15 | 10 % |
| 2. Anatomy and Physiology | 8 | 5 % |
| 3. Clinical Patient Care | 84 | 56 % |
| A. Patient Intake and Vitals | 14 | 9 % |
| B. General Patient Care | 28 | 19 % |
| C. Infection Control and Safety | 15 | 10 % |
| D. Point of Care Testing and Laboratory Procedures | 9 | 6 % |
| E. Phlebotomy | 12 | 8 % |
| F. EKG and Cardiovascular Testing | 6 | 4 % |
| 4. Patient Care Coordination and Education | 12 | 8 % |
| 5. Administrative Assisting | 12 | 8 % |
| 6. Communication and Customer Service | 12 | 8 % |
| 7. Medical Law and Ethics | 7 | 5 % |
| Total scored questions | 150 | 100 % |
Clinical Patient Care is 84 of the 150 scored questions, more than half the exam. NHA breaks it into six subdomains, and ScrubCert treats each of those as an area of its own so that you can study and be tested on them separately, instead of facing one undivided block of 84.
Source: NHA CCMA Test Plan, based on the 2022 job analysis (exam version in effect since January 10, 2024)
How it is scored
NHA reports every exam on a scaled score, and the passing score is 390 out of 500. NHA does not publish how many correct answers that takes, because it depends on the difficulty of the specific set of questions you receive.
This app uses 70 % as a study target on practice tests that follow the official split by area. Clearing it consistently means you are working at the level the exam expects; it is not a promise about your scaled score.
In 2024, NHA administered 78,681 CCMA exams and 81.38 % of candidates passed. It is the largest medical assistant certification exam in the country by volume, and there were 233,190 active CCMA certifications at the end of that year.
Source: NHA, Pass Rates for NHA Examinations Administered in 2024 (revised 1/8/25); NHA CCMA Test Plan
What the questions look like
NHA’s published CCMA test plan describes the domains and the number of questions, and does not describe the item formats. We do not describe a format the certifying body has not published.
What it costs to sit
The National Healthcareer Association (NHA) sets and publishes the exam fee, and it is not stated in the outline documents this page is built from. Check the current fee with the certifying body before you apply.
CCMA 3.0: the exam since January 2024
New CCMA study materials came out on August 10, 2023, and the new exam on January 10, 2024. Candidates who failed the old exam in the thirty days before the switch had to retest on the new one.
Watch out for the older one-page summary of the CCMA test plan that is still linked in places: it comes from the 2016 job analysis and its weights are different. The detailed plan for the 2022 job analysis is the one that matches the exam you will sit, and it is the one this app uses.
Source: NHA News Center, Now Available: CCMA 3.0 Certification Exam & Study Materials; NHA CCMA Test Plan (2022 job analysis)
Keeping the credential
Passing is the start of a cycle, not the end of one. This is what the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) requires afterwards.
- Recertify every two years.
- Ten continuing education credits per cycle, where two hours of continuing education equal one NHA credit. Leftover credits do not carry over to the next cycle.
- There is a one-month grace period; not meeting the requirement before the expiration date voids the credential.
- Reinstatement is possible within one year of expiry with 15 CE credits, plus the recertification and reinstatement fees. After one year there is no reinstatement: you re-register, retake the exam and pay the full price.
- A provisional certification expires twelve months after the exam and can be neither recertified nor reinstated.
- NHA’s own blog gives the renewal fee as $195, and $65 for each additional NHA certification with no extra continuing education. That figure comes from the blog, not from the fee page, which we could not open.
Source: NHA Candidate Handbook; NHA Help Center, How do I keep my NHA certification current; NHA blog, How do I renew my NHA certification.
How to study for it
- Work in the proportions above. A practice test that pulls at random from a whole question bank hides your weak areas by burying them among the strong ones; one built with the published split shows you where the exam will actually hurt.
- Train at the pace of the real thing: this exam runs at about 1 minute per question.
- Study by area, not by volume. Finish one area, then measure it, then move on. A score of 90 % on eight questions is not mastery of anything.
- Read the explanation of the questions you got right, not only of the ones you missed. A lucky guess and a correct answer look identical on a score line.
- Answer every question as if it counts: you cannot tell the unscored pretest items apart from the rest.
How ScrubCert prepares you for it
ScrubCert is an iPhone app. Its NHA CCMA practice tests carry the same number of questions as the scored part of the real exam, the same time limit, and the same number of questions per area that the certifying body publishes. Every explanation says why the correct answer is correct, why each of the other three is not, and names the public document it rests on.
Without paying anything you get the full guide to this exam, the first three questions of every area with their explanations, a diagnostic you can repeat every week, and five new questions a day. The rest is unlocked with a single payment that never renews: no subscription, no advertisements, no account, and nothing sent off your phone.
Read how we write the questions and which sources we use and which we refuse.
Questions people ask
How many questions is the NHA CCMA exam?
The exam has 180 questions on screen: 150 are scored and 30 are unscored pretest items.
How long do you get?
You get 3 hours, which works out to about 1 minute per question.
What score do you need to pass?
NHA reports every exam on a scaled score, and the passing score is 390 out of 500. NHA does not publish how many correct answers that takes, because it depends on the difficulty of the specific set of questions you receive.
What is the pass rate?
NHA reports 81.38 % of 78,681 exams administered in 2024.
How do you keep the credential after you pass?
Recertify every two years. Ten continuing education credits per cycle, where two hours of continuing education equal one NHA credit. Leftover credits do not carry over to the next cycle.
Is ScrubCert an official product of the certifying body?
No. ScrubCert is an independent study aid. It follows the published outline, it does not reproduce any real exam question, and it has no connection with any certifying body.
The other certifications
This app is an independent study aid. It is not official and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA), the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), American Medical Technologists (AMT), the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT), any school or training program, any test administration company, or any publisher. All names of examinations and organizations are used only to describe the exams this app prepares for. It does not reproduce any real exam question.
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