The Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) 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 | 135 |
|---|---|
| Scored questions | 110 |
| Unscored pretest items | 25 |
| Time limit | 2 hours 15 minutes (about 1 minute per question) |
| Passing score | 390 out of 500, scaled |
| Version in force | Test plan of the 2021 job analysis, Rev. 01/22/2022 |
| Pass rate (2024) | 62.68 % of 9,390 exams administered in 2024 — the lowest of any NHA certification that year |
Source: NHA CMAA Test Plan, based on the 2021 job analysis (Rev. 01/22/2022)
What the exam is
The NHA Certified Medical Administrative Assistant exam has 135 questions: 110 scored and 25 unscored pretest items, and you get 2 hours and 15 minutes: one minute per question.
The test plan comes from a job analysis NHA completed in 2021 and has seven domains: Foundational Knowledge (10 questions), Communication and Professionalism (21), Medical Law, Ethics and Compliance (17), Scheduling (16), Patient Encounter (21), Billing and Revenue Cycle (11), and Medical Practice Administrative Procedures and Logistics (14).
Notice where the weight is: Communication and Patient Encounter together are 42 of the 110 scored questions. This is an exam about running the front of a practice, and it tests how you deal with people at least as much as what you know about forms.
Source: NHA Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) Test Plan, based on the 2021 job analysis, Rev. 01/22/2022
The areas and their weight
| Domain | Scored questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Foundational Knowledge | 10 | 9 % |
| Communication and Professionalism | 21 | 19 % |
| Medical Law, Ethics and Compliance | 17 | 15 % |
| Scheduling | 16 | 15 % |
| Patient Encounter | 21 | 19 % |
| Billing and Revenue Cycle | 11 | 10 % |
| Administrative Procedures and Logistics | 14 | 13 % |
| Total scored questions | 110 | 100 % |
Source: NHA CMAA Test Plan, based on the 2021 job analysis (Rev. 01/22/2022)
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 on a given form of the exam.
In 2024, NHA administered 9,390 CMAA exams and 62.68 % of candidates passed, the lowest pass rate of any NHA certification that year. More than one candidate in three did not pass. Do not let the smaller size of the exam fool you into studying less for it.
This app uses 70 % as a study target on practice tests that follow the seven-domain split. Clearing it consistently means you are studying at the level the exam expects.
Source: NHA, Pass Rates for NHA Examinations Administered in 2024 (revised 1/8/25); NHA CMAA Test Plan
What the questions look like
NHA’s published CMAA 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.
The plan in force: the 2021 job analysis
The current CMAA test plan is dated January 22, 2022 and is based on the 2021 job analysis. It is the plan NHA still links for this exam, and it is the one this app follows, domain by domain and count by count.
If you find older CMAA materials, check whether they use these seven domain names. Earlier plans organized the exam differently.
Source: NHA Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) Test Plan, Rev. 01/22/2022
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 CMAA 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 CMAA exam?
The exam has 135 questions on screen: 110 are scored and 25 are unscored pretest items.
How long do you get?
You get 2 hours 15 minutes, 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 on a given form of the exam.
What is the pass rate?
NHA reports 62.68 % of 9,390 exams administered in 2024 — the lowest of any NHA certification that year.
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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