The National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA) exam
Awarded by the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT) · what the exam is, how it is weighted, how it is scored, and what it takes to keep the credential.
| Questions on screen | 150 |
|---|---|
| Scored questions | 125 |
| Unscored pretest items | 25 |
| Time limit | 3 hours (about 72 seconds per question) |
| Passing score | Scaled; the test plan does not state the percentage required |
| Version in force | Detailed test plan effective January 2024 |
Source: NCCT National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA) Detailed Test Plan, effective January 2024
What the exam is
The NCCT National Certified Medical Assistant exam has 150 questions: 125 scored and 25 unscored pretest items, and you get 3 hours. That is 72 seconds per question, the most generous pace in this app.
The detailed test plan, effective January 2024, has four content categories: Pharmacology and General Medical Knowledge (18 scored questions), Clinical Medical Procedures (72), Medical Administrative Duties (15) and Law and Ethics (20). The clinical category is broken down further into Infection Control and Safety (15), Patient Intake and Care (32), Phlebotomy (15) and ECG (10), and this app treats each of those as its own area.
NCCT says 92 % of the items are standard four-option multiple choice and 8 % are alternative items: drag and drop, multi-select and hotspot questions where you click a place on an image.
Source: NCCT, National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA) Detailed Test Plan, effective January 2024
The areas and their weight
| Domain | Scored questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pharmacology and General Medical Knowledge | 18 | 14 % |
| Clinical Medical Procedures | 72 | 58 % |
| Infection Control and Safety | 15 | 12 % |
| Patient Intake and Care | 32 | 26 % |
| Phlebotomy | 15 | 12 % |
| ECG | 10 | 8 % |
| Medical Administrative Duties | 15 | 12 % |
| Law and Ethics | 20 | 16 % |
| Total scored questions | 125 | 100 % |
NCCT breaks Clinical Medical Procedures into four parts, and ScrubCert treats each of them as an area of its own.
Source: NCCT National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA) Detailed Test Plan, effective January 2024
How it is scored
NCCT reports a scaled score; the detailed test plan does not state the percentage of correct answers required to pass. This app uses 70 % as a study target on practice tests built with the official split.
The plan is explicit that it reflects a national job analysis, and each competency is written as something a working medical assistant does: "follow CDC Standard Precautions", "perform basic medication-related calculations", "recognize common drug classifications". The questions in this app are written to those same tasks.
Source: NCCT, National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA) Detailed Test Plan, effective January 2024
What the questions look like
- 92 % of the items are standard four-option multiple choice.
- 8 % are alternative items: drag and drop, multi-select and hotspot, where you click a location on an image.
Source: NCCT, NCMA Detailed Test Plan, effective January 2024.
What it costs to sit
The National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT) 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.
What the alternative items look like
Roughly one question in twelve on the real exam is not a plain multiple-choice item. A drag-and-drop item may ask you to put the steps of a procedure in order or match tubes to tests; a multi-select item asks for every correct option, not one; a hotspot item asks you to click a location on a picture, such as an injection site or an electrode position.
The knowledge behind those items is the same knowledge this app tests. What is different is the format, and you should practice the format once with NCCT's own sample materials before exam day so that the mechanics do not cost you time.
Source: NCCT, National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA) Detailed Test Plan, effective January 2024
Keeping the credential
Passing is the start of a cycle, not the end of one. This is what the National Center for Competency Testing requires afterwards.
- Recertification is annual.
- The NCMA needs 12 continuing education contact hours a year.
- The annual fee is $89 for one certification and $118 when you recertify two or more at the same time.
- A credential is active for one year from the issue date and stays valid for five. NCCT charges no penalty or late fee: overdue years are simply submitted one at a time.
- Five consecutive years without recertifying makes the credential invalid. You then reapply, meet the eligibility criteria again and pass the exam.
Source: NCCT, Guide to Recertification, 2026 Revision.
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 72 seconds per question.
- Practise the alternative item formats once with NCCT’s own sample materials. The knowledge is the same; the mechanics can cost you time if you meet them for the first time on exam day.
- 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 NCCT NCMA 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 NCCT NCMA exam?
The exam has 150 questions on screen: 125 are scored and 25 are unscored pretest items.
How long do you get?
You get 3 hours, which works out to about 72 seconds per question.
What score do you need to pass?
NCCT reports a scaled score; the detailed test plan does not state the percentage of correct answers required to pass. This app uses 70 % as a study target on practice tests built with the official split.
How do you keep the credential after you pass?
Recertification is annual. The NCMA needs 12 continuing education contact hours a year.
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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