The Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) exam
Awarded by American Medical Technologists (AMT) · what the exam is, how it is weighted, how it is scored, and what it takes to keep the credential.
| Questions on screen | 210 |
|---|---|
| Scored questions | 210 by the published specifications |
| Unscored pretest items | AMT says exams may contain pretest items; the count is not published |
| Time limit | 2 hours (about 34 seconds per question) |
| Passing score | 70 on a 0-100 scale (not a percentage) |
| Version in force | Competencies and specifications dated 2026 |
Source: AMT Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) Certification Examination Competencies and Examination Specifications (2026); AMT Candidate Handbook
What the exam is
The AMT Registered Medical Assistant exam has 210 questions, and the time limit for the Medical Assistant exam in AMT's candidate handbook is 2 hours. That works out to about 34 seconds per question, the fastest pace of any exam in this app. Every practice test here runs at that pace on purpose.
Questions are four-option multiple choice with a single best answer; marking more than one answer scores as incorrect. AMT says items may require you to recall facts, interpret graphics or case studies, analyze situations or solve problems.
The specifications split the exam into three work areas: General Medical Assisting (65 questions, 31 %), Administrative Medical Assisting (30 questions, 14 %) and Clinical Medical Assisting (115 questions, 55 %). Under those, AMT lists task areas (Body Systems, Medical Terminology, Insurance, Vital Signs, Pharmacology and so on) without a question count for each.
Source: AMT, Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) Certification Examination Competencies and Examination Specifications, Summary Table; AMT Candidate Handbook, Time Limit for Computerized Testing and Examination Format
The areas and their weight
| Work area | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| I. General Medical Assisting | 65 | 31 % |
| II. Administrative Medical Assisting | 30 | 14 % |
| III. Clinical Medical Assisting | 115 | 55 % |
| Total questions | 210 | 100 % |
AMT publishes the weight of the three work areas but not of the fifteen task areas underneath them. ScrubCert splits each work area among its task areas in proportion to the number of competencies the outline lists as testable; the work-area totals of 65, 30 and 115 are always the published ones.
Source: AMT Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) Certification Examination Competencies and Examination Specifications (2026); AMT Candidate Handbook
How it is scored
AMT reports results as a scaled score from 0 to 100, and you need 70 or higher to pass. AMT is explicit that 70 is not a percentage of correct answers nor a number of questions: the passing point is set by experts item by item and then converted to the common scale, so it is comparable across different forms of the test.
AMT's handbook also says its exams may contain unscored pretest questions embedded among the rest, that you cannot identify them, and that the time limit already allows for them. The RMA specifications list 210 questions by work area and do not state how many pretest items are added.
This app uses 70 % as a study target, which is a different thing from AMT's scaled 70. It also marks with a "#" in the official outline the competencies AMT considers part of the job but does not test; no questions are written for those.
Source: AMT Candidate Handbook, Examination Performance Standards and Pretest (Pilot) Questions
What the questions look like
- Four-option multiple choice with a single best answer. Marking more than one answer is scored as incorrect.
- AMT says items may ask you to recall facts, interpret graphic illustrations or case studies, analyse situations or solve problems.
Source: AMT Candidate Handbook, Examination Format.
What it costs to sit
American Medical Technologists (AMT) 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.
How the task areas are weighted here
AMT publishes the weight of the three work areas but not of the fifteen task areas under them. Within each work area, this app splits the questions in proportion to the number of competencies the outline lists as testable (the ones without a "#"), with a floor of three per area. The work-area totals of 65, 30 and 115 are always the official ones.
Those fifteen task areas are what you see on the home screen, so that you can study Vital Signs apart from Pharmacology instead of facing one block of 115 clinical questions.
Source: AMT, RMA Certification Examination Competencies and Examination Specifications, Task Inventory Notes
Keeping the credential
Passing is the start of a cycle, not the end of one. This is what American Medical Technologists requires afterwards.
- The Certification Continuation Program runs on a three-year cycle.
- The RMA needs 30 points per cycle, ten a year, and an annual fee of $75. There is no separate CCP fee.
- Since January 1, 2021, employment alone no longer earns points.
- Failing to show compliance, or leaving the annual fee unpaid through the cycle, means the certification lapses: you are decertified.
- You reactivate by CCP or by exam; the application stays valid for six months. The RMA reactivation fee is $280. If the credential has been expired for ten years or more, only the exam route is open.
Source: AMT, Maintain Your AMT Certification; CCP Frequently Asked Questions; Reactivate 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 34 seconds per question.
- Thirty-four seconds a question is the hardest pace of any exam in this app. Practise recall, not reasoning: you will not have time to work an answer out from first principles.
- 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 AMT RMA practice tests carry the same number of questions as the scored part of the real exam, the same time limit, and the split by area explained above, built from the published weights. 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 AMT RMA exam?
The published specifications list 210 questions. AMT says its exams may contain unscored pretest items and does not publish how many.
How long do you get?
You get 2 hours, which works out to about 34 seconds per question.
What score do you need to pass?
AMT reports results as a scaled score from 0 to 100, and you need 70 or higher to pass. AMT is explicit that 70 is not a percentage of correct answers nor a number of questions: the passing point is set by experts item by item and then converted to the common scale, so it is comparable across different forms of the test.
How do you keep the credential after you pass?
The Certification Continuation Program runs on a three-year cycle. The RMA needs 30 points per cycle, ten a year, and an annual fee of $75. There is no separate CCP fee.
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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