Exams / CCMA / How long is the CCMA exam?

How long is the CCMA exam?

You get 3 hours to take the NHA CCMA exam. It has 180 questions, and 150 of them count toward your score. The other 30 are unscored pretest questions mixed in with the rest.

Checked against the sources on October 15, 2026.

Three hours for 180 questions works out to one minute per question. You won’t know which 30 questions are pretest items, so give each one your best answer.

What the 150 scored questions cover

NHA’s test plan splits the scored questions into seven domains. Clinical patient care is more than half the exam.

Domain Scored questions
Clinical patient care 84
Foundational knowledge and basic science 15
Patient care coordination and education 12
Administrative assisting 12
Communication and customer service 12
Anatomy and physiology 8
Medical law and ethics 7
Total 150

Inside clinical patient care, NHA lists general patient care (28 questions), infection control and safety (15), patient intake and vitals (14), phlebotomy (12), point-of-care testing and lab procedures (9), and EKG and cardiovascular testing (6).

The current test plan is based on a job analysis NHA finished in 2022.

Sources

  1. National Healthcareer Association, CCMA test plan. 150 scored and 30 pretest questions, 3 hours, scored questions per domain. Checked October 15, 2026.
  2. National Healthcareer Association, NHA candidate handbook. Pretest questions don’t affect your score. Checked October 15, 2026.

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More about the CCMA

What is the CCMA passing score?

You need a scaled score of 390 or higher to pass the CCMA. NHA reports scaled scores from 200 to 500, and the same passing score applies to every NHA certification exam.

How much does the CCMA exam cost?

The NHA CCMA exam costs $169. That’s the price NHA lists for the CCMA exam application, and you pay it when you pick your test date.

What are the CCMA exam requirements?

To take the CCMA you need a high school diploma or GED, or be on track to earn one within 18 months. You also need either a medical assistant training program finished in the last 5 years or supervised medical assistant work experience.

CCMA practice test

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