CCMA certification
- Questions
- 150 scored + 30 pretest
- Time
- 3 hours
- Renewal
- Every 2 years: 10 CE credits and $195 renewal fee
CCMA certification, short for Certified Clinical Medical Assistant, is a credential from the National Healthcareer Association, known as NHA. To get it, you meet a few eligibility rules, submit an exam application and pass the test. Applying for the exam costs $169, and in NHA's 2025 survey, 96% of employers) said they ask for or encourage medical assistants to be certified, so plenty of hiring managers expect to see it.
CMA vs RMA vs CCMA vs NCMA, side by side
Who can apply?
To start, a high school diploma or a GED is required, or you should be on track to earn one within 18 months).
From there, you have 2 routes. One is completing a medical assistant training or education program sometime in the past 5 years).
The other route is experience on the job. Having 1 year) of supervised medical assisting experience within the last 3 years is enough, or 2 years within the last 5. California residents taking the work route need a minimum of 2 years of medical assistant experience in the past 5 years.
The NHA CCMA exam
You'll answer 150 scored questions plus 30 pretest questions in 3 hours.
There are 3 places to take the test: your own school, a PSI testing center or through live remote proctoring).
If you'd like a feel for the questions ahead of time, NHA offers practice tests from $54.
Is clinical medical assistant certification worth it?
The answer usually rests on 2 things. Employers clearly value it, and at least one state builds the exam into its own credential: Washington accepts the NHA clinical medical assistant exam toward its Medical Assistant-Certified credential.
Pay may also matter to your decision, but these figures describe medical assistants overall, not what you could earn specifically with CCMA certification. In May 2025, the median pay for medical assistants was $45,690 a year, which works out to $21.97 an hour. A median means half earned more than that and half earned less. Here's how that stacks up against similar jobs people often consider.
| Role | Median yearly pay (May 2025) |
|---|---|
| Nursing assistants | $42,260 |
| Phlebotomists | $45,230 |
| Medical assistants | $45,690 |
| Licensed practical or vocational nurses | $64,400 |
| Registered nurses | $97,550 |
Renewing your certification
You'll renew your CCMA every 2 years). Renewal takes 10 continuing education credits, meaning short courses or learning activities that show your skills are current, plus a $195 renewal fee.
Letting it lapse doesn't put you back at square one. You can reinstate an expired NHA certification within 1 year) of when it expired.
If you're still a student, note this date: starting October 1, 2026, NHA provisional certifications will be valid for 18 months instead of 12. If you expect to earn your diploma or GED within 18 months, check NHA's provisional certification rules before applying.
Questions people ask
Can you get certified online?
In part. You can take the exam at home through live remote proctoring, so no trip to a testing center is needed. On the training side, of the 1,094 programs in our listings, 30 can be completed entirely through distance education, with 14 of those accredited.
Is the CCMA free?
Not from NHA. Applying for the exam costs $169, and the renewal every 2 years is $195. If you're in a training program, it's worth asking your school whether it helps with the exam application before you pay the fee yourself.
What does training cost?
The cost varies widely by school type. Among the 392 career schools that publish a full-program price covering tuition, fees and books, the median came to $17,257 in 2023-24. Across 437 public colleges, the median for in-district tuition and fees over a full-time year came to $4,346. Among the programs we list, 1,049 participate in federal student aid.
How long does training take?
The median is 9 months across the 378 career schools that report program length. Programs range from 2 months at the shortest to 32 at the longest. Most programs, 257 of them, take 7 to 9 months. Another 59 take 10 to 12 months, 43 take longer than a year, and just 19 finish in 6 months or less.