Medical assistant certification in Washington

There are 2 main medical assistant credentials in Washington. Medical Assistant-Registered covers a narrower set of duties, with no formal training or testing needed. It's tied to your employer, so when you change jobs, it doesn't come along.

Medical Assistant-Certified takes training and an exam, and in return you get the wider set of duties and a credential that stays with you when you change jobs.

For Medical Assistant-Certified, the state accepts several training routes:

• A program accredited by CAAHEP (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs) or ABHES (Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools)
• A program at another accredited school totaling at least 720 clock hours, with an externship of no less than 160 hours
• A Washington-registered apprenticeship program

An externship means hands-on practice under supervision in an actual clinic, built into your program. Our site lists 484 programs nationwide that are CAAHEP-accredited or offered at ABHES-accredited schools. To see which local programs hold that accreditation, check the Washington program pages.

You must have passed a recognized exam no more than 5 years before applying. Recognized exams include AAMA's CMA, AMT's RMA, NHA's clinical medical assistant exam, NCCT's NCMA and AMCA's clinical medical assistant exam.

Met every requirement except the exam? Then you're eligible to request an interim certification. It's a temporary credential carrying the same wide scope of duties as a full Medical Assistant-Certified credential, good for up to 1 year so you have time to take the exam.

National certification by itself won't cover you in Washington. To perform the clinical duties in RCW 18.360.050, you still need a credential from the state Department of Health. Your exam can still count toward it, provided you passed it within the past 5 years.

1. Complete an approved training route.
2. Sit one of the 5 accepted exams and pass it, so your result is within 5 years of your application.
3. Send your application to the Department of Health along with the application fee of $145.
4. Renew on your birthday every 2 years, at $145 each time, to keep the credential current.

Across 378 career schools nationwide that report it, the median program length is 9 months. Programs run from 2 months at the shortest to 32 months at the longest.

Among 392 career schools pricing the full program, the median comes to $17,257 for tuition, fees and books. Across 437 public colleges, a full-time year runs in-district students a median of $4,346 for tuition and fees. Of the 1,094 programs we list nationwide, 1,049 are at schools that take part in federal student aid. Compare Washington schools side by side on our Washington program pages.

We list 30 programs you can take by distance education, 14 of them accredited. Classes are online, but your supervised clinical hours are always in person.

Since HB 1378 passed in April 2021, providers may supervise a medical assistant in a telemedicine visit via audio and video.

In May 2025, medical assistants across the US brought in a median of $45,690 per year, which works out to $21.97 an hour. That figure is national, not specific to Washington.

Take the next step toward meeting Washington's training requirement: choose one accredited program on our Washington program page, then send the short "Request information" form below the program tables to ask that school about costs, start dates and in-person clinical practice.