The CMA (AAMA) exam covers the full scope of medical assisting: clinical skills (vital signs, infection control, exams and procedures, specimen collection, ECGs and pharmacology), general knowledge (law, ethics and communication), and administrative work (coding, insurance, scheduling and health records).
Exam format at a glance
| Format | 200 multiple-choice questions (180 scored, 20 pretest) in four 40-minute segments — 160 minutes of test time. |
| Cost | AAMA lists the exam fee on its website — check AAMA for current pricing. |
| Scoring | Scaled score from 200 to 800; the minimum passing score is 405. AAMA does not publish a percent-correct equivalent, so practice scores here are an estimate, not a prediction of your scaled score. |
| Validity | The CMA (AAMA) credential must be recertified every 60 months, by exam or continuing education. |
Who this exam is for
- Graduates of CAAHEP- or ABHES-accredited medical assisting programs
- Medical assistants recertifying by exam
- Students reviewing clinical and administrative skills
How to actually study for it
- Clinical competency is almost 60% of the exam — master vital signs, infection control, order of draw, ECG lead placement and injections.
- Practice dosage calculations and metric conversions until they are automatic.
- Know legal terms: negligence, respondeat superior, subpoena duces tecum, consent and mandatory reporting.
- Review CPT, ICD-10-CM and HCPCS basics, plus fraud terms like upcoding and unbundling.
Where to go next
Start with the free 10-question diagnostic to see where you actually stand, or go straight to the one-page CMA (AAMA) cheat sheet. The full CMA (AAMA) practice exam covers every domain at the real exam's weighting, with every answer explained.