CMA certification: cost, renewal & jobs
CMA (AAMA) is the medical assistant credential: $125 to sit the exam as a member, $250 if not, and it runs 60 months before you recertify.
What's CMA (AAMA) certification?
CMA (AAMA) is a national medical assistant credential from the American Association of Medical Assistants, earned by passing a 200-question exam in 160 minutes. It covers both halves of the job: clinical work such as injections and phlebotomy, and administrative work such as scheduling and records. The exam costs $125 if you're an AAMA member and $250 if you aren't. Certification runs 60 months. AAMA writes it as "CMA (AAMA)" with the parenthetical attached, because several other credentials answer to CMA.
CMA vs RMA vs CCMA vs medication aide
Five credentials cover medical assisting, and a separate job shares the letters. Employers rarely explain which they mean. The three you'll see most, CMA, RMA, and CCMA, hire into the same jobs and are usually interchangeable to an employer; they differ in who issues them, how you qualify, and how often you renew.
| CMA (AAMA) | American Association of Medical Assistants. Four eligibility categories, including the only published alternative route for graduates of unaccredited programs. Recertifies every 60 months on 60 CEUs or a retake. |
|---|---|
| RMA (AMT) | American Medical Technologists. A separate exam over the same clinical and administrative ground. Qualify through an accredited program, US military medical training, or five of the last 7 years working as a medical assistant, then renew through the Certification Continuation Program, 30 points every 3 years. See the RMA guide. |
| CCMA (NHA) | National Healthcareer Association. Weighted toward clinical patient care rather than the front office. Qualify with a high school diploma plus a training program or a year of supervised work experience, then renew every 2 years on 10 continuing education credits. See the CCMA guide. |
| NCMA (NCCT) | National Center for Competency Testing. Washington accepts its exam for the state credential, as it does the others. |
| CMAC (AMCA) | American Medical Certification Association. The newest of the five and the least often named by employers. |
| Medication Assistant-Certified | Not a medical assistant. Usually a nursing assistant with extra training who gives medications in long-term care under a nurse. Several states abbreviate it CMA, which is why the National Council of State Boards of Nursing asks them to write it Medication Assistant-Certified instead. |
The three main credentials diverge most on renewal cadence: AAMA runs the longest cycle at 60 months, AMT attests every 3 years, and NHA the shortest at 2.
Washington, one of the few states that credentials medical assistants at all, accepts all 5 exams for the same state credential. Pick the one your program prepares you for unless a specific employer says otherwise.
Who requires CMA
Clinics, physician offices, and hospital outpatient departments ask for it on medical assistant roles, usually asking for certification rather than for a named issuer. It comes up where the job includes injections or drawing blood, because those are tasks a supervising provider delegates under their own license. Reception and scheduling roles in the same clinic don't ask for it. Phlebotomist roles have their own credential, CPT, and don't need this one.
Requirements and eligibility
AAMA lists 4 ways to qualify. You need one of them.
- Be a student or graduate of a medical assisting program accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES.
- Have been certified as a CMA (AAMA) before.
- Be a medical assisting educator with at least 1,000 hours teaching in a postsecondary program at a USDE- or CHEA-accredited institution.
- Qualify through the Alternative Pathway, which takes graduates of a qualified postsecondary program or apprenticeship that isn't CAAHEP- or ABHES-accredited.
The Alternative Pathway wants a program of at least 560 academic contact hours over the equivalent of 2 semesters, plus either a 160-hour outpatient practicum or 1,000 hours of medical assisting work afterward. The curriculum has to cover anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, infection control, applied mathematics, injection technique, and phlebotomy, and you document at least 10 injections and 10 phlebotomies. AAMA reviews the paperwork for free and only charges you once you're approved to sit.
Cost, format, and renewal
Figures below are AAMA's own, current as of July 2026. Membership halves the exam fee and both renewal fees.
| Exam fee | $125 for AAMA members, $250 for non-members |
|---|---|
| Format | 200 multiple-choice questions, computer-based |
| Exam length | 160 minutes of testing, up to 3 hours for the appointment without the tutorial and survey |
| Validity period | 60 months |
| Renewal requirement | 60 continuing education units, or retake the exam |
| Category minimums | The 60 have to include at least 10 administrative, 10 clinical, and 10 general. The remaining 30 are any combination of the three |
| AAMA CEUs | A separate rule: 30 of the 60 must be AAMA CEUs, whatever categories they fall in |
| Renewal fee, by CE | $80 for members, $160 for non-members |
| Renewal fee, by exam | $125 for members, $250 for non-members |
| If it lapses | $50 reactivation on top. More than 3 months expired and the CE route closes: you retake the exam |
| Issuing body | American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) |
The two CEU rules run independently, and people conflate them. The 10/10/10 split applies to the whole 60, not to the 30 AAMA CEUs inside it.
When your state credentials medical assistants
Most states don't credential medical assistants. You work under the delegating provider's license, and your certification is an employer expectation rather than a legal one. That catches people who assume a national certification is a license.
Washington shows what a state credential looks like when there's one. It issues Medical Assistant-Certified, confusingly also abbreviated MA-C, along with narrower credentials for registered assistants, phlebotomists, hemodialysis technicians, and EMTs. It wants a CAAHEP- or ABHES-accredited program, or another accredited or state-approved program running at least 720 clock hours with a 160-hour externship, plus a passing score on one of the 5 recognized exams within the past 5 years. There your national certification is an input to the state credential, not a substitute for it. Check your own state before you assume either way.
How to get certified
- Check whether your state credentials medical assistants. It changes what you're aiming at.
- Work out which of AAMA's 4 eligibility categories you fall into. If your program wasn't CAAHEP- or ABHES-accredited, read the Alternative Pathway before assuming you're out.
- Price AAMA membership against the $125 it takes off the exam. Dues vary by state society and local chapter, so the comparison is yours to run, and membership saves you again at every renewal.
- Apply through AAMA and pay the exam fee.
- Take the exam: 200 questions, 160 minutes.
- Apply for your state credential if your state has one.
- Start logging CEUs. You need 60 over 60 months, 30 of them AAMA's.
Demand for CMA on MedJobList
77 of the active US openings we track right now name a certified medical assistant, in the title or in the requirements. Medical assistant postings often ask for certification without naming the body that issued it, which is what you'd expect in a country where most states leave the choice to the employer. You can browse those openings below, or filter the full job list by CMA yourself.
On the job
The 60-month cycle is long enough to forget. AAMA counts CEUs continuously, so log them as you earn them rather than reconstructing 60 months of paperwork at the end. Ask whether your employer pays for AAMA membership: it halves the exam fee and both renewal fees.
