CCMA Exam Format: 180 Questions in 3 Hours, the Seven Domains, and Three Ways to Test

The CCMA is one fixed sitting on a computer: 180 multiple-choice questions in 3 hours. NHA's CCMA test plan lists "150 Scored Items/30 Pretest Items" and "Exam Time: 3 hours." The Candidate Handbook explains that pretest questions are being tried out for future exams, that "you are not aware which questions are scored questions and which questions are pretest questions," and that only the scored questions count.

The CCMA exam at a glance

As checked on October 28, 2026:

NHA's May 2023 announcement of this version is titled "CCMA 3.0," which is why some study materials carry a 3.0 label. The CCMA passing score guide explains the 200-to-500 scale.

CCMA domains and how many questions each carries

The test plan's summary outline assigns all 150 scored questions. Shares of the exam are Passy's arithmetic:

Three things stand out. Clinical Patient Care is more than half the exam. General Patient Care alone, with 28 questions, outweighs Anatomy and Physiology and Medical Law and Ethics combined. And the non-clinical work (care coordination, administrative assisting, communication) adds up to 36 questions, almost a quarter of the score.

The detailed outline behind the table lists the tasks for each domain and 222 numbered knowledge statements, from medical word building and controlled-substance schedules in domain 1 to order of draw in Phlebotomy, insurance terminology in Administrative Assisting, and advance directives in Medical Law and Ethics. To study domain by domain against those numbers, planned CCMA practice is mapped to all seven test plan domains.

Watch out for the older one-page CCMA summary

An older one-page summary of the CCMA test plan, based on a job analysis completed in 2016, was still on NHA's site in December 2025, and copies still circulate. Its numbers are different: Anatomy and Physiology at 12 items, Clinical Patient Care at 81 with General Patient Care at 46 or 47, and Administrative Assisting at 19 or 20. That document describes the exam before January 10, 2024.

The current plan says at the top that it is "Based on The Results of a Job Analysis Completed in 2022," and it is the file NHA's CCMA page links under "CCMA Test Plan." If a study guide, flashcard deck or school handout uses the 2016 numbers, it was built for the old exam.

What CCMA questions look like

The handbook says all NHA exams are multiple choice. According to the test plan, questions "might require recall and critical thinking pertaining to a knowledge statement, a task statement, or both," so expect a mix of straight facts (a normal value, a term, a tube additive) and short scenarios where you choose what the medical assistant should do next.

The PSI candidate bulletin (updated 6/15/2026) describes the screen:

• One question appears at a time, with a clock showing the time remaining
• You can go back to any question and change your answer while time remains
• A tutorial with sample questions comes first; up to 15 minutes of it doesn't count toward your exam time
• A calculator is built into the exam, and it's the only one you may use

The questions themselves are confidential. At registration you attest that they are the copyrighted property of Assessment Technologies Institute and that you won't memorize, copy or share them, so Passy's practice is original and never reproduces NHA items. Several knowledge statements involve arithmetic, such as dosage calculations and vital-sign conversions, and planned explanations walk through conversion and EKG-rate math step by step.

Pacing 180 CCMA questions in 3 hours

Passy's arithmetic for an even pace, counting the pretest questions because you can't skip them:

That is one minute per question. Recall questions usually take less, which banks time for scenarios and calculations.

Plan on no break. The handbook's testing rules say the exam is "a single, continuous session." In person, a proctor may let you leave the room only in limited cases, one candidate at a time, and "break time is counted as test taking time." On live remote proctoring, "no breaks are allowed." Once you can hold the pace for an hour, rehearse the 3-hour sitting with the 180-question mock exam planned for CCMA prep.

Three ways to take the CCMA

The same exam is delivered three ways. From the handbook and the PSI bulletin:

Since June 1, 2026, NHA's Product & Cert Portal Updates say PSI-delivered NHA exams no longer allow scratch paper and include an embedded calculator and whiteboard. At a PSI center, you also can't leave the building during the exam, and no personal items, phones or children are allowed inside.

Which CCMA version you will take

The exam built on the 2022 job analysis has been the CCMA since January 10, 2024. As of October 28, 2026, NHA's update page lists no new CCMA exam. NHA says new test plans and crosswalks are usually published 9 months to 1 year before a new exam launches, and that on and after a launch day only the updated version is available. Study from the 2022-based plan unless NHA posts a new one.

Your next step with the CCMA format

Turn the domain table into study time: the CCMA study plan guide weights an 8-week plan by these question counts, and the free CCMA study planner turns your exam date and daily study time into an outline. To see the question style, try the 20 free CCMA practice questions.