Failed the CCMA? NHA's 30-Day Retake Rule, the Three-Attempt Limit, and a Plan for Next Time

Not passing the CCMA is common enough that NHA has a set retake path: in its 2025 pass-rate report, about 18% of CCMA exams didn't pass (Passy's arithmetic from NHA's 81.73% pass rate). The rules below come from NHA's Candidate Handbook (updated 10/05/2026) and the PSI candidate bulletin (updated 6/15/2026), as checked on October 28, 2026.

CCMA retake rules at a glance

The 30 days are a minimum, not a deadline: the handbook sets no period within which you must retake, so choose the date by readiness. Because each retake is a new registration, you attest to your eligibility again, so a training program must still fall within NHA's five-year limit or you need the work-experience pathway. A shorter access period can match the wait if you prefer, and a 30-day CCMA access period is planned for launch alongside longer ones.

Dating your CCMA retakes

An example with calendar days (Passy's arithmetic):

The calendar is rarely the only limit. If you test through your school, NHA needs your application at least 8 days before the school's exam date, and the school chooses the dates. If you test with PSI or remotely, a booking needs at least 24 hours' notice to change without losing the fee, and NHA's PSI article gives six months from application to test. Booking the first open day after 30 days leaves little time to change how you study, so leave room for the plan below.

What your CCMA score report tells you for a retake

Your report shows your scaled score and, for each of the seven domains, whether you were Above, Near or Below the passing standard. The handbook's advice for a retake is specific:

• Study hardest where you were Below or Near. NHA says to "spend considerable study time" on the tasks in those domains, and stresses that Near "does not indicate" satisfactory performance
• Don't drop the Above domains. Each category is a range, so Above can mean just over the line. NHA suggests checking your confidence on each task in those domains
• Don't add the categories up. They reflect the difficulty of the questions you saw, and they "cannot be 'added' up" to explain the overall result
• Expect a different exam. NHA notes that "it is unlikely that the retake exam will be the same as the prior exam," so a category can move either way

The scaled score shows roughly how far you were from 390, but not how many more questions you needed, because the scale weights questions by difficulty. The CCMA passing score guide explains why.

Can you challenge a failed CCMA result?

You can, in writing, but plan your retake in parallel: the handbook gives no timeline for a decision, and both decisions are final.

• Hand rescoring: a written request within 60 days of the exam date. NHA may charge a fee
• Score appeal: NHA's official appeals form within 30 days of the exam date

The handbook also says NHA analyzes results for anomalies and rescores an exam if it finds a scoring error, telling you whether the outcome changed.

Will your CCMA retake be the same version?

Almost certainly the same test plan, on a different form. The current CCMA has used the test plan based on NHA's 2022 job analysis since January 10, 2024, and as of October 28, 2026, NHA's Product & Cert Portal Updates list no new CCMA exam. NHA says new test plans usually appear 9 months to 1 year before a new exam launches. When a new exam does launch, there's no grace period: NHA says candidates who fail just before a launch and retest afterward "will test on the new exam."

A 30-day CCMA re-study plan that changes something

More of the same hours rarely changes the result. Change the method, using your report and your list of misses. About an hour a day:

1. Days 1 to 5: diagnose. Write down your Below and Near domains. Open the test plan and mark every task and knowledge statement in those domains as solid, shaky or unknown. Take a short mixed practice set and sort each miss: didn't know the fact, wrong order of steps, misread the scenario, or set up the math wrong
2. Days 6 to 14: rebuild the Below domains. Work through the unknown and shaky statements first. For sequences (order of draw, PPE donning and doffing, cleaning order) and conversions, practice until they're automatic, not just familiar
3. Days 15 to 22: firm up the Near domains, keep the rest warm. Mixed daily sets that include your Above domains, because a new form can shift where the hard questions fall
4. Days 23 to 28: rehearse. One timed sitting at the real pace, about one minute per question, then review every miss
5. Days 29 and 30: logistics and rest. Check your ID matches your registration, confirm the time and location, and for a remote exam rerun PSI's compatibility check

For the rebuilding days, planned Weak Spot drills target your lowest-accuracy CCMA domain in short sets.

If your report shows weakness spread across most domains rather than in two or three, give yourself more than 30 days. The full CCMA study plan has an 8-week version weighted by the test plan.

Before you book the next CCMA attempt

• Re-register and pay in your NHA account; the fee is the full exam price, as the CCMA cost guide explains
• Book a date at least 30 days after your last attempt that leaves time for the whole plan
• If this is your third attempt, know that a further failure means a one-year wait

In the week before the retake, a full timed mock exam is part of planned CCMA prep, so you can test the new approach at the real length.

Your next step after a failed CCMA

In the free CCMA retake planner, rate each domain using your score report, add your retake date and weekly hours, and it builds a week-by-week plan with your hardest domains first. Then start day one today with the 20 free CCMA practice questions as your first diagnostic set.