CMAA exam prep: free practice questions, the 7 domains, and how certification works
The Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) exam from the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) scores 110 questions across 7 domains, so CMAA exam prep that follows the 2021 test plan puts your hours where the items are: 42 of the 110 sit in just two domains. Start with the nine-patient sampler below; whichever domain it rebooks most is your first study block.
CMAA exam at a glance
- Credential
- Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA)
- Issued by
- National Healthcareer Association (NHA)
- Questions
- 110 scored + 25 pretest (135)
- Time
- 2 h 15 min
- Content
- 7 domains, 2021 test plan
- Where
- your school, a PSI center, or live remote
- Renewal
- every 2 years, 10 CE credits
Checked Oct 2026 against the NHA CMAA page and the 2021 test plan · NHA’s CMAA page
Morning sampler: 9 patients, all 7 domains
Nine original practice questions, each booked as a patient in its own slot: one from every domain, plus a second from Communication and Professionalism (D2) and Patient Encounter (D5), the two 21-item domains. Answer right the first time and the slot fills on time. Miss it and the slot is struck, and the patient is rebooked into a follow-up slot after 4:00 PM, so every miss comes back once before the day closes.
Morning sampler · 9 patients booked
0/9 seen · 0 on time · 0 rebooked
8:00 AM · slot 1 of 9D2 · Communication & professionalism
Which of the following administrative notes contains subjective language that compromises legal defensibility?
Pick an answer. The chart note opens here: why the answer is right, and a note on every option.
Keys: 1–4 or A–D to answer · N for the next patient
Each answer opens a chart note: the verdict, why the key is right, and a line on every option, including the three you didn’t pick. Press 1–4 or A–D to answer and N for the next patient. The sheet stores nothing and predicts no score. For a full day, the CMAA practice test books 60 patients in the test plan’s proportions (6 / 11 / 9 / 9 / 11 / 6 / 8 by domain), and its domain chips book a day of one domain only.
What the CMAA exam is
The CMAA is NHA’s front-office credential: scheduling, check-in, insurance verification, records, billing basics and the law that governs all of them. It is a voluntary certification you earn by passing one proctored exam.
110 scored questions
25 pretest questions, not marked and not scored
135 minutes: about one minute per question
Per NHA’s 2021 test plan, you get 135 multiple-choice questions in 2 h 15 min — a minute a question. Only 110 count. The 25 pretest items are mixed in unmarked, so treat every one as scored. You sit it at your school, at a PSI testing center, or online with live remote proctoring; online results arrive within two days of scoring. Scoring and test-day rules are on the CMAA exam page.
The 7 domains, by scored items
D1 Foundational Knowledge10 items · 9.1%
D2 Communication and Professionalism21 items · 19.1%
D3 Medical Law, Ethics, and Compliance17 items · 15.5%
D4 Scheduling16 items · 14.5%
D5 Patient Encounter21 items · 19.1%
D6 Billing and Revenue Cycle11 items · 10.0%
D7 Medical Practice Administrative Procedures and Logistics14 items · 12.7%
Bars scale to the largest domain. % = share of the 110 scored items.
Communication and Professionalism and Patient Encounter carry 21 items each, so 42 of the 110 come from phones, hard conversations, check-in and insurance. Medical Law, Ethics, and Compliance follows with 17. Billing and Revenue Cycle is only 11, and Foundational Knowledge 10.
Domain by domain: what each one tests
One card per domain, with the scored items each carries. D2 and D5 already have full guides, each with a 12-question drill; the CMAA study guide lays out all seven and the order to work them in.
D1 · 10 items · 9.1%
Foundational Knowledge
Care settings, paper versus electronic records, terminology and abbreviations, the Do Not Use list, and a thin slice of body systems.
Guide coming soon. Until then, practice D1 in the practice test with its domain filter.
D2 · 21 items · 19.1%
Communication and Professionalism
Phone and email etiquette, escalating conversations, communication barriers, and what an MAA may and may not discuss with a patient.
Open the D2 guideD3 · 17 items · 15.5%
Medical Law, Ethics, and Compliance
HIPAA and PHI, consent types, reportable events, OSHA, record retention, and the line between fraud and abuse.
Guide coming soon. Until then, practice D3 in the practice test with its domain filter.
D4 · 16 items · 14.5%
Scheduling
Wave, modified-wave, double, open and block booking; new versus established patients; no-shows, referrals and preauthorization.
Guide coming soon. Until then, practice D4 in the practice test with its domain filter.
D5 · 21 items · 19.1%
Patient Encounter
Check-in and intake forms, insurance verification, copay versus coinsurance, the birthday rule, ABNs, EOBs and duplicate records.
Open the D5 guideD6 · 11 items · 10.0%
Billing and Revenue Cycle
Revenue-cycle phases, clearinghouses and claim scrubbing, denials and appeals, aging reports, write-offs and patient statements.
Guide coming soon. Until then, practice D6 in the practice test with its domain filter.
D7 · 14 items · 12.7%
Medical Practice Administrative Procedures and Logistics
Filing systems including terminal digit, petty cash and end-of-day reconciliation, opening and closing, inventory, and downtime procedures.
Guide coming soon. Until then, practice D7 in the practice test with its domain filter.
How CMAA certification works
Check your pathway
Pathway 1: a high-school diploma or GED plus a medical administrative assistant training program finished in the last 5 years. Pathway 2: a diploma or GED plus 1 year of supervised MAA work in the last 3 years, or 2 years in the last 5.
Apply and pay
The exam fee is currently $134 per NHA (checked Oct 2026), paid when you apply.
Sit the exam
At your school, at a PSI testing center, or online with live remote proctoring.
Renew every 2 years
10 continuing-education credits per two-year cycle keep the credential current. The CMAA certification guide walks each step.
CMAA or CCMA?
Both come from NHA, and they split the medical office in two. The CMAA tests the front office: the schedule, the check-in, the insurance card, the chart and the claim. The CCMA is NHA’s clinical medical assistant credential, built around hands-on work with patients.
Pick the one whose test plan matches the job you are aiming for. The CMAA-vs-CCMA comparison sets the two side by side: duties, eligibility and what each exam covers.
How to prepare: a three-step plan
Prepare in the order the score is built: read the plan, drill the heavy domains, then sit a full day under time.
| Step | What you do | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Read the test plan | Go through the 7 domains and their 101 knowledge statements once. Any statement you can’t explain in a sentence goes on your list; anything the plan doesn’t name is out of scope. | NHA’s 2021 test plan (free PDF) and the study guide |
| 2 · Drill D2 and D5 first | Work the two 21-item domains until a wrong answer surprises you. Then go down by weight: Law and Compliance (17), Scheduling (16), Administrative Procedures (14), Billing (11), Foundational Knowledge (10). | The Communication and Professionalism guide, the Patient Encounter guide, and the practice test’s domain chips |
| 3 · Run a full day under time | Sit all 60 practice questions in one go at a minute each, the real exam’s pace. Study whatever the end-of-day report rebooks most, then book a fresh day. | The practice test |
Keep drilling between shifts
The CMAA practice app keeps all seven domains on your phone.
CMAA exam prep: common questions
How do I prepare for the CMAA exam?
Follow the test plan’s weights. Read NHA’s 2021 test plan once, drill Communication and Professionalism and Patient Encounter first (21 scored items each), work down the other five by weight, and finish with timed full-length practice. The study guide walks the domains in that order.
Is the NHA CMAA exam hard?
Wide more than deep: the 110 scored items run from HIPAA penalty tiers to terminal-digit filing, and many are front-desk scenarios where two answers look reasonable and only one stays inside an MAA’s role. NHA’s candidate handbook states that scores are scaled from 200 to 500 with 390 to pass, so there is no fixed number of correct answers to aim for.
How many questions are on the CMAA test?
135: 110 scored and 25 unscored pretest questions in 2 h 15 min, per NHA’s 2021 test plan. The pretest items are not marked, so answer every question as if it counts.
Can I take the CMAA exam online?
Yes. NHA offers live remote proctoring alongside testing at your school or a PSI testing center, and online results arrive within two days of scoring. Test-day details are on the exam page.
Take the day sheet home
The CMAA practice app keeps the questions on your phone for the break room and the bus.