Exam fact
How many questions are on the CCMA exam?
There are 180 questions on the NHA CCMA exam: 150 count toward your score and 30 are unscored pretest items you can't tell apart from the rest.
- questions in total
- 180
- scored
- 150
- pretest, unscored
- 30
- to finish
- 3 h
How many questions are on the NHA CCMA exam?
180 questions: 150 scored + 30 pretest
The count comes from the header of the NHA CCMA test plan, which reads 150 Scored Items/30 Pretest Items
. You answer all 180 in one sitting of 3 hours, multiple choice, on a computer.
Source: NHA CCMA Test Plan (2022 job analysis) · https://www.nhanow.com/docs/default-source/test-plans/nha_ccma_test_plan_2022.pdf · as of 2026-10-05
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The 30 you can't spot
Treat every question as scored. That's the whole strategy.
The follow-up question is usually whether all 180 count. Thirty don't. The NHA Candidate Handbook says pretest items are not identified to you and do not affect your score. They're new questions being tried out for future forms.
Because nothing marks them, you'd study and pace exactly as if every item counted. Give each one your usual minute, choose your best answer and keep moving. An oddly worded question on something you never covered in class may be a pretest item, or it may be scored; guessing which is which costs time and gains nothing.
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Where the 150 scored items go
Clinical patient care is 84 of 150. Plan your weeks around that.
| Area of the test plan | Scored items | Share of 150 |
|---|---|---|
| Foundational knowledge & basic science | 15 | 10.0% |
| Anatomy & physiology | 8 | 5.3% |
| Clinical care: intake & vitals | 14 | 9.3% |
| Clinical care: general patient care | 28 | 18.7% |
| Clinical care: infection control & safety | 15 | 10.0% |
| Clinical care: point-of-care testing & lab | 9 | 6.0% |
| Clinical care: phlebotomy | 12 | 8.0% |
| Clinical care: EKG & cardiovascular testing | 6 | 4.0% |
| Patient care coordination & education | 12 | 8.0% |
| Administrative assisting | 12 | 8.0% |
| Communication & customer service | 12 | 8.0% |
| Medical law & ethics | 7 | 4.7% |
Item counts from the test plan header; shares are those counts divided by 150. The six clinical care rows are the subdomains of domain 3, Clinical Patient Care. The 30 pretest items are not assigned to an area you can see.
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150, 180 and the rest
Each answer traces back to the sources listed below.
Is it 150 or 180 questions?
Both numbers are correct. You see 180 questions; 150 are scored and 30 are pretest items that don't affect your result.
Can I tell which questions are pretest?
No. The handbook states the pretest items are not identified to the candidate, so answer every question as if it counts.
What kind of questions are they?
Multiple choice, delivered on a computer and proctored, whether you test at a school, a PSI center or online.
How much time do I get for the 180?
3 hours, which works out to about one minute per question. The exam length page walks through pacing.
How many questions can I miss and still pass?
NHA doesn't publish one. The pass line is a scaled 390 on a 200 to 500 range. See how the passing score works.
How do I practice at full length?
Sit a timed mock exam in one go, then work through the areas where you dropped the most points.
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Sources
- NHA CCMA Test Plan (2022 job analysis) — 150 scored + 30 pretest items, 3 hours, item counts per area https://www.nhanow.com/docs/default-source/test-plans/nha_ccma_test_plan_2022.pdf · as of 2026-10-05
- NHA Candidate Handbook, updated 06/01/2026 — pretest items not identified and not scored; testing format https://www.nhanow.com/docs/default-source/test-plans/candidate_handbook.pdf · as of 2026-10-05
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