CCMA Exam Day Checklist: What to Bring and What to Expect

2026-09-01By ExamReady Team

#ccma #exam-day #checklist #nha #medical-assistant

What the morning of your CCMA exam looks like

The NHA CCMA exam is scheduled in 3-hour windows at PSI testing centers. You will spend about 30 minutes in check-in and ID verification, 2 hours and 10 minutes on the 100-question exam, and 10 minutes on a post-exam survey. The whole visit takes about 3 hours from arrival to departure.

Most candidates arrive 30 minutes early to handle check-in. The check-in process is the part that catches candidates off-guard: PSI staff photograph you, scan your palm-print, and walk you through a metal-detector pass. Plan for this — it is not optional and it cannot be skipped.

What to bring to the test center

Bring exactly these items and nothing else. PSI test centers have strict no-bag policies and most personal items must be stored in a locker.

| Item | Required | Notes | |------|----------|-------| | Government-issued photo ID | Yes | Driver's license, passport, or state ID. Must be unexpired. | | Second form of ID | Yes | Social Security card, credit card, or employee ID | | Authorization-to-Test (ATT) letter | Yes | Printed or digital copy from NHA | | Confirmation number | Yes | The 9-digit number from your scheduling email | | Light jacket or sweater | Optional | Test centers vary in temperature |

Pro Tip: Use two forms of government ID if you have them

A driver's license plus a passport card works better than a driver's license plus a credit card because both are government-issued and unexpired. PSI is strict about photo ID matching your registration name exactly — if your name has changed since registration, bring the legal documentation.

What NOT to bring

The PSI test center has a strict prohibited-items list. Leave these at home or in your car:

Cell phones (even in airplane mode)
Smart watches and fitness trackers
Bags, purses, and backpacks
Food and drinks (water in a clear bottle is allowed)
Notes, study materials, and flashcards
Headphones and earbuds
Hats and hoods (religious headwear is allowed)

If you bring any of these, you will be asked to store them in a locker or leave them in your car. You will not be able to access them during the exam.

The CCMA exam format

The NHA CCMA exam is a 100-question computer-based multiple-choice test. The questions are not adaptive — every candidate sees the same 100 questions in a randomized order. You have 2 hours and 10 minutes to complete the exam, which gives you about 1 minute and 18 seconds per question.

The exam covers nine content domains:

| Domain | Approximate weight | |--------|-------------------| | Patient Care | 35% | | Infection Control | 10% | | Phlebotomy | 10% | | Medical Office Admin | 10% | | Communication | 8% | | EKG and Cardiovascular | 8% | | Anatomy and Physiology | 7% | | Pharmacology | 7% | | Law, Ethics, and Compliance | 5% |

The exam is scored on a scale of 100 to 500, with 390 being the scaled passing score (equivalent to roughly 70% raw correct).

What to expect during the exam

Once seated, you will see the PSI welcome screen. Read it carefully — it explains the flag-for-review feature and the clock display. The clock counts down even when you are on the flag-for-review screen, so do not over-flag questions.

You can flag questions for review and return to them before submitting. Use this feature sparingly: if a question is genuinely uncertain, flag it and move on, but do not flag more than 15 questions or you will spend your remaining time on second-guessing instead of progressing.

Watch Out For: The "two correct answers" trap

CCMA exam writers occasionally include questions where two answers are technically true but only one is the best answer. The trap is to pick the more general answer (always true) instead of the more specific answer (the test writer's intent). Read each answer choice for scope, and pick the most specific correct answer.

After the exam

When you click Submit, you will see a preliminary pass/fail result on the screen. The official score report arrives by email within 24 hours. The preliminary result is highly accurate (correlates >99% with the official report), so you can rely on it for planning.

If you pass, NHA emails your CCMA certificate within 7–10 business days. If you do not pass, the score report includes a domain-by-domain breakdown showing which areas need more work before a retake.

The 48 hours before exam day

The day before the exam should be light review only. Re-read your notes on the three domains you scored lowest on in your last practice exam, do not start any new content, and stop studying by 6 PM. Sleep 8 hours. Eat breakfast on exam day.

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