CMAA study guide: what each of the 7 domains covers and how to study it
This free study guide for the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) exam, the credential issued by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA), walks the 2021 test plan one domain at a time: what each of the 7 domains tests, how many of the 110 scored items it carries, and the order to study them in. Nothing here is behind a sign-up — the domain notes, the study plans and the practice questions on this page are free.
The CMAA blueprint
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.
Source: NHA’s CMAA test plan, based on a job analysis completed in 2021. The exam is 135 questions in 2 h 15 min; 110 are scored and 25 are unmarked pretest items. Roughly one minute per question, with no scheduled break. The CMAA exam page covers scoring and test day.
What to study first
42 / 110
D2 + D5 scored items
17
D3 law and ethics items
11
D6 billing items
Start with the two 21-item domains. Communication and Professionalism and Patient Encounter hold 42 of the 110 scored items — 38% of the score before you open anything else.
Medical Law, Ethics, and Compliance comes next. Its 17 items reward exact rules more than judgment: which disclosures under HIPAA need no authorization, which consent type fits a situation, and what gets reported without the patient’s permission.
Domain guides
Each card lists what the test plan asks for in that domain, in plain words. D2 and D5 have full guides with a 12-question drill; the other five are summarized here until their guides go up.
D1 · 10 items · 9.1%
Foundational Knowledge
Care settings (PCMH, ACO, hospice, home health), paper vs electronic records, EHR vs EMR, and terminology: prefixes, roots, suffixes and The Joint Commission’s Do Not Use list. Anatomy is a sliver; terminology carries most of the 10 items.
Guide coming soon. Until then, practice D1 in the practice test with its domain filter.
D2 · 21 items · 19.1%
Communication and Professionalism
How you talk to patients and staff: open, closed and probing questions, barriers such as language, age or hearing, calming an angry caller, phone and email etiquette, and what an MAA may and may not explain.
Open the D2 guideD3 · 17 items · 15.5%
Medical Law, Ethics, and Compliance
HIPAA privacy and security, PHI and permitted disclosures, the four penalty tiers, consent types, what must be reported without the patient’s authorization, OSHA, fraud vs abuse, and the MAA’s scope of practice.
Guide coming soon. Until then, practice D3 in the practice test with its domain filter.
D4 · 16 items · 14.5%
Scheduling
Booking methods (time-specified, wave, modified wave, double, open, block), the provider matrix, which visits suit telehealth, eligibility checks before the visit, no-show documentation, and avoiding duplicate charts.
Guide coming soon. Until then, practice D4 in the practice test with its domain filter.
D5 · 21 items · 19.1%
Patient Encounter
Check-in to check-out: intake forms, ID and insurance verification, referral vs preauthorization vs predetermination, what each code set is for, copay vs coinsurance, the ABN, the EOB and the birthday rule.
Open the D5 guideD6 · 11 items · 10.0%
Billing and Revenue Cycle
The revenue cycle in 11 items: fee-for-service vs value-based care, Medicare vs Medicaid, clearinghouse scrubbing, aging reports, adjustments vs write-offs, denials and appeals.
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
Running the office: alphabetic, color and terminal-digit filing, petty cash and end-of-day reconciliation, opening and closing, business letters, inventory, data backup and downtime procedures.
Guide coming soon. Until then, practice D7 in the practice test with its domain filter.
How to study for the CMAA exam
Split your hours by item count, not by which chapter feels hardest. The plan below is four weeks for pathway 1 candidates — you finished a medical administrative assistant program in the last five years and know the material from class but not from the desk.
Week 2 · D3 and D4, 33 items
HIPAA disclosures, consent types and mandatory reporting for D3; the six booking methods and pre-visit eligibility checks for D4. Write each rule as one sentence you could say to a patient.
Week 3 · D7, D6 and D1, 35 items
Terminal-digit filing, petty cash and downtime steps first (14 items), then the revenue cycle (11), then terminology and the Do Not Use list (10).
Week 4 · the full day
Run the 60-question practice test in one sitting at about a minute a question. Reread the domain with the most rebooked patients, then run it again with that domain’s filter.
If you qualify through work experience (pathway 2)
Pathway 2 candidates have a year of supervised MAA work in the last three years, or two in the last five. You already handle check-in and the phone; the risk is that your clinic’s habit differs from the textbook answer the exam grades. A two-week refresher works better than four weeks of everything:
- Take the full practice test cold, before any reading, and note the domains where you miss two or more.
- Study D3 by the rule, not by your office’s routine: retention periods, consent and HIPAA disclosures are where workplace shortcuts cost points.
- Learn the parts of the job your desk may not touch — booking methods you don’t use, the ABN, terminal-digit filing — then retake the domains you missed.
Six confusions the test plan sets up
| Pair | The difference | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| Referral · preauthorization · predetermination | A referral sends the patient from the primary provider to a specialist; preauthorization is the payer’s approval before the service; predetermination is an estimate of coverage, not a promise to pay. | D4, D5 |
| Copay · coinsurance | A copay is a fixed dollar amount per visit; coinsurance is a percentage of the allowed amount, usually after the deductible. | D5 |
| EOB · ERA | The EOB goes to the patient and is not a bill; the ERA is the payer’s electronic remittance to the practice. | D5, D6 |
| ICD-10-CM · ICD-10-PCS · CPT · HCPCS | Diagnoses; inpatient hospital procedures only; provider services and procedures; supplies, equipment and ambulance. You name the set, you don’t assign the code. | D5 |
| Fraud · abuse | Fraud is intentional, such as billing for a service never given; abuse is an improper practice without proven intent. | D3 |
| Contractual adjustment · write-off | An adjustment removes the gap between the charge and the contracted allowed amount; a write-off clears a balance that will not be collected. | D6 |
The ABN in D5 is Form CMS-R-131 and applies to Original Medicare only — see CMS’s ABN page.
Free vs paid study materials
The one free document every study plan should start from is NHA’s test plan PDF: the 7 domains, their item counts and every task statement. Two paid NHA products sit on top of it — a study guide, online or printed, with one module per domain, and a set of practice tests with four 110-item forms.
NHA’s candidate handbook states that buying prep is not required to sit the exam. Quizlet decks and shared PDFs are user-made and unchecked; many still teach the 2014 outline. This site’s questions are original, written to the 2021 plan, with a note on every option.
End-of-day recap
A second set to try
Nineteen questions across all seven domains, separate from the nine on the home page. Each miss is rebooked for a slot after 4:00 PM, so it comes back once before the day ends; the chart note explains every option.
Second set · 19 patients booked
0/19 seen · 0 on time · 0 rebooked
8:00 AM · slot 1 of 19D1 · Foundational knowledge
Which of the following terms correctly uses a root, combining vowel, and suffix to describe the study of the stomach and intestines?
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
FAQ
How do you study for the CMAA exam?
Weight your time by the 2021 test plan: Communication and Professionalism and Patient Encounter first (21 items each), then Medical Law, Ethics, and Compliance (17) and Scheduling (16). Finish with a timed run of the practice test and reread the domain you miss most.
What do you need to pass the CMAA exam?
Steady accuracy across all seven domains, with no domain left unstudied, and enough pace to finish 135 questions in 2 h 15 min. NHA’s candidate handbook states that results are a scaled score, with 390 on a 200–500 scale as the passing standard, so there is no fixed percentage to aim for. Your score report also rates each domain against the passing standard.
Is there a free CMAA study guide PDF?
The free PDF that matters is NHA’s CMAA test plan, which lists every domain, item count and task. NHA’s own study guide is a paid product. PDFs passed around as copies of paid guides are unlicensed and often outdated, so this site does not host or link them.
Is the 2021 CMAA study guide still current?
Yes. As of October 2026, the test plan in force is the one based on the 2021 job analysis, and NHA’s product-change log lists no newer CMAA plan. Material that cites 100 scored items is older than 2021.
Are Quizlet CMAA study guides reliable?
They are user-made, and nobody checks the keys against the test plan. Use them for terminology drills, and confirm every rule against the test plan or a source that cites it.
Take the study plan with you
The CMAA practice app keeps the domain drills on your phone for the days you study away from a desk.