CCMA Practice Test — Illinois 2026

Illinois does not license medical assistants at the state level. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation licenses dozens of healthcare professions, but medical assistants are not among them. MAs in Illinois perform clinical and administrative tasks under physician supervision without any state certification requirement. The NHA CCMA (Certified Clinical Medical Assistant) credential is entirely voluntary in Illinois — but the state's healthcare market, anchored by Chicago's major academic medical centers and integrated health systems, means most large employers list CCMA (NHA) or CMA (AAMA) as a preferred or required qualification. Northwestern Medicine, Advocate Health, and Rush University Medical Center treat certification as a standard baseline for clinical MA candidates. The CCMA's work-experience eligibility path is particularly valuable in Illinois's community health and FQHC sector, where many experienced MAs trained on the job rather than through formal programs. Certified MAs in Illinois earn $5,000–$7,000 more per year than uncertified MAs, with Chicago salaries the highest in the state.

CertPrepAcademy offers a free CCMA practice test in NHA style — 35 questions for a quick warm-up or 70 questions for a full simulation — with detailed explanations for every answer. No account required. Start immediately — your progress is saved automatically. For targeted prep, use the topic quizzes to drill individual domains: Clinical Procedures, Patient Care, Pharmacology, and more.

The CCMA exam is administered by PSI on behalf of NHA — not an Illinois state agency. Schedule at any PSI testing center in Illinois through the NHA candidate portal at nhanow.com after eligibility is confirmed. Major PSI testing center locations in Illinois: Chicago (multiple sites), Schaumburg, Aurora, Naperville, Peoria, Rockford, Springfield, Champaign. Two eligibility paths: • Path 1: Graduate of an NHA-approved or CAAHEP/ABHES-accredited medical assisting program. • Path 2: One year of full-time clinical work experience as a medical assistant (no formal program required). Must be 18+ with a high school diploma or equivalent. Photo ID required. Results available immediately at the testing center (pass/fail); official NHA certificate follows.

CCMA and CMA (AAMA) pay is very close in Illinois — employers treat them as equivalent credentials. The salary premium for certified MAs in Illinois is $5,000–$7,000 per year over uncertified MAs in the same role. Chicago and its suburbs offer the highest certified MA salaries in the state, with Northwestern Medicine and Advocate Health setting competitive benchmarks. Downstate Illinois cities like Peoria and Springfield see lower absolute salaries but comparable certification premiums as a percentage of base pay.

The CCMA credential is recognized across Illinois's diverse healthcare landscape — from Chicago's prominent academic medical centers to Advocate Health's extensive Chicagoland network and OSF HealthCare's downstate system. Top Illinois employers where CCMA is listed or accepted: • Northwestern Medicine — Chicago-based academic medical system; CCMA accepted interchangeably with CMA in outpatient and physician practice settings. • Advocate Health — one of the Midwest's largest health systems with hospitals throughout Chicagoland; CCMA listed as qualifying credential in most MA postings. • Rush University Medical Center — Chicago academic medical center; CCMA commonly listed in clinical MA roles. • University of Chicago Medicine — Hyde Park-based academic medical center; CCMA accepted in physician practice and outpatient settings. • OSF HealthCare — large downstate system based in Peoria; CCMA or CMA accepted throughout Central and Southern Illinois facilities. • Loyola Medicine — Maywood-based academic medical center in the Chicago suburbs; CCMA listed in MA postings.

No. Illinois does not license medical assistants at the state level. There is no state board exam, no mandatory certification, and no registration requirement. MAs work under physician supervision. Most major Illinois employers — including Northwestern Medicine, Advocate Health, Rush, and OSF HealthCare — require or prefer CCMA (NHA) or CMA (AAMA) certification, but that reflects employer preference, not Illinois state law.

No. The CCMA exam is a national exam administered by NHA through PSI testing centers. The same 180-question exam is used in all 50 states — Illinois has no separate state MA exam or state-specific content. You schedule through the NHA candidate portal at nhanow.com after receiving eligibility confirmation. PSI has testing centers across Illinois including multiple Chicago-area sites, Schaumburg, Aurora, Naperville, Peoria, and Springfield.

It depends on your eligibility path. If you complete an NHA-approved MA program, most Illinois certificate programs take 9–12 months through community colleges in the Chicago area and downstate. If you qualify through work experience, you need one year of full-time clinical work as an MA — if you are already working in the field, you may be able to apply immediately. After confirming eligibility through NHA, most candidates schedule and sit within 30–60 days. Study time is typically 4–6 weeks. Total time from program start to credential: approximately 10–14 months for a certificate program, or potentially much faster using the work-experience path.

Both are widely recognized in Chicago, and most major employers — Northwestern Medicine, Advocate Health, Rush, and University of Chicago Medicine — list CMA (AAMA) or CCMA (NHA) as interchangeable in their MA postings. The CCMA is especially common at community health centers and FQHCs throughout Chicago, where many MAs trained through work experience rather than formal programs. The CMA is slightly more common at academic medical center physician practices where most hires are formal program graduates. On salary, both credentials pay the same in Chicago.