CCMA Practice Test — Pennsylvania 2026

Pennsylvania does not license medical assistants at the state level. The Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine regulates physicians and licensed healthcare professionals, but medical assistants are not among the licensed professions. MAs in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania — but the state's large healthcare sector, anchored by major Philadelphia and Pittsburgh health systems, means most large employers list CCMA (NHA) or CMA (AAMA) as a preferred or required qualification. Penn Medicine, UPMC, and Jefferson Health treat certification as a baseline expectation for clinical MA candidates. The CCMA's work-experience eligibility path is particularly valuable in Pennsylvania's community health sector and independent physician practices, where many experienced MAs trained on the job rather than through formal CAAHEP/ABHES programs. Certified MAs in Pennsylvania earn $4,500–$6,000 more per year than uncertified MAs in comparable roles, with Philadelphia and Pittsburgh offering the highest salaries 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 a Pennsylvania state agency. Schedule at any PSI testing center in Pennsylvania through the NHA candidate portal at nhanow.com after eligibility is confirmed. Major PSI testing center locations in Pennsylvania: Philadelphia (multiple sites), Pittsburgh, Allentown, Harrisburg, Scranton, Reading, Erie, State College. 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 Pennsylvania — employers treat them as equivalent credentials. The salary premium for certified MAs in Pennsylvania is $4,500–$6,000 per year over uncertified MAs in the same role. Philadelphia offers the highest certified MA salaries in the state, followed by Pittsburgh. Both cities have major academic medical centers that set competitive compensation benchmarks. Salaries in Central Pennsylvania and smaller metros are noticeably lower than the two major cities.

Pennsylvania has two major healthcare markets — Philadelphia in the southeast and Pittsburgh in the west — each with world-class academic medical centers. Geisinger Health serves a large swath of Central and Northeast Pennsylvania, and Tower Health anchors Southeastern Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia. Top Pennsylvania employers where CCMA is listed or accepted: • Penn Medicine — University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia; CCMA accepted interchangeably with CMA in physician practice and outpatient settings. • UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) — Pittsburgh-based system with hospitals statewide; CCMA listed as qualifying credential in most MA postings. • Jefferson Health — Philadelphia-based academic health system; CCMA commonly listed in clinical MA roles. • Main Line Health — suburban Philadelphia system with multiple hospitals; CCMA accepted in MA postings. • Geisinger Health — large integrated system serving Central and Northeast Pennsylvania; CCMA or CMA accepted. • Tower Health — Reading-based system serving Southeastern Pennsylvania; CCMA listed as preferred in MA roles.

No. Pennsylvania does not license medical assistants at the state level. There is no state board exam, no mandatory certification, and no registration requirement for MAs. MAs work under the supervision of a licensed physician or other qualified provider. Most major Pennsylvania employers — including Penn Medicine, UPMC, Jefferson Health, and Geisinger — require or prefer CCMA (NHA) or CMA (AAMA) certification, but that reflects employer preference, not Pennsylvania state law.

No. The CCMA exam is a national exam administered by NHA through PSI testing centers. The same 180-question exam (150 scored, 30 unscored pretest) is used in all 50 states — Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania including multiple Philadelphia-area sites, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Harrisburg, Scranton, and Erie.

It depends on your eligibility path. If you complete an NHA-approved MA program, most Pennsylvania certificate programs take 9–12 months through community colleges and vocational schools throughout the state. 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 in Pennsylvania, you may be eligible immediately. After confirming eligibility through NHA, most candidates schedule and sit within 30–60 days. Study time is typically 4–6 weeks.

Yes. Both UPMC and Penn Medicine list CCMA (NHA) and CMA (AAMA) as interchangeable credentials in their MA job postings — neither system requires one over the other. UPMC is one of the largest health systems in the country and one of the largest employers of certified MAs in Pennsylvania, so the CCMA opens a significant number of positions within UPMC's extensive hospital, physician practice, and outpatient network. Penn Medicine similarly accepts the CCMA across its physician practices in the Philadelphia area. If you hold or are pursuing a CCMA in Pennsylvania, both major Pittsburgh and Philadelphia systems recognize it as a fully qualifying credential.