Certifications
Coding professionals who hold the CCA credential have demonstrated coding competency across all settings, including hospitals and physician practices.
Since 2002, the CCA designation has been a nationally recognized standard of achievement in the health information management (HIM) field.
CCAs:
Candidates must have a high school diploma or equivalent to sit for the CCA examination.
While not required, at least one of the following is recommended:
Apply to take the Certified Coding Associate (CCA) exam.
Certified Professionals and Pass Rates
As of 12/31/19, there were 7,945 certified CCA professionals.
Year |
Exam |
# First Time Testers |
Pass Rate First Time Testers |
2021* |
CCA |
2,104 |
74% |
2020* |
CCA |
1,627 |
85% |
2019* |
CCA |
1756 |
82% |
*U.S. and Canada results only
Exam Specifications
The CCA is a timed exam. Candidates have two hours to complete the exam. The total number of questions on the exam range between 90 and 115 total items. The exam is given in a computer-based format.
AHIMA exams contain a variety of questions or item types that require you to use your knowledge, skills, and/or experience to select the best answer. Each exam includes scored questions and pre-test questions randomly distributed throughout the exam. Pre-test questions are not counted in the final results.
The passing score for the CCA is 300.
Competencies for CCAs fall into six domains. Each domain accounts for a specific percentage of the total questions on the certification exam. See the Exam Content Outline below for greater detail.
Magnet Recognition Program® designation
The CCA certification is included in the list of national certifications that may be submitted on the Demographic Data Collection Tool (DDCT) as part of the application for the Magnet Recognition Program® designation. Learn more about the accepted certifications on the American Nurses Credentialing Center website.
Certified Coding Associate (CCA) 2021 Exam Content Outline Effective through 4/30/2022
Certified Coding Associate (CCA) 2022 Exam Content Outline Effective 5/1/2022
In 2021, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) began a job task analysis for the Certified Coding Associate (CCA) professional certification. The purpose of the current job analysis study was to validate the current tasks that are in the content outline for the CCA program as well as identify additional tasks that may be required of CCAs in their current role. The result of the CCA job task analysis study resulted in an updated Content Outline to ensure the most current state of coding associate practice is being tested in the examination. You can look at the new CCA Content Outline below as well as a “CCA 2022 Content Outline Crosswalk” that shows and highlights the changes between the old Content Outline and the new one.
Download 2021 Exam Content Outline Download 2022 Exam Content Outline CCA 2022 Content Outline Crosswalk
Domain 1 – Clinical Classification Systems (30-34%)
Tasks:
Domain 2 – Reimbursement Methodologies (21-25%)
Tasks:
Domain 3 – Health Records and Data Content (13-17%)
Tasks:
Domain 4 – Compliance (12-16%)
Tasks:
Domain 5 – Information Technologies (6-10%)
Tasks:
Domain 6 – Confidentiality & Privacy (6-10%)
Tasks:
2021 Code Books will be used through 04/30/2022
All exams delivered on or BEFORE 04/30/2022 will be required to have the 2021 code books from the 2021 code book list below.
2022 Code Books will go into effect on 05/01/2022
All exams delivered on or AFTER 05/01/2022 will be required to have the 2022 code books from the 2022 code book list below.
On test day, all candidates must bring the correct codebooks to the test center. Candidates who do not have the correct codebooks will not be allowed to test and will forfeit their exam fees.
The full list of allowable codebooks can be found in the PDF below.
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