Does It Count? How to Determine Whether Non-AAMA-Approved CEUs Will Be Accepted

24 Jun, 04:50 PM

If you have chosen to recertify your CMA (AAMA) credential via continuing education, you must accumulate 60 recertification points. Of those 60 recertification points, a maximum of 30 recertification points may come from non-AAMA-approved sources. Learn how to determine whether a non-AAMA-approved continuing education opportunity will be accepted for recertification.

_{Originally published February 23, 2022}_{Updated June 24, 2025}

If you have chosen to recertify your CMA (AAMA)^® credential via continuing education, you must accumulate 60 recertification points. While at least half of those recertification points must be CEUs approved by the American Association of Medical Assistants^® (also called AAMA-approved CEUs), a maximum of 30 recertification points may come from other sources. For example, you could earn non-AAMA-approved recertification points by taking college or university credit courses, completing continuing medical education (CME) programs, or authoring texts (e.g., textbooks, textbook chapters, and articles) all of which must pertain to medical assisting.

Because only medical assisting relevant education counts toward your recertification, you must use AAMA resources to establish whether a program will be accepted for recertification points.

Overall, the AAMA will accept a program for recertification if its subject matter is (1) relevant to medical assisting, (2) at least one contact hour (50 minutes), and (3) formal credit was issued (e.g., college credit, a CEU, CME, or contact hour) within your current recertification period. Documentation should include proof of completion, the course description, the organization that is issuing credit, the amount and type of credit, and the date(s) of activity.

These documents can serve as guidelines for topics usable for recertification points:

Content Outline for the CMA (AAMA) Certification Exam. A comprehensive list of everything that a CMA (AAMA) has to know for the exam, organized by topic category.
AAMA Occupational Analysis of Medical Assistants. An analysis updated every five years that is based on an AAMA survey in which medical assistants listed the tasks that they performed daily and expected to perform in the future.
Advanced Educational Topics for Medical Assisting. A document that sets forth advanced medical assisting skills and areas of knowledge.

Further, you are responsible for using these documents to determine the correct content area for each point. If a continuing education program covers more than one content area, points should be assigned based on the length of time devoted to each area.

Notably, the AAMA will not update your transcript when you attend non-AAMA-approved programs and events. Because of this, you should save any related documentation (e.g., the syllabus, workshop flyer describing the topic, and documentation of formal credit) to include when you submit the CMA (AAMA) Recertification by Continuing Education Application by mail or when you upload your non-AAMA-approved CEUs documentation and apply online.

Contact hours and dates must be clearly documented when submitting the application. Please note that you are also required to submit the recertification fee ($65 for current members, $130 for nonmembers) when you submit the CMA (AAMA) Recertification by Continuing Education Application. To best protect your information, the AAMA does not accept faxed or emailed CMA (AAMA) Recertification by Continuing Education Applications.