_{Originally published September 3, 2022
Updated June 24, 2025}

Are you planning to recertify your CMA (AAMA)^® credential via continuing education? If you complete college-level courses during your recertification period, some of those courses may count as recertification points!

The AAMA will accept a college course for recertification if its subject matter is relevant to medical assisting. One college credit (quarter or semester) is worth 15 recertification points.

You must determine whether a program topic is relevant before you choose to attend it.

Use these documents as guidelines for college courses usable for recertification:

• The Content Outline for the CMA (AAMA)® Certification Exam (available as a PDF) offers a comprehensive list of content that a CMA (AAMA) must know for the exam, organized by topic category.
• The AAMA Occupational Analysis of Medical Assistants is based on an AAMA survey in which ​medical assistants listed the tasks they performed daily and expected to perform in the future.
• The Advanced Educational Topics for Medical Assisting sets forth advanced medical assisting skills and areas of knowledge.

These documents provide information about required knowledge for medical assistants, so courses that cover topics listed in the documents may qualify for recertification points.

You are also responsible for noting the course category—administrative, clinical, or general. If a course that qualifies for continuing education covers more than one content area, points should be assigned based on the length of time devoted to each area.

An approved college course will count as non-AAMA recertification points. The AAMA will not update your transcript when you attend non-AAMA-approved courses. When applying to recertify via continuing education, a maximum of 30 CEUs may be accumulated from non-AAMA sources such as college or university credits.

During your course, make sure to save any related materials, such as the syllabus and your unofficial college transcript with final passing grades for each course. Then, include copies of these materials when you submit the Recertification by Continuing Education Application by mail or when you upload your non-AAMA CEUs documentation and apply online. Do not send originals, as submitted documentation will not be returned to the applicant. Documentation submitted separately from the application and payment will not be reviewed and will not be returned.