Medical Coding Certification Cost 2026: CPC vs CCA and Pay

Part 2 of 2: Certification details, work setting, the remote reality, training cost and payback

Medical billing and coding certification compared: CPC, CCA and CCS

Credential	Body	Exam fee (as published)	Format and pass mark	Entry requirement
CPC	AAPC	Core exams: $425 for one attempt, $499 for two (AAPC support page)	100 multiple-choice questions, 4 hours, 70% to pass	Membership required to keep the credential
CCA	AHIMA	$199 members / $299 non-members	AHIMA publishes the outline	High school diploma; experience or training recommended, not required
CCS	AHIMA	$299 members / $399 non-members	AHIMA publishes the outline	Coursework and/or experience recommended

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There’s a price discrepancy. AAPC’s support page lists core exams, including the CPC, at $425 for one attempt and $499 for two, while an AAPC help-centre article lists $399 for one attempt. Confirm the current price at checkout on aapc.com.

Pass rates (AHIMA, first-time testers, 2025): CCS 84% (6,331 testers) and CCA 62% (2,101 testers). AAPC doesn’t publish a comparable figure on the pages we checked.

The CPC “apprentice” designation

If you pass the CPC without enough experience, you’re designated CPC-A (apprentice). AAPC says you can remove the “A” with documented coding experience. Its FAQ says an 80-hour or longer coding course waives one year of the required experience, and that completing AAPC’s own CPC preparation course also counts. AAPC also offers Practicode, a post-certification practice program it describes as a way to help remove the apprentice designation. To keep the CPC, AAPC says you need an annual membership and 36 continuing education units every two years.

Setting

Medical records specialists’ median pay by industry, May 2025:

Industry	Median	Jobs
General medical and surgical hospitals	$59,460	51,740
Management of companies and enterprises	$60,980	14,870
Outpatient care centers	$50,900	9,510
Offices of physicians	$47,120	34,860
Skilled nursing facilities	$46,940	9,790

Other employers of coders and records specialists

Hospitals and physician offices employ the most, but BLS also counts medical records specialists in business-services industries, where some billing and coding work is done for health care clients (May 2025 medians):

Industry	Median annual pay	Median hourly	Jobs
Federal executive branch	$63,880	$30.71	5,320
Office administrative services	$56,920	$27.37	7,490
Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services	$51,780	$24.90	6,870
Home health care services	$48,510	$23.32	4,780
Employment services	$46,820	$22.51	5,000
Management, scientific and technical consulting services	$43,880	$21.09	9,610

Starting pay in hourly terms

Job ads for coders usually quote an hourly rate, so it helps to know the national percentiles in that form. In May 2025, medical records specialists earned $17.79 an hour at the 10th percentile, $20.91 at the 25th, $24.59 at the median, $31.17 at the 75th and $39.01 at the 90th (BLS OEWS). BLS doesn’t publish pay by experience, but a new coder, especially one holding the CPC-A apprentice designation, should plan around the 10th-to-25th-percentile range for their own state rather than the national median.

The remote-work reality

Many coding roles are advertised as remote. We found no official US government data on how many coders work from home or how remote pay compares, so we won’t give a percentage. What’s reasonable to expect:

Employers often want experience or full (non-apprentice) certification before offering remote roles.
Remote roles still require secure equipment, privacy compliance and productivity targets.
Job ads are not a measure of how common remote work is. Treat any claimed share of remote coders as an estimate unless it cites an official source.

Licensing

We found no general state licensing requirement for medical coders. Certification is voluntary, but BLS notes that employers may prefer or expect it. Health information management degree programs can be accredited by CAHIIM, and AHIMA approves certain coding programs.

General information, not legal, financial or immigration advice. Rules vary by state/province; check the official source or a licensed professional.

In short: CPC, CCA and CCS cost roughly $200–$500 per exam attempt. Hospitals pay the most among major settings, and remote work is common in ads but isn’t measured in official data.

What training costs

There’s no official national average price for medical coding programs. Costs depend on whether you choose a community college certificate, a credentialing body’s own course, or a private provider. Build your estimate from:

tuition or course fee, in writing;
code books (current-year CPT, ICD-10-CM and HCPCS Level II are required for the CPC exam, per AAPC);
membership, which AAPC requires to maintain the CPC, and which lowers AHIMA exam fees;
exam fees, from the table below, plus retakes if needed.

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For context, the College Board reports average published in-district tuition and fees of $4,150 a year at public two-year colleges in 2025–26.

A simple payback check

Compare your total training cost with the difference between your current pay and a realistic first-year coding wage. Use your state’s 10th–25th percentile from Part 1, not the median. If the gap is small, or you’d need many months to recover the cost, look for lower-cost routes such as community college programs, employer-sponsored training or financial aid.

A worked example: one year at the public two-year average of $4,150, plus one CPC attempt at $425, comes to about $4,575 before code books and membership. Nationally, the 25th percentile for medical records specialists was $43,490 in May 2025. If you currently earn $35,000, the gross difference at that percentile would be about $8,500 a year, before taxes. It’s an illustration from averages, not a prediction of your pay (WageNorth calculation from College Board, AAPC and BLS figures).

Related roles and next steps

Occupation (BLS, May 2025)	Median	Typical entry education
Medical records specialists	$51,140	Postsecondary nondegree award
Health information technologists and medical registrars	$68,020	Associate degree
Medical and health services managers	$123,860	Bachelor’s degree

A realistic growth path

Many coders move into auditing, compliance, clinical documentation or health information roles over time. BLS projects 15.9% growth for health information technologists and medical registrars from 2025 to 2035. That’s faster than the 7.8% projected for medical records specialists, though the group is much smaller (about 3,000 openings a year compared with about 14,000). These roles typically ask for an associate degree, which is one reason some coders later complete a CAHIIM-accredited health information program.

How to apply for the CPC or CCA exam, and where to find coding jobs

Certification: you register directly with the certifying body. The AAPC CPC page explains membership, exam booking and the apprentice designation, and the AHIMA CCA page sets out eligibility and how to schedule the exam. Check the current fee and retake policy on each page before you pay, because both bodies update them.

Training programs: if you want a formal program first, look for one accredited by CAHIIM, the accreditor for health information programs, or confirm that a shorter course prepares you for the exam you plan to take.

Finding openings: the Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop job finder lists coding, billing and medical records openings by location. Federal roles appear on USAJOBS under titles such as medical records technician. Hospitals and physician groups also post coding roles on their own career pages, and many entry-level listings ask for a credential plus some experience, which is why the apprentice route matters.

Remote roles exist, but read each listing for location limits and experience requirements before applying.

FAQs

Do I need a degree to become a medical coder?

Not usually. BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award as the typical entry education for medical records specialists. AHIMA’s CCA requires a high school diploma, with training or experience recommended rather than required.

Which should I take first, the CPC or the CCA?

The CPC (AAPC) focuses on physician and outpatient coding. The CCA (AHIMA) is an entry-level credential. Look at the job ads in your area and pick the credential employers there ask for, since each exam costs a few hundred dollars.

How hard is the CPC exam?

AAPC describes it as 100 multiple-choice questions in four hours, with 70% needed to pass. AHIMA reports a 62% first-time pass rate for the CCA in 2025. AAPC didn’t publish a CPC pass rate on the pages we checked.

What’s a realistic first-year wage?

Nationally, the 10th-to-25th-percentile range was $37,000 to $43,490 a year in May 2025 ($17.79 to $20.91 an hour). Your state table on page 1 gives a better local benchmark.

Where can coding lead?

Health information technologists and medical registrars earned a median $68,020 in May 2025, and BLS projects 15.9% growth from 2025 to 2035. BLS lists an associate degree as the typical entry education.

In short: certification costs a few hundred dollars per exam and pay starts near the lower percentiles. Price your training carefully, and plan to build experience before you look for remote roles.