The CEMC certification is AAPC's specialty credential for evaluation and management (E/M) coding. You earn it by passing one open-book exam of 100 multiple-choice questions in four hours, with at least 70 answers correct. The exam costs $325 for one attempt or $399 for two, and keeping the credential takes AAPC membership plus 36 continuing education units every two years.
Every figure in this post was read on AAPC's own pages on 13 October 2026. Fees and rules change, so check them again before you pay.
What is the CEMC certification, and who is it for?
CEMC stands for Certified Evaluation and Management Coder. AAPC says the credential validates a coder's advanced expertise in E/M coding: choosing the correct level of service for patient encounters across office visits, hospital services, consultations and other E/M categories.
On its CEMC certification page , AAPC describes the credential as ideal for coders in physician practices, multispecialty groups and hospitals, and for people in compliance or auditing roles. It also names medical billers and reimbursement specialists who handle E/M claims and denials.
It is a stand-alone credential. AAPC states that its specialty credentials carry no requirement to hold a CPC first, and it sets no minimum amount of experience. It does strongly recommend at least two years in the specialty, and it describes these exams as difficult, high-level tests that are not meant for people with little or no coding experience.
What does the CEMC exam cover?
AAPC lists four areas of skill. Its CEMC pages give no question count for any one of them, so plan to be ready for all four.
- Core knowledge. ICD-10-CM, CPT and HCPCS Level II coding principles as they apply to E/M services, the 2021 E/M guideline updates for office and outpatient visits, and the documentation and compliance requirements behind code selection.
- Medical decision making and time. Assigning a level of service from the complexity of medical decision making (MDM), using time as the controlling factor, and the documentation standards for history, exam and decision-making elements.
- Inpatient, outpatient and specialty E/M services. Office visits, preventive medicine services and consultations. Hospital admissions, subsequent visits and discharge services. Critical care, prolonged services and other encounters reported by time or complexity.
- Compliance and audit readiness. Spotting undercoding and overcoding risk, applying payer rules and NCCI edits related to E/M, and supporting compliance through documentation and internal auditing.
Read as a whole, the list is less about recalling codes and more about judgement. Does this note support this level of service? Would the claim hold up in an audit? AAPC adds that most questions are presented as coding scenarios or cases.
If you have never seen an E/M scenario written as a multiple-choice question, these ten free CEMC sample questions come with an answer key. They are practice items, not questions from the real exam.
How is the CEMC exam set up?
The exam is 100 multiple-choice questions, proctored, taken in one sitting with four hours on the clock. It is open code book.
You can sit it in two ways: online at home with a live remote proctor, or on a computer at a testing center. AAPC's page on taking the CEMC exam lists three approved books:
- AMA's CPT Professional Edition
- ICD-10-CM, from any publisher
- HCPCS Level II, from any publisher
Current-year books are recommended because the code sets change every year. You may use the previous year's books, the current year's, or a mix, but only one copy of each.
You choose printed books or eBooks. Printed books may carry handwritten notes that relate to daily coding work, and tabs that mark a page with words or numbers. The eBooks are supplied through the exam platform with a search function, and your own notes and tabs are not available in them.
An online calculator is built into the platform. Physical calculators are not permitted, and devices with an on/off switch stay out of the room.
To be admitted you need current AAPC membership, a valid unused exam voucher, a current email and address on your account, and a government-issued photo ID whose first and last name exactly match your exam confirmation.
How much does the CEMC exam cost?
AAPC sells the exam as a voucher, at two prices:
- $325 for one attempt
- $399 for two attempts
Bought up front, the second attempt costs $74 (our subtraction, not AAPC's wording). AAPC states that exam fees are non-refundable and non-transferable, and that you have one full year from the date of purchase to take the exam.
One rule is easy to miss. AAPC updates its exams every January for the new code sets, and a candidate who uses a second attempt in the next calendar year is not allowed to take the previous year's exam. If your first attempt falls late in the year, your retake may be on the updated version.
Training is optional and priced separately. On 13 October 2026, the page for AAPC's CEMC online training course listed two options:
- Course only: $249 for members, $299 for non-members
- Complete bundle: $749.99 for members, $897.90 for non-members. It includes the course, a study guide, one 50-question online practice exam and the two-attempt exam voucher.
The course is self-paced. AAPC gives the average time to finish as two months or less, with twelve months of access to the materials.
What score do you need to pass the CEMC?
You need an overall score of 70%. On a 100-question exam that means at least 70 correct answers. Miss more than 30 and you do not pass.
Two details help with planning:
- AAPC tells candidates to answer every question, because a best guess is better than no answer.
- If you do not pass, AAPC reports the categories where your sub-score was 65% or less, so a second attempt can be aimed at those.
Results appear online in your AAPC account under My Exams, normally within 7 to 10 business days. After a pass, the certificate arrives by mail.
How should you pace 100 questions in four hours?
Four hours for 100 questions works out to about 2.4 minutes each. That is AAPC's own figure, and in seconds it is 144.
The short video below is from MedicoExam's YouTube channel. It was made for the CPC exam, not the CEMC, but it describes the same format: 100 questions, four hours, 144 seconds each. Its argument is that coders lose this kind of exam on pacing, and that timed mock exams are the fix.
AAPC gives two pacing tips of its own: read the answer choices before you read the question, and save the harder questions for last.
One way to apply that is to cut the exam into four blocks of 25 questions and give each block an hour (our suggestion):
- Question 25 by the end of hour one
- Question 50 by the end of hour two
- Question 75 by the end of hour three
If you are behind at a checkpoint, mark the question you are stuck on, choose your best answer and move on. One long E/M note can take far more than its share of the clock.
What does it take to keep the CEMC?
Passing is not the end of the bill. To maintain the CEMC, AAPC requires two things:
- current AAPC annual membership
- 36 continuing education units (CEUs) every two years, 8 of which must be E/M specific
Spread evenly, that is 18 CEUs a year, 4 of them on E/M (our arithmetic).
AAPC explains its reasoning on the page about life after the CEMC exam: codes, guidelines and federal regulations change every year, so it asks for continuing education and not a repeat exam.
Two cost notes belong here. First, AAPC says events must be specifically pre-approved for specialty credentials before they count, so check the approval before you pay for a webinar. Second, the FAQ that AAPC shows on its CEMC pages puts an individual renewal membership at $229, plus tax where it applies.
How can you prepare for the CEMC without overspending?
Start from your own gaps, not from a product list. Four steps cover most of it:
- Go through AAPC's four areas line by line. Mark each line "daily", "sometimes" or "never" for how often you do that work. The "never" lines are your study list.
- Get this year's three code books early and work in them. Notes that relate to daily coding are allowed in printed books, so the notes you make at your desk can come with you.
- Sit one full run of 100 questions against a four-hour clock before you book a date. It will show whether your problem is knowledge or speed.
- Review your misses by area, not question by question. A cluster in one area tells you more than any single wrong answer.
For step 3 you need questions you have not seen before. MedicoExam's CEMC practice exam with timed mock tests has more than 195 questions and a Result Book that tracks each attempt, which helps with the review in step 4.
If you are an experienced E/M coder with gaps in one or two areas, the exam voucher, your code books and AAPC membership may be all you have to pay for. If most of the list is new to you, AAPC's own advice applies: get the two years of experience first.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is the CEMC exam open book?
Yes. AAPC lists the CEMC as an open code book exam. You may use AMA's CPT Professional Edition, an ICD-10-CM book and a HCPCS Level II book, one copy of each, in print or as eBooks supplied through the exam platform.
2. How many questions are on the CEMC exam?
The CEMC exam has 100 multiple-choice questions, taken in one four-hour sitting. AAPC says most of them are presented as coding scenarios or cases.
3. What is the CEMC exam fee?
AAPC lists the CEMC exam at $325 for one attempt or $399 for two attempts, as read on 13 October 2026. Exam fees are non-refundable and non-transferable, and you have one year from the purchase date to take the exam.
4. Do you need a CPC before taking the CEMC?
No. AAPC says its specialty credentials are stand-alone certifications with no requirement to hold a CPC. You do need current AAPC membership, and AAPC strongly recommends at least two years of experience in the specialty.
5. How do you keep the CEMC certification active?
You keep the CEMC active by maintaining your AAPC annual membership and earning 36 CEUs every two years, 8 of which must be E/M specific.
Written by the team behind MedicoExam, an independent exam-prep site that is not affiliated with AAPC. Facts were checked against AAPC's CEMC pages on 13 October 2026.