The CPC Exam: Format, Cost, and What to Expect
The CPC exam is the Certified Professional Coder certification test administered by AAPC. It runs 100 multiple-choice questions across a 4-hour session split into two parts, is open-book with approved current-year CPT, ICD-10-CM, and HCPCS Level II manuals, and requires a score of 70% to pass. A voucher costs $425 for one attempt or $499 for two, on top of the AAPC membership required to sit for it at all. No degree or prior coding experience is required to register.
Most people arrive at this page one of two ways: deciding whether to commit to the CPC path at all, or already registered and trying to understand exactly what test day looks like. Both questions come down to the same handful of facts, laid out below with links to the deeper page on each one.
(CPC Prep is not affiliated with or endorsed by AAPC or Pearson VUE. We use “CPC” the way the field does, to name the credential, not to claim we administer it.)
This page is the hub for everything CPC-exam-specific on this site: what to study, how to prepare, what it costs, how to register, eligibility, and the free practice exam. For how CPC compares to other medical coding certifications, see medical coding certification: CPC vs CCS vs CCA.
What exactly is on the exam?
The CPC covers roughly 17 content areas spanning Evaluation & Management, anesthesia, surgery by body system, radiology, pathology and laboratory, medicine, medical terminology, anatomy, ICD-10-CM diagnosis coding, HCPCS Level II, and compliance topics like fraud and abuse rules and NCCI edits. Ten questions are built around case-style documentation you have to read and code from directly, not just standalone definitions. Surgery and Evaluation & Management carry the heaviest emphasis of the specialty sections, reflecting how much of that work happens in a typical physician’s office. The full domain-by-domain breakdown, along with the open-book manual rules, lives on what’s on the CPC exam.
How much does it cost, all in?
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| CPC exam voucher, 1 attempt | $425 |
| CPC exam voucher, 2 attempts | $499 |
| Student pricing, 1 attempt | $400 |
| AAPC membership (required to sit) | ~$229/year |
Source: AAPC: How much does the CPC exam cost?, accessed 2026-07-18. The full cost breakdown, including study materials and retake logistics, is on CPC exam cost.
Who can sit for the exam, and what happens if you’re not fully qualified yet?
Anyone can register and sit for the CPC exam; no degree or coding job history is required. What changes is the designation you receive after passing. Candidates who can verify two years of on-the-job coding experience receive full CPC status. Everyone else receives the CPC-A (Apprentice) designation instead, which is still a passing credential, just not yet the unrestricted one. The eligibility mechanics and the three ways to remove the “A” later are covered on CPC exam requirements and CPC vs CPC-A.
Where and how do you actually take it?
Candidates can test in person at a proctored testing center or remotely with a live online proctor. Either way, the exam is closed to outside materials beyond the approved code books; phones and other devices with an on/off switch aren’t allowed in the room at all. AAPC also runs an annual scheduling blackout starting around December 30 each year to roll in the next year’s code updates, so plan around that window if you’re testing near year-end. Registration mechanics, voucher validity, and the blackout period are covered in full on how to register for the CPC exam.
Is the CPC exam hard?
It depends more on preparation than raw difficulty. Open-book doesn’t mean easy: with 100 questions and a four-hour window split into two parts, a candidate who hasn’t practiced navigating the code books quickly will run out of time before running out of questions. The honest breakdown of difficulty, plus what’s known (and not officially published) about pass rates, is on is the CPC exam hard.
What should you actually study first?
Start with medical terminology and anatomy, since nearly every other section of the exam assumes that vocabulary already. From there, AAPC’s official study guide maps directly to the content outline, and pairing it with timed practice under exam conditions is what separates people who pass on the first attempt from people who don’t. See CPC exam study guide for what the guide covers and CPC exam prep for a study-plan structure you can actually follow.
Run a batch of questions on the free CPC practice exam to see where you stand right now, and grab the free CPC Exam Prep Cheat Sheet to keep the fees, format, and domain weighting in front of you while you study.
FAQ
How many questions are on the CPC exam? 100 multiple-choice questions, split into two parts within a 4-hour total session.
What score do you need to pass the CPC exam? 70% or higher, meaning at least 70 of the 100 questions correct.
Is the CPC exam open book? Yes, but only with current-year approved CPT, ICD-10-CM, and HCPCS Level II manuals. No outside study guides, no electronic devices.
How much does the CPC exam cost? $425 for one attempt or $499 for two, plus AAPC membership, which runs roughly $229 a year and is required to register.
Do you need experience to take the CPC exam? No. Anyone can sit for it. Two years of on-the-job coding experience is required afterward for full CPC status; without it, you’re certified as a CPC-A instead.
Bottom line: the CPC exam is 100 questions, 4 hours, open-book, 70% to pass, and open to anyone willing to pay the AAPC membership and voucher fees, regardless of prior experience.