The AAPC Certified Professional Biller (CPB) exam is for medical billers who want a credential that shows they can handle claims, payer rules, compliance and collections. This page gives the exam facts from AAPC and matches each official content area to one of our free practice sets. It also works through three sample questions in full and gives you a study plan to follow before test day.
The AAPC has 135 questions, takes about 4 hours and costs $425[1] (AAPC, verified Oct 25, 2026).
Numbers in brackets link to the official sources listed under Sources & last verified. Dates that have passed are removed automatically.
| Item | Detail | Source · Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Number of questions | 135 questions[1] | AAPC · Oct 25, 2026 |
| Time limit | 4 hours, one sitting[1] | AAPC · Oct 25, 2026 |
| Passing score | 70% overall[1] | AAPC · Oct 25, 2026 |
| Exam fee | $425 for one attempt ($499 for two)[1] | AAPC · Oct 25, 2026 |
| Retake fee | $499 for a two-attempt voucher[2] | AAPC · Oct 25, 2026 |
| Retake policy | Failing candidates are told which areas scored 65% or less[1] | AAPC · Oct 25, 2026 |
| Renewal | 36 CEUs every 2 years + annual AAPC membership[3] | AAPC · Oct 25, 2026 |
| Delivery | Online with live remote proctor, or at a testing center[1] | AAPC · Oct 25, 2026 |
| Eligibility | Current AAPC membership + valid unused exam voucher; no CPC required[4] | AAPC · Oct 25, 2026 |
| Score release | 7–10 business days[1] | AAPC · Oct 25, 2026 |
| Registration deadline | Voucher must be used within 1 year of purchase[5] | AAPC · Oct 25, 2026 |
According to AAPC, “The exam has a total of 135 questions to be answered in four hours.”[1]
The CPB is AAPC's credential for professional medical billers. It covers the work between a patient visit and final payment: types of insurance, claim submission, billing rules, reimbursement, collections and compliance. It also tests enough coding for you to check that a claim is correct.
Who can take it. You need a current AAPC membership and a valid, unused exam voucher. You do not need to hold the CPC first, because AAPC lists the CPB as a stand-alone certification. You must use the voucher within 1 year of purchase or you lose the payment.
Format and delivery. The exam has 135 questions, and you have 4 hours to finish it in one sitting. You can take it online at home with a live remote proctor or on a computer at a testing center.
Scoring and results. You need an overall score of 70% or higher to pass. Results usually arrive within 7–10 business days after the exam.
Cost and retakes. One attempt costs $425, and a voucher with two attempts costs $499. If you do not pass, AAPC tells you which areas had sub-scores of 65% or less, so you know where to focus next.
Keeping the credential. You must keep your annual AAPC membership and earn 36 CEUs every 2 years.
Fees and policies can change. Check the current details on AAPC's CPB exam page before you buy a voucher.
The content areas below are copied from the official AAPC content outline published by AAPC. The right-hand column shows which of our practice sets covers it.
| Official content area | Practice on this site |
|---|---|
| Billing regulations[1] | AAPC Billing Documentation & Compliance Practise the documentation and billing rules that decide whether a charge can be billed and how it must be supported. |
| Case analysis[1] | AAPC Revenue Cycle Management Work through billing scenarios from start to finish, following a claim from registration through payment and spotting where it went wrong. |
| Claims and billing[1] | AAPC Claims Management & Adjudication Practise claim form fields, how payers adjudicate claims, and how to read remittance results. |
| Coding[1] | AAPC Medical Terminology & Coding Guidelines Check that you can tell CPT, HCPCS Level II and ICD-10-CM apart and apply basic coding guidelines to a claim. |
| HIPAA and compliance[1] | AAPC HIPAA & Healthcare Compliance Regulat... Review privacy and security rules, minimum necessary use of data, and the fraud and abuse rules billers must follow. |
| Reimbursement and collections[1] | AAPC Reimbursement Methods & Fee Schedules Practise allowed amounts, fee schedules, contractual adjustments and patient balances, then move to the collections set. |
| Types of insurance[1] | AAPC Insurance Policies & Contracts Compare commercial, government and managed care plans, and practise coordination of benefits and payer contract terms. |
Prepare for the AAPC - American Academy of Professional Coders Biller Certified exam with our free practice test modules. Each quiz covers key topics to help you pass on your first try.
These are practice questions written for this site, not questions from the real exam. Each explanation shows why the right answer is right and why the others are wrong.
Question: Which coding system is primarily used for outpatient procedures?
Answer: B. CPT
Explanation:
B. CPT is correct. CPT codes describe the services and procedures that physicians and other providers perform. They are the standard way to report outpatient and office procedures on a professional claim.
ICD-10-PCS is wrong because it is the procedure coding system for inpatient hospital stays, not outpatient work. HCPCS Level II is wrong because it mainly covers supplies, equipment, drugs and some services that CPT does not describe. It adds to CPT rather than replacing it. SNOMED CT is wrong because it is a clinical vocabulary used inside health records, not a billing code set.
Rule to remember: diagnoses use ICD-10-CM, and inpatient hospital procedures use ICD-10-PCS. Outpatient and physician procedures use CPT, with HCPCS Level II covering what CPT does not.
Question: Which guideline emphasizes coding only the conditions that affect patient care?
Answer: B. Only conditions treated or addressed during the encounter are coded
Explanation:
B is correct. Outpatient coding guidelines say to code the conditions that are treated or managed during the encounter, or that affect the care given. The visit documentation must support every code on the claim, and each code should explain why the services were needed.
A is wrong because a condition being mentioned in the record does not make it reportable. Coding everything listed can overstate how complex the patient is. C is wrong because the guidelines do not put secondary conditions first. The first-listed diagnosis is the main reason for the visit. D is wrong because past conditions that no longer affect care are not coded as active problems.
Rule to remember: code what the provider documented and addressed at this encounter, and nothing the note does not support.
Question: What is a contractual adjustment in medical billing?
Answer: B. The difference between a provider's billed charge and the contracted allowed amount that is written off
Explanation:
B is correct. When a provider joins a payer's network, it agrees to accept the contracted allowed amount. If the billed charge is higher, the difference is written off as a contractual adjustment, and the provider cannot bill it to the patient.
A is wrong because a timely filing denial or late-filing penalty is a separate problem, not a contract write-off. C is wrong because a copay refund returns money the patient overpaid. It is not the gap between the charge and the allowed amount. D is wrong because an overpayment is money the payer sent beyond what was owed, and it usually has to be refunded.
Rule to remember: the billed charge minus the allowed amount is the contractual adjustment. The patient's share comes only out of the allowed amount, through copay, coinsurance and deductible.
Start with a baseline. Take the general practice test before you study anything. Note which topics you missed and why: did you not know a rule, misread a scenario, or mix up code sets?
Work through the content areas. Use the table above to go through the topic sets, starting with your weakest areas. For each wrong answer, read the explanation and write the rule down in your own words. Pair Reimbursement Methods & Fee Schedules with Patient Financial Services & Collections, and pair Claims Management & Adjudication with Denial Management & Appeals. Each pair covers the same part of the revenue cycle.
Use the official material. Read AAPC's CPB exam page and the study resources it lists. Our questions are practice items written by us, not real exam questions, so treat AAPC as the final word on rules and scope.
Practise under exam conditions. Before test day, sit a long timed session in one go to build stamina for a single four-hour sitting. Then review only the questions you missed, and retake the sets for the areas where you are still weak.
No. AAPC lists the CPB as a stand-alone certification, with no requirement to hold a CPC. To register, you need a current AAPC membership and a valid, unused exam voucher. You must use the voucher within 1 year of purchase, or AAPC keeps the payment.
The CPB exam has 135 questions, and you have 4 hours to finish them in one sitting. You can take it online at home with a live remote proctor, or on a computer at a testing center. Practise with timed sets so you get used to keeping a steady pace across the full exam.
You need an overall score of 70% or higher. AAPC says results usually arrive within 7–10 business days after the exam. The pass mark applies to your overall score, so a weak result in one area can be made up by stronger results in others.
One attempt costs $425, and a voucher with two attempts costs $499. If you do not pass, AAPC tells you which areas had sub-scores of 65% or less. Use that list to choose which of our topic sets to work through before your next attempt.
You must keep your annual AAPC membership and earn 36 continuing education units (CEUs) every 2 years. If you let your membership lapse or miss the CEU requirement, your credential is put at risk. Check AAPC's CPB page for the current renewal rules.
How we verify: editorial & fact-checking policy. Report an error: contact us.