CHAP Exam at a Glance

What the CHAP is and how it works

According to Association for Healthcare Administrative Professionals, “You have 90 minutes to complete the exam, approximately 100 questions.”^[1]

CHAP is a certification for healthcare administrative professionals, offered by the Association for Healthcare Administrative Professionals (AHCAP). Everything below comes from AHCAP's own pages. Check them before you apply, because requirements and fees can change.

Eligibility. There are two routes. The Traditional route is points-based: you need a minimum of 100 points across education, professional experience and elective activities. The Fast Track route is for candidates with 7+ years of experience, an associate degree and 5+ years of AHCAP membership.

Delivery. The exam is online. Once AHCAP confirms your eligibility, you receive the exam link and instructions by email, and you then have 2 weeks to complete the exam.

Format and scoring. You get 90 minutes for about 100 questions, which are multiple choice, true/false and fill-in-the-blank. The exam closes automatically after 90 minutes. It is scored pass/fail, and 75% or higher is a pass. Results arrive by email immediately.

Fees. For AHCAP members the total is $150, made up of a $50 application fee and a $100 exam fee. Non-member fees are higher, so confirm them with AHCAP.

Retakes. You may retest up to 3 times in 24 months. The retest fee is $50 for members and $100 for non-members.

Validity. Certification lasts 3 years and must be renewed to stay active.

Worked examples: how to reason through CHAP questions

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.

Example 1

Question: What is the role of auditing in healthcare compliance?

1. To increase healthcare costs.
2. To identify non-compliance and recommend corrective actions
3. To reduce patient care services.
4. To delay regulatory reporting.

Answer: B. To identify non-compliance and recommend corrective actions

Explanation:

The correct answer is that auditing identifies non-compliance and recommends corrective actions. An audit is a systematic review of operations, documentation and billing against laws, regulations and internal policy. Its output is findings plus a plan to fix them.

Increasing healthcare costs is wrong because an audit is a control, not a spending goal, and good compliance work tends to reduce waste and risk. Reducing patient care services is wrong because audits examine how care and billing are documented, not whether care is delivered. Delaying regulatory reporting is wrong because audits support timely, accurate reporting rather than postponing it.

Rule to remember: when a compliance question asks what auditing is for, look for the option about finding problems and correcting them. Options that describe a harmful or obstructive outcome are almost never the purpose of a compliance control.

Example 2

Question: Which prefix means 'against' or 'opposed to'?

1. anti-
2. hypo-
3. peri-
4. inter-

Answer: A. anti-

Explanation:

The correct answer is anti-. This prefix means against or opposed to, as in antibiotic, which acts against bacteria, or antidote, which acts against a poison.

Hypo- is wrong because it means under or below, as in hypodermic, under the skin. Peri- is wrong because it means around or surrounding, as in pericardium, the tissue around the heart. Inter- is wrong because it means between, as in intercostal, between the ribs.

Rule to remember: learn prefixes in contrasting groups. Pair anti- with against, hypo- with under, peri- with around and inter- with between. In medical terminology and billing questions, break an unfamiliar word into prefix, root and suffix, and the prefix often narrows the choices quickly.

Example 3

Question: What is 'at-will employment' in the context of US labor law?

1. An employee can work any hours they choose
2. Either party can terminate employment at any time for any lawful reason
3. Employees must give 90 days notice before leaving
4. Employers must provide cause before terminating

Answer: B. Either party can terminate employment at any time for any lawful reason

Explanation:

The correct answer is that either party can end the employment relationship at any time for any lawful reason. That is the core idea of at-will employment in US labor law: no fixed term, and no need to prove cause.

The option saying employees can work any hours they choose is wrong because at-will status concerns ending employment, not scheduling. The option requiring 90 days notice before leaving is wrong because at-will employment does not impose a notice period on the employee, although a contract might. The option saying employers must provide cause is wrong because it describes the opposite of at-will.

Rule to remember: at-will does not mean any reason at all. The reason must still be lawful, so firing someone for an illegal reason such as discrimination or retaliation is not protected.

How to use these practice tests

Start with the official AHCAP page for the exam, so you know the eligibility route you are using, the format and the retake rules. Then work out where you are weakest before you plan any study time.

Take a first pass through each of our practice sets, covering compliance, financial management, health information, human resources, operations, quality and risk, ethics and legal standards, technology, medical terminology and billing, and patient communication. Do not worry about your score on this pass. Note which topics feel unfamiliar.

On your second pass, read every explanation, including those for questions you got right. Write down the rule behind each miss in a short notes file, in your own words. Return to the weakest sets first, and retake them only after you have reviewed your notes, so you are testing recall rather than memory of the answer order.

Because the real exam includes true/false and fill-in-the-blank items as well as multiple choice, practise stating answers without seeing the options first. Our questions are written by us and are not real exam questions, so use them to build understanding, not to predict the test.

Before test day, read the AHCAP instructions again, check that your email and internet connection are reliable, and plan an uninterrupted block of time for the timed exam.

Sources & last verified

1. Association for Healthcare Administrative Professionals — number of questions, time limit, passing score, exam fee (official source). “You have 90 minutes to complete the exam, approximately 100 questions.” Verified Oct 23, 2026.
2. Association for Healthcare Administrative Professionals — validity (official source). “Certification is valid for three years and must be renewed to maintain an active status.” Verified Oct 23, 2026 · source checked Oct 23, 2026.

How we verify: editorial & fact-checking policy. Report an error: contact us.