Know before you apply: Are you eligible to take the CCM exam? (2024)

Posted on 07/30/2018 - 10:49 AM by Debby Formica

Knowledge of case management terminology and current practice are among the essential elements you’ll need to pass the Certified Case Manager® (CCM®) exam. But earning the CCM is about more than book knowledge—after all, it’s an exam based on what case managers do in daily practice.

Becoming a board-certified case manager requires you to have both the core education (which may be represented by licensure) and experience to practice case management before you even apply to take the test.

Why require education and experience to apply? Because the CCM is a professional certification, validating you have what it takes to grasp the big picture as well as the boots-on-the-ground know-how needed to practice case management.

The Commission expanded CCM exam eligibility requirements in March 2013. With a growing demand for case managers, we recognized the need to increase the ranks. We also acknowledged that case managers with education from across the allied health spectrum can demonstrate they have what it takes to become board certified.

The Commission’s Certification Guide goes into detail about eligibility, but we’ll cover the basics here. Let’s tackle the education requirement first. Applicants must have one (not both, just one) of the following two options to apply:

License/certification option: A current, active and unrestricted licensure or certification in a health and human services discipline that allows you to conduct a client assessment independently. Some examples of licenses and certifications that meet this eligibility requirement are: RN, LCSW, LMSW, LPC, CRC and CDMS.
- The LPN and LVN licenses do not meet the independent assessment criteria, so those licenses don’t qualify candidates to apply for the CCM.
- If you aren’t sure that your license or certification allows you to practice independently, contact your state governing board to find out.
- If your license doesn’t qualify you to take the CCM, think about using your degree to apply instead.
- Just remember, your license needs to be active and current at the time you would take the exam.
Higher education option: A bachelor’s or graduate degree in social work, nursing, or another health or human services field that promotes the physical, psychosocial, and/or vocational well-being of those being served.
- Your degree must be from an accredited institution.
- The degree, as part of the curriculum, must include supervised field experience in case management, health, or behavioral health. A great example of this is a bachelor’s degree in social work.
- Do you have a bachelor’s degree, but you’re unsure whether it’s among the many we accept for eligibility? Just call us at 856-380-6836 to find out.

If you have a qualified license AND a qualified degree, choose the option that will support your renewal in the future.

Second comes the experience requirement. For all the options below, the Commission holds that only experience within the past five years should be considered, because health care changes so rapidly (and so does case management practice). Internships, preceptorships, practicum and volunteer experience are not accepted as employment experience.

Experience must be complete at the time you apply (not when you sit for the exam). The criteria are specific about the experience itself to ensure you’re doing comprehensive case management.

For all three options, your experience must include work in at least four of the five core components of case management. These align with the Knowledge Domains on the CCM exam:

Care Delivery and Reimbursem*nt Methods
Psychosocial Concepts and Support Systems
Quality and Outcomes Evaluation and Measurements
Rehabilitation Concepts and Strategies
Ethical, Legal, and Practice Standards.

Within each component, case managers must perform all eight essential activities with direct client contact (assess, plan, implement, coordinate, monitor, evaluate, outcomes, general tasks). Your experience must include providing services across the care continuum and interacting with others in the care system.

The Commission will ask you to provide the name and contact information for a supervisor in order to confirm your work experience. A current email—personal or professional—is required. This is simply the person that you report to (or have reported to) as a case manager, in contrast to the “supervision” required for some licenses, such as social work or licensed professional counselor.

How much qualified experience do you need? The Commission offers three ways for you to meet the requirement:

12 months of acceptable full-time case management employment, supervised by a board-certified case manager (CCM). Your Supervisor must be certified for at least one year at the time of your application.
24 months of acceptable full-time case management employment experience (no supervision by a CCM required under this option).
12 months of acceptable full-time case management employment experience as a supervisor of individuals who provide case management services. This must also fall in the last five years.

What if you work a part-time schedule? The Commission has a formula for that: We’ll pro-rate your experience based on a 37-hour work week (this is automatically calculated when you apply). Check the Certification Guide for details.

If it seems that eligibility criteria are a bit complicated, it’s because we try to ensure there are as many avenues open to qualified case managers as possible to apply for certification, while still ensuring the certification represents case manager excellence. Our goal is to certify and professionally support a qualified, ready workforce. And remember, we want to help, so don’t hesitate to call us at 856-380-6836.

Comments

good morning,
Hope all is well. My comment and question is that I cannot understand why I cannot pass the test. I have been a case manager for 10 years. I went back to school and got my masters degree in case management. I am currently working as an assistant director of case managers. I am confident I know what it takes to be a good case manager. I give my staff the answers and assist them as needed. I encourage to take the test and they pass. Why can't I?
I bought the book written by Deanna Cooper Gillingham and read it.
I truly am not sure what I am doing wrong.
Sorry for the long comment
Andree Moise

Thanks for contacting CCMC. Unfortunately, the commission does not recommend or endorse study material. However, we can provide you with information about the exam and where to get started. Please read the Certification Guide (https://ccmcertification.org/sites/default/files/docs/2017/cert_guide_-…), beginning on section 9, page 11, for a break down of each exam domain. We suggest looking over this information and focus on the areas you are not familiar with and study the terms; there are 5 exam domains. We also suggest reviewing your previous exam results, these results are available on your CCM account. Use the Certification Guide as a reference to help you review the areas you are lacking in. Also, please don't forget to utilize our exam study materials webpage (https://ccmcertification.org/get-certified/exam-study-materials).

angie

hAndrea, Thank you for your question. I am in the same situation. I had to move jobs and this has put a toll on my psych. I am tired of studying for hours with a no pass. What gives what has to happen. I always pass everything the first try. I don't know what to do. I loved my job now I am doing case management that is not in the dept. I want.

Hello, I am an RN Care Coordinator with BSN and 3 years of experience. My job incorporates all 8 essentials activities and 5/5 of the components. Will I qualify to for the CCM certification, although my title is a Care Coordinator? Thank you in advance.

Thanks for contacting CCMC. In order to qualify, we ask that you meet all eligibility requirements. If you meet all the requirements, you would qualify based on that information, not by your job title. You do not have to hold the title of "case manager" in order to qualify. Please review our certification guide to determine if you are eligible: https://ccmcertification.org/get-certified/certification/guides

I am a newer nurse with an ASN and 1 year hospital nursing experience. I would like to get my case management licence before I look for work as a case manager. I feel like it would make finding employment easier and give me a better start by understanding the details before I start. Can I study and take the test, or do I have to get case management experience first?

Associates degree do not qualify you to sit for the exam. However, you can use your RN licnese to apply. In regards to employment, please make sure that in your position, you must perform the "Eight Essential Essential Activities with Direct Client Contact" and you must perform four out of the "Five Core Components of Case Management". You can find this information listed in our Certification Guide (https://ccmcertification.org/sites/default/files/docs/2018/ccmc-17-guid…). Please, review pages 5 and 6 for more information about employment qualifications.

Hi:
I guess, I probably don’t qualify to take this test either. I have been a nurse for 28 years, most of my experience is critical care. I am retired now and would like to work as a case manager part-time but they won’t hire me because I don’t have case management experience. A lot of the time when I was working the case managers wouldn’t show up for days because of being too busy and we would have to take care of business and make sure everything was being done for the patient. Also, there are people who are doing case management at hospitals and nursing homes who don’t have a degree just high school with the only experience of being n nurse assistant/tech. I know one in particular at a high magnet hospital. So go figure!!! How do they justify that!!

Hi Karen,
Thank you for reaching out. In order to qualify for the CCM exam, you must have current case management related employment experience. Your employment experience must be from the past 5 years, even if you are currently retired or unemployed. Please remember, you will also need an active and unrestricted license/certification or a degree (bachelors or higher), in health or human services, to sit for the CCM exam. Please review the Certification Guide (https://ccmcertification.org/sites/default/files/docs/2018/ccmc-17-guid…) for detailed information.

I have Masters degree in Educational Asministration and a certificate in Long Term Health Care Administration. I have been a licensed Nursing Home Administrator for 6 years. Will this meet the qualifications?

Hi,
I have a MS of Gerontology obtained from Univ of MA-Boston (2014), a BS in Human Services from Black Hills State University (2000), several years of case management experience off and on (last 2016-2017) and graduate with a Masters of Social Work from Univ of Nevada-Reno in December 2019 but will not be testing for the social work licensure until next year. Can I sit for the CCM exam now (August 2019)?

Hello
I have been an LVN for 20 years, I have a bachelors of science in health administration with a concentration in health management. Can I take the exam?

I have been a RN for the past 3.5 years working in Behavioral Health. I am interested in becoming a CCM,however it is hard to get that experience when most places are asking for a certificate in CM and when trying to apply for a certificate I’m seeing that I need to have experience in CM first. I am really confused here and at this time feeling quite stuck. Is there any advice at this point? The requirement information on the site or the brochure is not very clear on what RNs do in this case.

Hi, I have been a RN for 25 years with an Associate's Degree. I have been a MDS Coordinator, in a Case Mix state for the last 10 years. Does this qualify me to sit for the CCM Exam?

My case management experience is in section 8 does that work?

Hello. Dothe employment requirements for CCM eligibility indicate working as a "Case Manager" in your title, or doing CM tasks in your nursing job? I've been an RN for 26 years. I've done Acute care, LTC, Homecare, Hospice and Nurse consulting for Medicaid. In all of those there are some elements like assessing situation (physical, emotional, etc), trying to suggest or set up patient or member with alternative resources to help. Thanks.

I am applying to take CCMbut have had some water damage to current license. CanI apply with License verification page from TN.gov because I do not have physical license at this moment.

I am an RN with my BSN from an accredited school of nursing and have worked as a case manager for almost 2 years, will be in May. Do I qualify for certication?

I have been a home health RN case manager for 12 years. To me it sounds like home health case manager meets the requirements. Is that correct?

Hi I am currently working as an RN case manager for a hospice company with over 8 years of experience. I also hold a BSN. Would I quialify for the CCM exam?

Hello, I am an LPN currently in a CCM;chronic care management, position. I wanted to get a certification in care management. I see under the guidelines I will not be eligible with my LIC type for the CCM certificate. I wanted to know if obtaining a LIC as aCertified Managed Care Nurse (CMCN) from AAMCN would be a great way to start also to advance my career at at possiable UM/UR nurse for companies that hire LPNs. I will be going back to school for my RN but always looking for ways to improve my skills and knowledge so that I can offer my patients the best that I can.

But till I do would you recommend aCertified Managed Care Nurse (CMCN)?

I am a RN BSN trying to get into a case management job. What online courses do you recommend?

User login

FAQs

Know before you apply: Are you eligible to take the CCM exam? ›

We always suggest that you read the Certification Guide before applying. There are three eligibility requirements for the CCM Exam: 1) Licensure OR Education, 2) Employment Experience, AND 3) Good Moral Character. For the Licensure or Education, you must hold at least ONE (see options A and B):

Explore More ›

How hard is it to pass the CCM exam? ›

In order to pass the CCM exam, you will need to score at least a 70%. You will be presented with your pass/fail score immediately upon completion of the exam. This immediate pass/fail score is 99% accurate, and you will be able to print it before leaving the exam site.

Know More ›

How many people pass the CCM exam? ›

Q - What is the CCM Exam Pass rate?

Exam Administration	Total Number of Candidates	Total Candidate % Passed
April 2023	1,539	74%
August/September 2023	1,439	71%
December 2023	1,382	77%

Get More Info Here ›

What score do you need to pass CCM exam? ›

To pass the exam, you must score 70% or higher.

Know More ›

How long should you study for the CCM exam? ›

The time it takes to study and prepare for the exam varies based on the candidate. From the close of the application window, after you apply, you'll still have at least eight weeks to continue your preparation. The 8 Week Prep Circuit is a high-intensity 8-week circuit for exam content review.

Read The Full Story ›

What happens if you fail the CCM exam? ›

If you do not pass the exam the first time you take it, you can retake the exam, pending that you are still within your initial eligibility. The retake MUST be scheduled for the next available exam cycle. You can schedule your retake after you have received your exam results email.

How many questions is the CCM exam? ›

The Commission for Case Management Certification, CCMC, is the governing body of the CCM credentials, which are obtained by passing the CCM exam. The exam is administered three times a year, in April, August and December. The exam consists of 180 multiple-choice questions drawn from CCMC's item pool.

Is CCM certification worth it? ›

Employers recognize the value of CCM certification and financially support ongoing professional development, 58% pay for case managers to take the CCM exam, 44% require the credential, and 43% pay for CCM renewal.

Get More Info ›

How long is CCM certification good for? ›

To retain the valued CCM credential, board-certified case managers must earn 80 hours in continuing education every five years (8 of the total 80 need to be ethics related), or re-take the CCM exam.

Learn More Now ›

What is the cost of the CCM exam? ›

Certification Program Fees

	CMAA Member	Non-Member
Exam Registration	$290	$290
Exam Retake Fee	$140	$140
Recertification	$215	$215
Reinstatement Fee	$140	$140

2 more rows

Read The Full Story ›

How to prepare for CCM? ›

The CCM® exam is practice-based, meaning all questions are based on the knowledge that an experienced case manager should know and understand. As an exam candidate, you are not required to take any course or purchase any study materials. Purchasing study materials is optional and not required to take the exam.