AHIMA certification
How to Become a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) in 2026
To become a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) you pass the RHIT exam set by AHIMA. Requires an associate degree from a CAHIIM-accredited HIM program, and opens roles beyond coding.
On cost, $229 for AHIMA members and $299 for non-members.
There is no licence and no state board in medical coding, so the credential is the qualification. What follows is what the RHIT covers, what it costs in total, who can sit it, what keeps it current, and when it is the right one to choose over CCA or CCS.
Exam
$229 for AHIMA members and $299 for non-members
Awarded by
AHIMA
Renewal
recertification every two years, which means submitting continuing education units and paying the recertification fee
What is the RHIT certification?
The RHIT, or Registered Health Information Technician, is a certification awarded by AHIMA that validates competence in managing health information: record accuracy and completeness, data analysis, and the systems that hold patient records. In practice it is not a coding credential at all but the health information one, and the practical reason to choose the associate degree over the certificate.
AHIMA points the RHIT at three groups in particular:
- Associate-degree graduates from CAHIIM-accredited HIM programmes
- Coders who want registrar, data quality or supervisory work
- People aiming past coding into health information management
What does the RHIT exam cover?
The RHIT exam covers 5 areas, as AHIMA describes them:
- Health record content, structure and data quality
- Coding and classification systems
- Health law, privacy and compliance
- Health statistics, registries and data analysis
- Revenue cycle and information systems
What that means in practice: coding is only one of five areas. Health law, statistics, registries and information systems all carry weight, which surprises people who came to the RHIT expecting a harder coding exam.
How much does the RHIT exam cost?
The RHIT exam costs $229 for AHIMA members and $299 for non-members. Treat it as the floor rather than the total. Code books alone run to a few hundred dollars a year, and they are revised annually.
The RHIT is taken computer-based through Pearson VUE, scored against a pass mark of 300.
AHIMA scores the RHIT against a pass mark of 300, so the exam is criterion-referenced: you are measured against a fixed standard rather than graded on a curve against other candidates.
Set that against what the training costs. Tuition on the programmes we rank runs from about $1,100 to $10,100 a year, so for most people the exam is the smaller number, and a programme that bundles the voucher is worth more than its sticker price suggests. See the ranked programmes.
Who can sit the RHIT exam?
Anyone meeting AHIMA's stated conditions can sit the RHIT. AHIMA currently accepts only HIM degree programmes for RHIT eligibility, so a coding certificate on its own does not qualify you.
Treat this as an admission rule rather than a standard. AHIMA decides who sits the exam; the exam itself, and then the hiring manager, decide the rest. A programme built specifically around the RHIT is worth more than one that merely leaves you eligible for it, which is why our ranked programmes record the exam each one names.
How do you keep the RHIT?
Keeping the RHIT takes recertification every two years, which means submitting continuing education units and paying the recertification fee. Worth pricing in before you choose: lapse it and you pay the full exam fee again to recover it.
What sets the RHIT apart
- The only credential on this site with a hard degree prerequisite: you cannot sit it off a certificate
- The reason the CAHIIM-accredited associate degree matters, and the payoff for taking the longer route
- Opens roles beyond coding, which the coding credentials do not
How does the RHIT compare with other coding certifications?
The RHIT compares most directly with CCA and CCS, and the choice between them follows the employer rather than the credential. The RHIT is not a coding credential at all but the health information one, and the practical reason to choose the associate degree over the certificate.
| Credential | Body | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| CCA | AHIMA | AHIMA's entry credential, and the usual first exam for a graduate of a PCAP-approved certificate |
| CCS | AHIMA | the inpatient hospital standard, and the credential most worth working toward if acute care is the goal |
| CCS-P | AHIMA | AHIMA's physician-practice credential, and the direct alternative to the CPC if your employer prefers AHIMA |
| CPC | AAPC | the default first credential for physician-practice and outpatient work, and the foundation the other AAPC credentials build on |
| COC | AAPC | the facility-side counterpart to the CPC, for people whose employer is a hospital outpatient department rather than a practice |
What jobs and pay does the RHIT lead to?
The RHIT leads to health information technician, medical records specialist roles. Those roles sit under Medical Records Specialists in federal wage data (SOC 29-2072), at a median of $51,140 , with the bottom tenth at $37,000 and the top tenth at $81,150, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for May 2025. That median covers the whole occupation, experienced staff included, so treat the bottom of the range as the realistic starting point.
Health Information Technician
Manages record systems, data quality and registries, the role an AAS opens that a certificate does not.
Medical Records Specialist
The BLS occupation title covering coders and records staff, and the source of the wage figures on this site.
Common questions about the RHIT
How much does the RHIT exam cost?
Who is eligible to sit the RHIT exam?
How do you keep the RHIT once you have it?
Is the RHIT worth it?
Sources
- AHIMA's own RHIT certification page, read 2026-08-18. The source for what the exam covers, what it costs and what keeps it current.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. The wage figures for Medical Records Specialists.
- Which programmes prepare you for the RHIT: our ranked list and what accreditation actually means.
Certification fees and continuing-education requirements change. Confirm the current figures with AHIMA before you budget.