How to Become a Medical Assistant in Arkansas

Who can apply

• Arkansas has no state license for medical assistants. Ark. Code 17-95-208 lets a physician (and, since Act 437 of 2025, a physician assistant) delegate medical practices to a qualified and properly trained employee who is not licensed.
• To take x-rays you need an Arkansas Department of Health license, such as the Limited Licensed Technologist license.

Step by step

1. Finish a medical assistant program or get on-the-job training. Arkansas does not require a set program.
2. (Optional) Pass a national certification exam (CMA-AAMA, RMA-AMT, CCMA-NHA or NCMA-NCCT).
3. Your delegating physician or PA decides you are qualified and properly trained for each task and sets the level of supervision.
4. If you will take x-rays, get a temporary license while training on the job, pass the ARRT Limited Scope Examination in the categories you need, and apply for a Limited Licensed Technologist license.
5. Work under the delegating physician's or PA's supervision. You may not be presented to the public as a licensed provider.

Training and exam

Training: No state-mandated medical assistant program. The delegating physician or PA must decide you are qualified and properly trained before delegating a task. For giving drugs, the law requires the Medical Board's rules to set training and competency requirements, and the Board's rule says the physician decides competency through training and experience, including personal observation.

Exam: No state medical assistant exam. National certification exams are voluntary. For x-ray, the Department of Health uses the ARRT Limited Scope Examination for State Purposes (chest, extremity, skull/sinus, spine and/or podiatry); the exam fee is paid to ARRT.

What it costs in Arkansas

Fixed amounts are set by the state. Items marked “your quote” are priced by private sellers, so enter what you’re quoted.

Good to know in Arkansas

What a medical assistant can do in Arkansas: A physician or PA may delegate tasks that need no judgment based on medical knowledge, have predictable results, can be done by exact unchanging directions, and need no complex observations or repeated assessments. This can include giving drugs that do not require substantial specialized judgment and skill, but only inside the delegating physician's or PA's office, and only after the provider weighs the patient's acuity.

What a medical assistant cannot do: You may not give anesthesia, pass a delegated task on to someone else, or be presented to the public as a licensed physician, nurse, PA or other licensed provider. The delegating physician or PA stays responsible for your acts.

X-ray: Arkansas requires a Department of Health license to use medical equipment that emits ionizing radiation on people. The Limited Licensed Technologist license covers only the categories you passed (chest, extremity, skull/sinus, spine, podiatry). There is no limited category for abdomen, pelvis/hips, ribs/sternum, fluoroscopy or contrast studies. A temporary license is available while you train on the job.

Working for a nurse practitioner (APRN): Act 959 of 2025 (Ark. Code 17-87-107) lets an advanced practice registered nurse delegate to a qualified, trained medical assistant the giving of medications and immunizations that need no specialized nursing judgment, and phlebotomy, plus other tasks the State Board of Nursing allows. You work under the APRN's supervision, may not pass the task on, and may not be presented as a licensed nurse. The Board of Nursing sets the training and competency rules.

Sources

• Arkansas Act 437 of 2025 (SB99) - amends Ark. Code 17-95-208
• Arkansas State Medical Board - Physician and Physician Assistant Delegation Rule (17 CAR 140-2501 et seq., proposed 2025)
• 060.00.09 Ark. Code R. 002 - Regulation 31, Physician Delegation of Medical Tasks (Cornell LII)
• Arkansas Department of Health - Licensing Information, Radiologic Technology
• Arkansas State Medical Board
• Arkansas Act 959 of 2025 (HB1131) - Ark. Code 17-87-107