How to Become a Medical Assistant in New York

Who can apply

• New York does not license medical assistants. The State Board for Medicine says "Medical Assistant" is not a title that is licensed or otherwise recognized in New York.
• National certification (such as CMA) can be shown to employers, but the Board says it gives no extra privileges to perform additional tasks, because certified MAs are still unlicensed persons.

Step by step

1. Finish a medical assisting program or on-the-job training with a physician practice.
2. Optionally earn a national certification (CMA-AAMA, RMA-AMT, CCMA-NHA or NCMA-NCCT). Employers may ask for it, but it does not expand what you may do in New York.
3. Get training from your practice for each task. The supervising physician decides whether you are capable of a task on the Board's allowed list.
4. Work only on tasks the Board lists for unlicensed persons, under physician supervision. Injections, medication administration, triage and x-rays are reserved for licensed professionals.

Training and exam

Training: No state-mandated program. The Board for Medicine says tasks must be performed after appropriate training, and the supervising physician is responsible for deciding whether the unlicensed person can perform each task.

Exam: New York has no state medical assistant exam. National certification exams are voluntary, and the Board for Medicine says certification does not allow extra tasks. Taking x-rays requires a New York radiologic technologist license from the Department of Health, not an MA credential.

What it costs in New York

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 New York

What a medical assistant can do in New York: Per the Board for Medicine memo (revised December 2023): clerical work and billing; vital signs; ECGs; scribing history, chief complaint, medications and allergies into the record; collecting lab specimens such as urine dipsticks, finger sticks, cheek, throat and superficial cultures; phlebotomy if properly trained and in a CLIA-waived facility; basic hearing and vision tests; giving prepared patient education; changing wound dressings (not casts); applying (not reading) allergen patch tests; removing sutures or staples if a licensed professional evaluates the patient immediately before; and assisting a practitioner under direct, personal supervision with tasks that need no medical judgment.

What a medical assistant cannot do: Triage; drawing up or giving vaccinations, immunizations or allergens; drawing up any medication in a syringe; giving medication by any route; giving contrast dye or injections of any kind; placing sutures; taking x-rays or independently positioning patients for x-rays; applying or removing casts; first assisting in surgery; inserting or removing IVs or catheters; relaying positive test results; teaching self-injection or self-catheterization; EMGs and nerve conduction studies; setting up or manipulating a sterile field; and pre-procedure preparation or disinfection.

Physician liability: Under Education Law 6530(11), a physician who lets an unlicensed person perform activities that require a license commits professional misconduct, even if the person is capable of the task.

X-ray: In New York, x-ray equipment must be operated by a licensed radiologic technologist under a licensed practitioner's supervision, or by the licensed practitioner. There is no limited x-ray permit for medical assistants. Bills to create a limited-scope radiographer license (S684A/A2685, 2025-2026 session) were still in committee as of January 2026.

Sources

• NYSED Office of the Professions - Utilization of Medical Assistants (Board for Medicine memo, revised December 2023)
• NYS Department of Health - Radiologic Technology
• NY Senate - S684A (limited-scope radiographer bill) status