How to Become a Medical Assistant in North Dakota

Checked against North Dakota Board of Nursing (Unlicensed Assistive Person and Medication Assistant III registry) · Verified 2026-10-15

Exam: Not required
Training: Required
Term: Initial registration runs to June 30 of the second year, then renews every two years.
State fee: UAP registry: $40 application and $40 renewal every two years (NDAC 54-07-02-01, 54-07-02-01.1); the renewal fee doubles if received after expiration. MAIII: $40 application. When you renew MAIII with your UAP registration, NDAC 54-07-05-06 lists a $30 UAP renewal fee plus the $40 MAIII renewal fee. Reactivation adds a $30 fee.
Rules set by: North Dakota Board of Nursing (Unlicensed Assistive Person and Medication Assistant III registry)

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Who can apply

To be listed on the Board of Nursing's unlicensed assistive person (UAP) registry as a medical assistant, you must have completed a formal medical assistant training program (the Board does not approve programs) or hold a current certification from a Board-recognized national body.
You must submit to a criminal history record check (NDAC 54-07-02-01).
To give medications, including injections, you also need Medication Assistant III (MAIII) registration: a board-recognized medical assistant program with a clinical medication administration component, plus current CMA (AAMA), RMA (AMT), CCMA (NHA) or NCMA (NCCT) certification (NDAC 54-07-05-05).

Step by step

Complete a formal medical assistant program. For medication administration, choose one that includes pharmacology and an in-person clinical component in medication administration.
Pass a national certification exam from a Board-recognized body (AAMA, NHA, AMT, NAHP or NCCT). It is required for MAIII registration.
Apply to the ND Board of Nursing UAP registry through the Nurse Portal, pay the $40 fee and complete the criminal history record check.
If you will give medications, apply for MAIII registration ($40) with proof of your program and current certification.
Work under delegation from a licensed nurse or medical provider. Employers may only use people on the registry to perform nursing tasks.
Renew by June 30 of the second year and every two years after.

Official application →

Training and exam

Training: UAP registration for medical assistants requires completion of a formal medical assistant program or current certification from a Board-recognized national body (NDAC 54-07-02-01). MAIII registration requires a board-recognized medical assistant program that included a clinical component in medication administration. The Board does not approve or list medical assistant programs.

Exam: The Board of Nursing gives no exam. National certification is required only for MAIII (medication) registration and its renewal: CMA (AAMA), RMA (AMT), CCMA (NHA) or NCMA (NCCT). For x-ray work, the state LXMO exam is the ARRT limited-scope exam (Core, Chest, Extremities, Skull/Sinus, Spine modules), but medical assistants are not on the list of professions eligible for the LXMO license.

No state exam here, but most employers ask for national certification. Practice for the CMA/RMA/CCMA free →

What it costs in North Dakota

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

UAP registry application (ND Board of Nursing)$40
Medication Assistant III registration (needed to give medications)(optional)$40
Criminal history record check$
Medical assistant program tuition$
National certification exam (required for MAIII)(optional)$

Estimated total in North Dakota$40Plus 2 items with no state-set price. Add your quotes above to complete the total.

Cost details from the state

Criminal history record check (fingerprints); the Board does not state the amount in these rules.
National certification exam fee, paid to the certifying body.
Late UAP renewal: the registration fee is doubled if received after the expiration date.

Pay in North Dakota

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Keeping your credential

Renewal: Renew by June 30 every two years. You must show you were employed as a UAP and give verification of competence from an employer or licensed nurse, or current certification. MAIII renewal requires current national certification (NDAC 54-07-05-06).

Good to know in North Dakota

What a medical assistant can do in North Dakota: The Board of Nursing's 2026 scope chart lists for a medical assistant (UAP): collecting and documenting basic subjective and objective data including vital signs, and caring for patients whose condition is stable and predictable. With MAIII registration, a medical assistant may give medications on a prescriber's order by routes including oral, eye, ear, nasal, topical, inhaled, and intramuscular, subcutaneous and intradermal injections, to patients with stable, predictable conditions (NDAC 54-07-05-09).

What a medical assistant cannot do: Not delegable to a UAP or MAIII (NDAC 54-07-03.1-03.1): assessment needing nursing judgment, nursing diagnosis, care planning, evaluating care, most patient teaching, counseling, care coordination, and receiving or transmitting verbal or telephone orders. The 2026 chart also lists triage, interpreting vital signs, notifying patients of lab results and caring for unstable patients as outside MA scope. An MAIII may not give medications by IV, IV lock, central line, colostomy or urethral catheter, and may not give contrast media, chemotherapy (except oral maintenance) or use medication pumps.

Is registration required?: The Board of Nursing says yes: N.D.C.C. 43-12.1-03 makes it unlawful to assist in the practice of nursing without a license or registration, and its rules say employers may only use people on the registry to perform nursing tasks. A UAP cannot work independently; the role depends on delegation from a licensed nurse or a medical provider.

X-ray: You need a North Dakota license to take x-rays as a limited x-ray machine operator (LXMO). Eligibility is limited to people licensed as a medical/clinical lab technologist or technician, OT/OTA, PT/PTA, PA, RN or LPN (NDAC 114-02-01-02(3)); others may petition the Board before starting the didactic course. The Board says it has denied petitions from phlebotomists and nursing assistants and approved them for licensed EMT-Paramedics. LXMO fees: $25 application, $150 conditional license, $75 initial license, $75 renewal every two years with 12 CE hours.

Temporary permit: When you apply for UAP registration, pay the fee and show you will meet all requirements, the Board may issue a temporary permit to work as an unlicensed assistive person while your application is pending. It expires after 90 days (NDAC 54-07-02-01.3).

Sources

General information, not legal advice. Fees and rules change — confirm with North Dakota Board of Nursing (Unlicensed Assistive Person and Medication Assistant III registry) before you apply.