How to Become a Medical Assistant in Tennessee

Checked against Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners (delegation policy under Tenn. Code Ann. 63-6-204(b); X-ray Operator certification, rule chapter 0880-05) · Verified 2026-10-15

Exam: Not required
Training: Not required
Term: No medical assistant credential. X-ray Operator certificates renew every two years in your birth month.
State fee: None for medical assistants. X-ray Operator certification (rule 0880-05-.02): $100 limited or $50 full application and certification fee, plus a state regulatory fee ($10 every two years).
Rules set by: Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners (delegation policy under Tenn. Code Ann. 63-6-204(b); X-ray Operator certification, rule chapter 0880-05)

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Who can apply

Tennessee has no state license for medical assistants in a physician's office. The Board of Medical Examiners treats medical assistants as supervisees who perform tasks a physician delegates under Tenn. Code Ann. 63-6-204(b).
In an ambulatory outpatient hospital clinic (a clinic or physician office owned and run by a licensed hospital), a medical assistant who gives medications must be at least 18, have a high school diploma or GED, and be certified by AMT, AAMA, NCCT, NHA or NAHP (Tenn. Code Ann. 68-11-244).
To operate x-ray equipment in a physician's office, you need a Board of Medical Examiners X-ray Operator certificate: at least 18, high school diploma or GED, good moral character, and a criminal background check.

Step by step

Finish a medical assistant program or get on-the-job training from your employer. Tennessee does not require a set program for physician offices.
Pass a national certification exam (CMA-AAMA, RMA-AMT, NCMA-NCCT, CCMA-NHA or NAHP) if you will give medications in a hospital-owned outpatient clinic. Elsewhere it is voluntary.
If you will take x-rays, complete a Board-approved limited radiological course, pass the ARRT core exam and the limited scope exam for each body area, and apply to the Board of Medical Examiners for limited X-ray Operator certification.
Work only on tasks your physician delegates, with the physician on site or immediately available by phone or video.

Training and exam

Training: No state-mandated medical assistant program for physician offices. The Board's delegation policy says a physician may delegate only acts for which the employee has been educated or trained and is currently competent, and must give the Board written documentation of the employee's qualifications on request. In hospital-owned outpatient clinics, the clinic must train and verify the competence of certified medical assistants. Limited x-ray certification needs a Board-approved course: a 50-hour basic course plus specialty classroom hours (chest 10, extremities 40, skull and sinuses 10, spine 30) and clinical hours (chest 30, extremities 80, skull and sinuses 30, spine 80).

Exam: No state medical assistant exam. National certification is voluntary in physician offices, but required to give medications in a hospital-owned ambulatory outpatient clinic (AMT, AAMA, NCCT, NHA or NAHP). Limited x-ray certification requires the ARRT core exam and the ARRT limited scope exam for each body area; the Board's passing standard is 65 percent. ARRT certification qualifies for full x-ray certification. After a fourth failed attempt at any section, you must stop supervised limited radiography until you repeat a course or remedial program.

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

What it costs in Tennessee

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

Medical assistant training tuition(optional)$
Limited X-ray Operator certification fee, only if you take x-rays (plus state regulatory fee)(optional)$100
ARRT core and limited scope exam, only if you take x-rays(optional)$

Estimated total in Tennessee$0

Cost details from the state

X-ray certificate renewal: $50 every two years, plus the state regulatory fee. Late renewal or reactivation fee $100.
ARRT core and limited scope exam fees, paid to ARRT.
Criminal background check for x-ray certification, paid to the Board's vendor.
Medical assistant training tuition and national certification exam fees vary.

Pay in Tennessee

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Good to know in Tennessee

What a medical assistant can do in Tennessee: The Board's delegation policy (revised March 20, 2018) allows routine, technical tasks such as taking vital signs, taking histories, assisting in minor procedures and answering patient calls. Before delegating, the physician must judge that the task has predictable results, needs no complex observations or critical decisions, and would not be life-threatening if done wrong. The physician must keep written protocols for non-routine tasks, update them every two years, and stays responsible for your work. In a hospital-owned outpatient clinic, a certified medical assistant may give delegated medications that an authorized provider ordered, in single-dose ready-to-give packaging or multi-dose packaging where no dose calculation is needed. Since Public Chapter 755 (signed April 23, 2026), the allowed categories are: intramuscular, intradermal and subcutaneous; vaccines; oral, sublingual and buccal; topical; irrigants; topical eye, ear and nasal (not injected); metered inhalers; unit-dose nebulizers; rectal; urethral or bladder; vaginal (not injected); limited transdermal, subcutaneous (trunk and limbs only) or transmucosal anesthetics; and medications prepared for the provider to give.

What a medical assistant cannot do: A physician may not delegate acts limited to licensed or credentialed people, and delegated tasks may only be done while the physician is on site or immediately available. In hospital-owned outpatient clinics, certified medical assistants may not give IV medications, blood products, investigational or chemotherapy drugs, insulin, controlled substances, contrast media, allergy antigens, inhaled anesthetic gases, other anesthetics beyond the limited ones allowed, aesthetic medications (such as botulinum toxin, fillers or chemical peels), or any medication needing a dose calculation, and may not give medications to inpatients or emergency department patients.

X-ray: Rule 0880-05-.03 says everyone operating x-ray machines in physicians' offices must hold a Board certificate, except physicians, residents, students in an approved course, and recent graduates awaiting the exam (up to six months). Limited certification covers only the body areas on the certificate (chest, extremities, skull and sinus, spine; bone densitometry is separate) and never contrast media. You must post the certificate where patients can see it and complete 20 hours of radiology continuing education every two years. The Board does not license x-ray operators in dental or chiropractic offices.

Physician assistants may delegate (2026): Public Chapter 755 (2026) lets a physician assistant working with a collaborating physician delegate tasks, including medication administration, to a certified medical assistant in a hospital-owned outpatient clinic, following rules of the Board of Physician Assistants. A PA may not delegate anything that requires the PA's judgment in assessing, planning or changing a patient's care.

Sources

General information, not legal advice. Fees and rules change — confirm with Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners (delegation policy under Tenn. Code Ann. 63-6-204(b); X-ray Operator certification, rule chapter 0880-05) before you apply.