AAPC Reviews 19

I have studied for the CPC exam for years, including training at an accredited private University and a medical coding internship where my managers are extremely satisfied with my work. The grading on the CPC exam is rigged for sure. There is no way that I failed twice.

“I’m extremely frustrated. After paying $7,500 to earn my CPB certification, I’ve now learned that I must continue paying annual membership fees and additional costs for CEUs just to keep my certification active. This feels misleading and disappointing.

Absolutely terrible. Customer service will treat you like shit. If you have to return anything goodluck. Because even if you call they can tell you to send it back to the address on the box. It can then be a 3rd party shipping company and they will not know the building number. So now your out $40+ on excess shipping. While hoping I can get it to the correct place.

Update:
They gave me a paid shipping label to return the books I am very pleased with how they handled it. While this was a stressful experience I do feel they fixed it the best they could.

As someone who earned my CPC certification nearly 19 years ago, I’ve seen the evolution of AAPC exams and the industry’s growing reliance on certified professionals. No matter how critical we may be at times, it’s undeniable that AAPC credentials carry weight. They serve as a credible signal that the certificate holder possesses foundational knowledge and professional competency in a complex and highly regulated field.

The CPC exam, in particular, is designed not only to test recall but to assess how quickly and accurately a candidate can analyze and apply the material under pressure. With about 2.4 minutes per question, success isn’t just about memorization—it’s about strategy, deep understanding, and pattern recognition. Some questions may take only 45 seconds, others longer. That balance requires preparation and discipline.

Let’s be honest: in real-world practice, most of us work within a narrow subset of CPT codes, but the exam rightfully demands a broad knowledge base, covering ICD-10-CM, CPT, and HCPCS. You’re expected to know the guidelines inside and out, understand anatomy and medical terminology, and be comfortable identifying alternate terms, abbreviations, and synonyms found in clinical documentation—many of which don’t appear verbatim in CPT code descriptions.

When I earned my certification, the exam was 150 questions over 5 hours and 40 minutes. Today it’s 100 questions over 4 hours—but it remains a rigorous, high-stakes test of readiness. The format may have changed, but the expectations haven’t.

That’s why exam preparation must go beyond simply purchasing a course or passively attending a class. Success requires a multi-pronged approach:
• Use feedback loops actively
• Reflect on your weak points
• Revisit your study strategy regularly
• Master the official guidelines—not just the codes

AAPC’s responsibility is to design an exam that reflects real-world expectations. Ours is to rise to that standard.

To those preparing for the exam: study, study, study—and introspect. Understand not only the material, but what the credential says about you as a professional. A certificate isn’t just a title—it’s a promise of competency.

I wish everyone the very best as they work toward certification. With preparation, humility, and reflection, you’ll not only pass—you’ll grow.

I studied through Legacy Education, great program, when it was time to take my exam at my home, I did all of the pre-checks, was ready to start. When I closed the chat box the program kicked me back to the very beginning. I messaged my proctor. When the question about my school came up, I answered it, told the proctor I think I got it. He took over my mouse/computer, he tried over and over again to get it started. Finally he connected me to a technician,who tried foe maybe 30 seconds then told me to contact my instructor, I asked who, my proctor? I waited, it finally said they were waiting for a technician, I waited some more. Finally someone else came on and tried a couple of times, she said my test had been launched but I saw nothing, she eventually told me to reschedule and that I would not lose thus voucher. I tried to reschedule, it said I didn't have any exams in my account, so I couldn't.
When I went back to my room, I was upset, may have said some choice words, well, they were still recording, why? The test was over! I spent 1 1/2 hours waiting.
So they said it was my fault and that I have to pay more money for the voucher I lost.

I don't recommend AAPC to anyone who desire to come into medical coding, they manipulate the test results with AI in reason you continuing pay them and get more and more courses. I'm a teacher and I can say AAPC management is anti-pedagogical and dishonest with the student.

This is a very dishonest company. The salesperson tried... at length... to ruin my confidence so I'd pay $2k+ for courses. So sleazy! I went to AHIMA instead and got my CCS with no courses, nada, and passed on the first try!

My frustration with the poor quality of the course has increased with each chapter I completed. The length of time it would take to complete this course was misrepresented. The curriculum and the learning materials are terrible. There is duplication of reading materials which is time-consuming, unclear, ambiguous, and in no way prepares one for the practical application exams. It focuses on the coding numbers, of which there are thousands, without instruction on how to use the indices to get to the correct code numbers. There's little to no instruction on how to determine RVU hierarchy, thereby coming up with the correct order of codes. There are many spelling errors and the illustrations are unhelpful--very unclear images with dotted lines that go nowhere. In addition, the Meazure Learning login is not working. This course seems to have been created by someone with no background in education or curriculum development. I've had to access outside learning materials to complete the chapters I've completed.

I've wasted a lot of time and money on this course.

I took the AAPC training for coding and paid for my exam which I was told could be taken at home. AAPC uses a website you have to download to access a proctor that will run the test. The day of the exam this website did not work and I was unable to connect to a proctor. I explained this and was told that it was my fault and I have to pay again to take the certification. So they robbed me of the attempt I already paid for and asked me to pay again. This is an unethical way to run business.

Absolutely horrible business and should be shut down!!! They offer no assistance if you have questions or concerns. This course is a money pit and I wish I had seen these bad reviews before I wasted over $5000. I think the tests are rigged so you fail and have to spend more money. The membership fee is ridiculous! I’m a nurse and my license renewal is less than $100 every TWO years. This place makes you renew yearly for $200+. That’s a joke!!

AAPC is horribly unresponsive. I have reached out for help over the years and am consistently ignored. I have been reaching out for 10 months for a benefit of my membership and still nothing. I even reached out to the CEO. I have paid a lot of money over the years in dues, membership fees, CEUs, etc. Are they trying to save money by not honoring the membership benefits. It appears they could care less about their members. Keep paying that money!!!

Do not get a medical coding certification with AAPC. They were nothing but a pain to communicate with. Their admin processes seem to be very disorganized. I got a mailed certificate that I’d finished the course but no certificate that I had passed my exam and was certified in coding. When I emailed to ask for one, the reply implied that I had already gotten one and it seemed snarky. The Practicode module seemed like a great tool for getting more education but it’s horribly flawed and actually useless. The site advertises that the training courses count toward CEUs but did not add the very important detail that it only counts if you were already certified before you take the course. Don’t be fooled by the “sales” they have going on. They have a different one every month. Their costs are always “discounted”. I wouldn’t say the cost was worth it but I was already moving into medical coding. I wasn’t trying to get into the field with zero contacts or experience and I just needed a certification. Go somewhere else to get your training. A local college maybe. You do not want to deal with this organization and the people who work there. I found them unhelpful and rude. Or better yet just buy the code books and study on your own before taking the exam at AHIMA or AAPC.

I took an Examity exam two days after registering for the exam. There was an indication that an external webcam would be required for the exam in the email instructions but this information was not provided when choosing to sign up for the at-home option (instead of taking at a testing center). In essence, AAPC would require me to buy an external webcam to take a test at home. Not everyone owns an external webcam. They refuse to provide any refund. This is theft. They took $399 from me for an exam that they wouldn't allow me to take because I didn't have enough time to buy an external webcam, which also would have cost extra money. AAPC is a sleezy organization and I refuse to buy any more products from them.

I do medical coding and billing without being certified. Just figured I might as well get certified right. Well when i started the process, added the CPC course to my cart and was checking out I saw that you have to pay EXTRA for your books to get here on time or else you won't get them all at once! They will come separately and in different MONTHS! Unless you would like to pay extra for shipping for them to get here in the next couple of days! I am not talking about a fee of $10-$20, no they are charging up to $116 extra for fast delivery and that's just for ONE book that is not including the other two which by the way you will also need to pay a high fee for delivery! They say they are giving you a discount but they will charge you an extreme fee for just shipping your books on time or else you won't even have them when you start your course which you will end up paying up to $3,000. They are not giving you a discount in the end they are just playing the game of scamming you and making you believe you are getting a discount. Seems like they are learning from health care insurance in the scamming people part indeed. By the way my coworkers who are certified through AAPC say that they ALWAYS have promotions and discounts! If that is the case then it could be that's the reason they charge so much for delivery. They have to make up for the "discount".

AAPC needs to be shut down. They promise new skills, support and a program that will result in a 50k job. I was interested in the Billing program only, yet I was told I needed to complete three prerequisites(first), then I could enroll in Billing...but then I also had to enroll in the Coding program to ensure the guarantee of a job. Long story short, it was all a lie. The market is saturated with AAPC "graduates" however companies will not hire without experience. Their materials are full of errors and they do not follow their own policies. They do not and cannot stand by their own product. Their lack of integrity and accountability is disgusting.

I really wish I had read reviews before completely wasting so much money and time. I wasted $5,000+ on a worthless certification that has gotten me nowhere and done nothing for my career. It is borderline false advertisement on the AAPC website... they claim it is so easy to get hired and even display a couple of reviews saying how fast they got hired after getting certified. DO NOT FALL FOR IT. People hiring for medical coding jobs 99% of the time will require a minimum of 1-2 years coding experience and will not accept CPC-A, only CPC. The job market is flooded with apprentices, but there's an extremely limited amount of jobs that are willing to hire them. When there is that rare job willing to hire CPC-A's, there are literally hundreds of other applicants applying for the same job. The CPC program teaches you how to pass the AAPC's CPC exam very well, but completely fails at teaching how to do real life medical coding without multiple choice questions, and leaves important subjects out. Until I got to Practicode, I realized I actually didn't really know what I was doing. I think people hiring for these medical coding positions are aware of AAPC's failure to teach all of the necessary knowledge required to do the job well, and that is why there are barely any jobs willing to hire a CPC-A with no professional coding experience. Also, AAPC requires you to pay a YEARLY MEMBERSHIP FEE of around $200 to keep your certification active, even if you're only a CPC-A and haven't been hired yet. They will send you so many emails reminding you to renew your membership, but couldn't care less about helping you get your first medical coding job as an apprentice.

TL;DR: It's extremely difficult to get hired as a CPC-A without experience. AAPC doesn't teach you all that you need to know to do the job well, and they require a $200+ yearly membership fee. Save your money and time, and don't waste it like I did on anything from the AAPC!

My wife lost her job as well as I about 3 months after our daughter was born. I asked for a refund and to cease my training since I needed something more immediate ( I was 33 days into the medical coding program ). I was told outside of a 30 day window I could not have a refund. I explained that after I purchased the package I was never told that my course would not start for 60+ days. Therefore I was never going to be able to refund my purchase from the start. I was repeatedly told that this was my problem and they will not help in any way. I asked for them to keep the money I had already spent and just stop the billing since rent and my newborn doctor visits are adding up, again I was told this was not their problem. Avoid this company, they have 0 sympathy.

I absolutely LOVE the training they provide. I've been able to level up my coding thanks to their training programs. And they have the best support.

It is a bad organization that is only interested in taking your money but will not help you if you need any assistance. They will not respond to your emails, will not issue your exam certificate, and will not care.

I have contacted them several times over the past seven months after taking my cpc exam to send my certificate, but the problem has not been resolved and they have not sent the certificate. They make excuses that their printers are not working.

Then asked me for additional shipping fees to send another copy of the certificate, and after paying, I received no response from them and my certificates did not arrive. They are really an unprofessional organization that only seeks your money.