CPC Practice Questions 2026: 8 Exam-Style Items Explained
8 exam-style CPC questions with the answer, the reasoning and why each distractor is wrong. Commit to a letter before you reveal.
- 8 questionsOn this page
- 100 itemsReal exam
- 240 minTime limit
- $425Exam fee
- 1,000Bank on ExamCert AI
Table of Contents
How to use this page
These 8 items are written the way the CPC (Certified Professional Coder) certification exam writes them: one best answer, plausible distractors, and a stem that usually hides the deciding detail in one clause. Treat it as a mini mock, not reading material.
The 8 questions
Under the current AMA medical decision making (MDM) table for office and other E/M services, which of the following problem descriptions qualifies at the LOW level for number and complexity of problems addressed?
- ATwo or more self-limited or minor problems
- BOne acute, complicated injury
- COne acute or chronic illness or injury that poses a threat to life or bodily function
- DTwo or more stable chronic illnesses
Reveal the answer and rationale
Answer: A — Two or more self-limited or minor problems
In the MDM table, the Low row for problems includes two or more self-limited or minor problems, one stable chronic illness, or one acute uncomplicated illness or injury. A single self-limited problem is only Straightforward; two or more move it up to Low.
- B. An acute complicated injury is listed at the Moderate level, because evaluating body systems beyond the injured part and multiple treatment options are involved.
- C. A threat to life or bodily function is a High-level problem, the top row of the table.
- D. Two or more stable chronic illnesses is a Moderate-level problem; one stable chronic illness is the Low example.
A physician provides 139 minutes of critical care to a 12-year-old in the ICU on one date. The claim goes to a commercial payer that follows CPT time rules rather than Medicare's. How is the critical care reported?
- A99291, 99292 x 2
- B99291, 99292 x 3
- C99291, 99292 x 4
- D99291 x 2
Reveal the answer and rationale
Answer: B — 99291, 99292 x 3
99291 covers the first 30-74 minutes and each additional 30-minute block is 99292. Under the CPT time table, 135-164 minutes is reported as 99291 plus 99292 x 3, so 139 minutes gets three units. Pediatric critical care codes apply only through age 5, so a 12-year-old is reported with 99291/99292.
- A. This is the Medicare count: CMS requires a full 30 minutes past 74 (104 minutes) before the first 99292, so 139 minutes would be 99292 x 2 for Medicare, not for a CPT-rules payer.
- C. Four units would need at least 165 minutes under the CPT table; the time does not reach the next block.
- D. 99291 is reported only once per date per physician; additional time is always captured with 99292.
A physician performs an intermediate (layered) repair of an 8 cm laceration of the left forearm and an intermediate repair of a 3 cm laceration of the left hand. Which code set is correct?
- A12034, 12042
- B12034
- C12004, 12002
- D12034, 12041
Reveal the answer and rationale
Answer: A — 12034, 12042
Repairs of the same complexity are added together only when they fall in the same anatomic group. Intermediate repairs of the extremities (excluding hands and feet) are 12031-12037, while hands are in the 12041-12047 group, so each wound is coded separately: 8 cm arm falls in the 7.6-12.5 cm code (12034) and 3 cm hand in the 2.6-7.5 cm code (12042).
- B. Summing 8 cm and 3 cm into one code is wrong because the hand is in a different anatomic group from the arm.
- C. These are simple repair codes; the documentation describes intermediate (layered) closure, which uses the 1203x/1204x families.
- D. 12041 is the hand-group code for wounds 2.5 cm or less; a 3 cm hand repair needs the next size range.
Using ultrasound guidance with permanent recording and reporting, a physician injects 20 mg of triamcinolone acetonide (Kenalog-10) into the left knee joint. Which procedure and supply codes are reported?
- A20610-LT, J3301 x 2
- B20611-LT, J3301 x 1
- C20611-LT, J3301 x 2
- D20610-LT, 76942, J3301 x 2
Reveal the answer and rationale
Answer: C — 20611-LT, J3301 x 2
Major-joint arthrocentesis or injection with ultrasound guidance and permanent recording is 20611, with LT for the left knee. J3301 is billed per 10 mg of triamcinolone acetonide, so 20 mg is 2 units.
- A. 20610 is the major-joint injection without ultrasound guidance; when guidance is documented, 20611 applies.
- B. One unit reports only 10 mg; HCPCS drug units are the dose given divided by the amount in the code descriptor.
- D. CPT instructs not to report ultrasound guidance (76942) separately with 20604, 20606 or 20611; use the combined guided code instead.
A 6-month-old needs an initial subdural tap through a cranial suture, performed on both sides. How is the procedure reported?
- A61000
- B61000-50
- C61001
- D61000, 61001
Reveal the answer and rationale
Answer: A — 61000
The infant subdural tap code for the initial tap through a fontanelle or suture is written to cover unilateral or bilateral work, so one unit of 61000 reports both sides. A code whose descriptor already includes bilateral work does not take modifier 50.
- B. Modifier 50 is only for codes that describe a unilateral procedure; adding it here would double-report work already in the descriptor.
- C. 61001 is the code for subsequent taps; this is the initial procedure.
- D. Reporting the subsequent-tap code on the same session misrepresents the second side as a later tap; the initial code covers both sides.
A patient has two lower extremities, but the physician orders and performs a noninvasive arterial study of the left leg only: an ankle/brachial pressure measurement with bidirectional Doppler waveform recording at a single level. Which code is correct?
- A93922
- B93922-52
- C93923-52
- D93922-LT
Reveal the answer and rationale
Answer: B — 93922-52
93922 is the limited study (1-2 levels) and its descriptor is bilateral. CPT directs that when only one limb is studied, the bilateral code is reported with modifier 52 for reduced services. 93923 is the complete study (3 or more levels or provocative testing), which was not done here.
- A. Reporting 93922 without a modifier claims a bilateral study when only one leg was tested.
- C. 93923 requires three or more levels or provocative functional maneuvers; a single-level study is limited, not complete.
- D. LT identifies the side but does not tell the payer the service was reduced from a bilateral descriptor; 52 is the required modifier.
A hospitalized patient with AIDS undergoes thoracoscopic lung biopsy and is diagnosed with Pneumocystis jiroveci (carinii) pneumonia. Which diagnosis codes are reported, in the correct order?
- AB20, B59
- BB59, B20
- CZ21, B59
- DB20, B59, J17
Reveal the answer and rationale
Answer: A — B20, B59
ICD-10-CM guideline I.C.1.a.2 says that when a patient is admitted for an HIV-related condition, B20 (HIV disease) is sequenced first, followed by the related condition. Pneumocystis pneumonia is classified to B59, which already describes the pneumonia.
- B. Putting the opportunistic infection first breaks the HIV sequencing rule for an HIV-related condition.
- C. Z21 is for asymptomatic HIV infection status; a patient with AIDS and an HIV-related illness is coded B20.
- D. J17 (pneumonia in diseases classified elsewhere) has an Excludes1 note for pneumonia due to Pneumocystis; B59 alone captures it.
Anesthesia services are provided to maintain physiological support while kidneys are harvested for donation from a patient who has been declared brain dead. How is the anesthesia reported?
- A01990
- B01990-P6
- C00862-P6
- D01990-P5
Reveal the answer and rationale
Answer: B — 01990-P6
01990 is the anesthesia code for physiological support during organ harvesting from a brain-dead patient, and physical status modifier P6 identifies a declared brain-dead patient whose organs are being removed for donation. Anesthesia codes are reported with a physical status modifier.
- A. The code is right but the physical status modifier is missing; P6 is what identifies the donor as brain dead.
- C. 00862 is anesthesia for renal procedures, including living-donor nephrectomy; it is not used for a brain-dead donor.
- D. P5 describes a moribund patient not expected to survive without the operation, not a patient already declared brain dead.
Score yourself
Eight items is a small sample, so read this as a direction, not a verdict. What matters more is which ones you missed — check their domain tags.
Go back to the outline and rebuild the weak domains before you do more questions.
The base is there. Drill the domains you missed in sets of 20–30 until they stop costing points.
Move to timed, full-length mocks. Aim to hold this score across a few hundred questions, not eight.
What these questions teach you about the exam
Get past the individual answers and the same habits keep deciding the item:
The descriptor decides the modifier
Several items turn on whether the code is written as unilateral, bilateral or 'unilateral or bilateral'. Read the full descriptor in the CPT book before adding 50, 52, LT or RT; the wrong answers are usually the right code with the wrong modifier.
Units and ranges are arithmetic
Wound lengths, drug doses and minutes of time all map to ranges or units in the code set. Add or divide first (sum repairs only within one anatomic group, divide the dose by the HCPCS unit, place the minutes in the time table), then pick the code.
Know whose rule applies
CPT, ICD-10-CM guidelines and Medicare policy sometimes disagree, as with 99292 time thresholds. When a stem names the payer or the setting, that detail is there to select the rule set, so answer by that rule rather than by habit.
Where these questions sit on the outline
Each item is tagged with the AAPC outline domain it tests. The real exam spreads its questions by weight, so a domain with a big share deserves a matching share of your practice.
| Domain | Exam share | On this page |
|---|---|---|
| Medical terminology | 4% | 0 |
| Anatomy | 4% | 0 |
| Compliance and regulatory | 3% | 0 |
| Coding guidelines | 7% | 1 |
| ICD-10-CM diagnosis coding | 5% | 1 |
| HCPCS Level II | 3% | 1 |
| CPT 10000 series (integumentary) | 6% | 1 |
| CPT 20000 series (musculoskeletal) | 6% | 0 |
| CPT 30000 series (respiratory, cardiovascular, hemic/lymphatic) | 6% | 0 |
| CPT 40000 series (digestive) | 6% | 0 |
| CPT 50000 series (urinary, reproductive, endocrine) | 6% | 0 |
| CPT 60000 series (nervous system) | 6% | 1 |
| Radiology | 6% | 0 |
| Pathology and laboratory | 6% | 0 |
| Medicine | 6% | 0 |
| Evaluation and Management (E/M) | 6% | 2 |
| Anesthesia | 4% | 1 |
| Cases (medical record coding) | 10% | 0 |
For what each domain actually asks, see the CPC content outline.
Eight down, 992 to go
ExamCert AI has 1,000 CPC questions written in this style, each with the same answer-and-distractor rationale. Work them by domain, find the gap, close it.
Practise CPC on ExamCert AIFAQ
How many questions are on the CPC exam?
The AAPC CPC exam has 100 multiple-choice questions, including 10 medical-record cases at the end, and you get 4 hours to complete it in one sitting. You need at least 70 correct (70%) to pass.
Can I use code books on the CPC exam, and should I practise with them?
Yes. The CPC is open-book: you may use approved current or preceding year CPT, ICD-10-CM and HCPCS Level II manuals, or the platform's eBooks. Practise with the same books you will take in, because finding the right code fast is a large part of the test.
Are practice questions like the real CPC exam?
Good ones are: scenario stems, four code-set options that differ by one code or modifier, and full medical-record cases. AAPC sells its own online practice exams. Make sure any bank uses the current year's code sets, since codes and guidelines change every year.
How many practice questions should I do before the CPC exam?
AAPC does not set a number. Aim to complete at least one or two full 100-question timed practice exams so you can hold about 2.4 minutes per question, and drill CPT surgery (the 10000-60000 series is 36 questions) and E/M until you can navigate the manual quickly.
Sources
Exam facts come from AAPC; clinical content was checked against the references below.
- AAPC - Taking the CPC exam (format, books, breakdown)
- CMS - ICD-10 Codes and Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting
- AMA - CPT Evaluation and Management (E/M) services guidelines
- CMS - Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 12 (Physicians/Nonphysician Practitioners)
- CMS - Global Surgery Booklet (MLN907166)
- CMS - National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edits and modifier guidance
- CMS - HCPCS Level II coding
- AAPC - Know Your Payer Before Reporting +99292 (CPT vs Medicare critical care time)
- AAPC - How much does the exam cost? (support)
- AAPC - How to remove your Apprentice (A) designation
- AAPC - CEU Policies
- AAPC - CEU Questions and Answers
Checked October 3, 2026. Outlines, fees and clinical guidance change — confirm with AAPC and your program before test day.