Becoming a registered health information technician (RHIT) requires completing an accredited associate degree program and passing a national certification exam administered by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). The entire process typically takes two to three years, and it leads to a career with strong demand: the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 15 percent job growth for health information technologists from 2024 to 2034, well above the average for all occupations.
Step 1: Complete an Accredited Program
The foundation of the RHIT credential is an associate degree in health information technology (or a related title like health information management) from a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). This accreditation matters because graduating from a CAHIIM-accredited program is what makes you eligible to sit for the certification exam. Programs that lack this accreditation won’t qualify you, regardless of what they teach.
CAHIIM maintains an online program directory where you can search by state, degree level, and delivery format. Many programs offer fully online or hybrid options, which makes this credential accessible if you’re working while going to school. A typical associate degree takes about two years of full-time study, though part-time schedules stretch that to three.
Coursework covers the core areas you’ll later be tested on: medical coding systems like ICD-10 and CPT, electronic health record management, healthcare data analytics, privacy and security regulations (including HIPAA), revenue cycle management, and health information governance. Most programs also include a professional practice experience, essentially an internship at a healthcare facility where you apply what you’ve learned.
Step 2: Apply for and Pass the RHIT Exam
Once you’ve completed your degree, you apply through AHIMA to take the RHIT certification exam. The exam fee is $229 for AHIMA members and $299 for non-members. After your application is approved, you schedule your test at a Pearson VUE testing center, which gives you flexibility on timing and location.
The exam is a computer-based, multiple-choice test that covers six domains, each weighted differently:
- Data Content, Structure, and Information Governance (24 to 28 percent): the largest portion, covering how health data is organized, maintained, and governed across systems.
- Access, Disclosure, Privacy, and Security (12 to 16 percent): protecting patient information and understanding who can access it under what circumstances.
- Data Analytics and Use (14 to 18 percent): interpreting healthcare data, generating reports, and supporting quality improvement.
- Revenue Cycle Management (14 to 18 percent): the billing and reimbursement process, from patient registration through final payment.
- Compliance (13 to 17 percent): regulatory standards, coding accuracy audits, and organizational policies.
- Leadership (11 to 15 percent): team management, training, project coordination, and communication.
Studying with the exam content outline in hand helps you allocate your prep time proportionally. The data content and governance domain alone accounts for more than a quarter of the test, so it deserves the most attention.
Step 3: Maintain Your Credential
Passing the exam earns you the RHIT credential, but keeping it active requires ongoing continuing education. AHIMA uses a two-year recertification cycle, and you need to earn a specified number of continuing education units (CEUs) during each cycle. Your first cycle begins the day you pass the exam.
CEUs can be earned through AHIMA workshops, webinars, college courses, conference attendance, and other approved activities. You enter your CEUs into AHIMA’s system throughout the two-year window. Missing the deadline can result in penalties, including losing your active credential status, so it’s worth tracking your progress regularly rather than scrambling at the end of the cycle.
Where RHITs Work
The RHIT credential opens doors across a wide range of healthcare and health-adjacent organizations. Hospitals and health systems are the most common employers, but RHIT professionals also work for insurance companies like BlueCross BlueShield, outpatient clinics, long-term care facilities, public health agencies, and health IT vendors.
The specific roles are just as varied. Coding is the most recognizable path, with positions in inpatient coding, outpatient coding, physician services coding, and coding supervision. But RHITs also move into clinical documentation improvement, data analysis and reporting, release of information, HIPAA compliance, EHR implementation, medical billing, quality assurance, and HIM department management. Some work remotely for consulting firms or staffing companies that provide coding and documentation services to healthcare organizations.
This breadth is one of the credential’s strongest selling points. You’re not locked into a single job function. As your interests develop, you can shift between coding, compliance, analytics, and management without starting over.
Salary and Job Outlook
The median annual wage for health information technologists and medical registrars was $67,310 in May 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Your actual salary will depend on your employer, geographic location, specialization, and experience level. Coders in large urban hospital systems, for example, tend to earn more than those in small rural clinics. Professionals who move into management, compliance, or data analytics roles often see their earning potential increase further.
The 15 percent projected growth rate through 2034 reflects the healthcare industry’s expanding reliance on electronic records, stricter regulatory requirements, and the growing role of data in clinical decision-making. Healthcare organizations need people who can manage, protect, and analyze the enormous volumes of patient data generated every day.
Advancing Beyond the RHIT
Many RHITs treat the credential as a launching pad. The natural next step is the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) credential, which requires a bachelor’s degree from a CAHIIM-accredited program. If you earned your associate degree from a program that offers a bachelor’s completion track, you can continue your education without starting from scratch.
AHIMA also offers specialty credentials in areas like coding (Certified Coding Specialist), healthcare privacy and security, and clinical documentation improvement. These can boost your marketability in specific niches without requiring a full additional degree. Pairing an RHIT with a coding specialty credential, for instance, makes you a strong candidate for senior coding positions and auditing roles.