The medical billing exam, illustrated.
Claims, payers and denials, one page at a time.
A study guide with diagrams for the AAPC Certified Professional Biller exam, plus a practice book with every answer explained. The revenue cycle, the CMS-1500 and UB-04 box by box, Medicare and coordination of benefits, remittances, appeals and compliance. Written for adults who study after work, next to a course or on their own. eBook or printed.
Both books on the desk, the PDF on the phone for a lunch break · $89.99
Not a wall of billing text. One topic per page.
Every page works the same way, so after a full workday you can open it anywhere and finish one rule in a few minutes.
This is what the pages look like.
For adults who study after work.
Starting from zero
AAPC doesn't require billing experience to sit the exam. Each chapter starts from what a term means and builds up, and the diagrams carry the logic before the rules arrive.
From the front desk to billing
Registration, copays and insurance cards are already familiar. The guide adds the back end: remittances, appeals, coordination of benefits and the compliance rules.
Next to your course, not instead
Use it alongside a class or a self-paced program: one page per rule to review after each lesson, and practice questions to see what stuck.
The rules of the exam itself.
They come from AAPC's CPB exam pages. The guide's opening chapter explains each one.
Code books open, study guides closed
You may bring the CPT® AMA Professional Edition plus your choice of ICD-10-CM and HCPCS Level II, with tabs and short notes. Study guides, including this one, stay home.
95 right answers out of 135
AAPC sets the pass mark at 70%. If you don't pass, AAPC flags the areas where you scored 65% or less, so you know which chapters to reopen.
At home or at a testing center
With a live remote proctor at home, or on a computer at a testing center. At a center, rescheduling closes 2 days before the exam; missing it cancels the voucher.
Every box on the claim, and why it matters.
The CMS-1500 and the UB-04 drawn as maps, with the items that cause most of the trouble called out: who pays first, diagnosis pointers, units, NPIs.
- CMS-1500 items 1a, 4, 11, 17, 21 and 24A–24J, 33a
- UB-04 form locators: type of bill, revenue codes, principal diagnosis
- Place-of-service codes and the electronic twins, 837P and 837I
- Medicare's 12-month filing limit, counted from the date of service
Medicare, Medicaid, commercial plans, and who pays first.
Medicare's four parts with the current amounts, Medicaid, TRICARE, workers' compensation and auto or liability coverage, then the order in which they pay.
- Participating, non-participating and the limiting charge, worked out in dollars
- Medicare Secondary Payer in five questions: 20+ and 100+ employees, ESRD, accidents
- Medicaid as the payer of last resort
- Managed care, Medigap and Medicare Advantage side by side
Read the remittance, then decide the next move.
Payment posting with group codes and reason codes, then what to do with each denial: fix and resubmit, bill another payer, or appeal through Medicare's five levels.
- CO, PR and OA, and why a CO amount never goes to the patient
- The reason codes billers see most, in plain words
- Appeal deadlines: 120, 180, then 60 days at every level
- Patient statements, payment plans, refunds and collection agencies
The rules that keep a practice out of trouble.
HIPAA, the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark, exclusions, fair debt collection and the No Surprises Act, each reduced to the idea that decides most questions.
- Good faith estimates: who gets one and how fast
- The $400 dispute rule for self-pay patients
- NCCI, LCDs and NCDs, incident-to, global packages
- Medical record retention and financial policies
300 questions. Every answer explained.
Two full practice exams of 135 questions, split by area in the same proportions AAPC publishes, including 34 case questions each with a source document to read. Then 30 drills on the classic traps.
- Why the right answer is right, and why each wrong one is wrong
- The guide page to reread after every question
- Case questions built around claims, remittances, policies and A/R reports
- Original questions written for this book, not copied from any exam
Built for studying in short evenings.
One page, one rule, one picture. You can stop after any page and know exactly where you are, which matters when the studying happens after a full day.
- Chapters follow AAPC's seven exam areas
- Every number points to the official source it comes from
- Cram sheets and a one-page deadlines table at the end
The guide and the practice book, for the whole exam.
The Guide · full table of contents
The Practice Book · 150 pages
On screen, on paper, or both.
Color PDF, right after payment
The guide and the practice book on a phone, tablet or computer. Good for a few questions on a lunch break.
Two spiral-bound books
The 248-page guide and the 150-page practice book, lying flat on the desk. Free US shipping, about 5–8 business days. Want both? Printed + eBook for $89.99.
Cram sheets for the last week.
One page with every deadline and amount the guide uses, and short review sheets for each exam area, to read the night before.
- Filing limits and appeal deadlines in one table, with the source
- The memory tricks from every chapter, in one place
- A score tracker to see which exam areas need another pass
See 10 real pages, free.
The exam in one page, the revenue cycle, the CMS-1500, the UB-04, Medicare, who pays first, reading a remittance, appeals, compliance, and a practice-book page. Read them and decide with the pages in front of you.
See the 10 pages ↓
How is it different?
| What it has | This guide | Training courses | Official study guide | Question-bank books |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A diagram or chart on every page | ✓ | Varies | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Practice questions with explanations | ✓ 300 | ✓ Practice exams | ✓ Sample questions | ✓ Often 1,000+ |
| Case questions with a source document | ✓ 68 | Varies | Varies | Varies |
| Video lessons or an instructor | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| The official source named on each page | ✓ | Varies | Varies | Rarely |
| Price | From $39.99 | AAPC's course starts at $1,495 | AAPC lists $149.95 | About $10–$41 on Amazon (Nov. 2026) |
You can start tonight.
You pay
Secure checkout, no account, no subscription. One payment.
You open the eBook
If you chose the eBook, the download link arrives by email. Open it on a phone, tablet or computer.
The books arrive
If you chose the printed books, they ship free to your US address.
The whole CPB® exam, explained with pictures.
- 248-page illustrated guide, 15 chapters
- The revenue cycle, claim forms, payers, remittances, appeals and compliance
- Deadlines and amounts from the official sources, each named on the page
- 150-page Practice Book: 300 questions, every answer explained
- Cram sheets, deadlines table and score tracker
- Printed books: spiral-bound, lie flat
What candidates ask before buying
Is this affiliated with AAPC?
No. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by AAPC, which owns and runs the Certified Professional Biller (CPB®) exam. CPB® is a registered mark of AAPC. The exam is booked and paid for separately with AAPC ($425 for one attempt or $499 for two, as AAPC lists it).
Can I bring this book into the exam?
No. AAPC allows only the code books: the CPT® AMA Professional Edition and your choice of ICD-10-CM and HCPCS Level II. Study guides aren't allowed. Use this guide to prepare, and to learn where things are in your code books.
Do I need billing experience to take the CPB?
AAPC doesn't require it, though it recommends experience and lists medical terminology, anatomy and code-set knowledge as the background it expects. The guide's chapter 2 covers the terminology and code sets a biller needs.
Will this book make me pass?
No book can promise that. The guide explains the areas in AAPC's exam breakdown and gives you 300 practice questions with explanations. How much you study, and how, is up to you.
Are these real exam questions?
No. Every question was written for this book. Our questions follow AAPC's published exam areas and the case-analysis format AAPC describes, with documents to read.
Do I also need a course?
It depends on how you study. Courses add lessons, an instructor and practice exams; this guide adds diagrams and short explanations. Some people use one, some use both, and the guide is built to sit next to a course.
Does it teach coding?
Only what a biller needs: how CPT®, ICD-10-CM and HCPCS Level II are organized, modifiers and how codes land on a claim. Coding is 10 of the 135 questions. The guide doesn't reproduce code descriptions from the code books.
Is this legal or compliance advice?
No. It's a study guide with general information about billing rules for exam preparation. It's not legal, compliance or financial advice for any practice or patient.
Can I read it on my phone?
Yes. The eBook is a color PDF that opens on a phone, tablet or computer.
When do the printed books arrive?
Shipping to US addresses is free and takes about 5–8 business days. The eBook arrives by email right after payment.
What if it's not right for me?
You have a 30-day guarantee. Write to us within 30 days and we'll refund you. No questions, no forms.
Ready to study the CPB® with pictures?
248 illustrated pages, 300 questions with every answer explained, deadlines and amounts with their sources. 30-day guarantee.
From $39.99 · eBook or printed