Which Year’s CPT, ICD-10 and HCPCS Manual Should I Use?

Your manuals should match the year you plan to take your AAPC certification exam.  

• If you’re taking your exam this year, you should purchase this year’s manuals.  
• If taking your exam next year, purchase next year’s manuals.  

You are allowed to use whatever year you want…but why risk getting a question wrong and failing because of having an outdated manual? Our advice is clear, don’t do it!

Since the code sets for each coding book are updated every year, it’s essential for coders to have the current year’s books/manuals to ensure accurate performance. Reporting wrong codes can lead to denied claim submissions and substantial penalization. It’s clearly very important to get an education on the annual code set updates and to obtain new code books every year.

Other points to note…

• The upcoming year’s books are not allowed for exam use (i.e.using next year’s book for this year’s exam). 
• The exams are updated every January 1st for the new code sets. 
• Examinees using their second attempt in the next calendar year will not be permitted to take the previous year’s exam (i.e., if you took this year’s exam in November, you cannot take a that same old exam again in January of the following year).