California doesn’t license medical billers or coders, so the fastest route is a certificate program followed by a national certification exam. California community colleges are the cheapest option, at about $1,100 to $1,750 in tuition for state residents.
Many of those certificates are offered fully online. Most take two or three semesters, while self-paced online schools let you finish in as little as 5 months.
Compare Medical Billing and Coding Schools in California
We selected three California community college certificates from different regions, two of them fully online, and one self-paced online school. It’s a selection, not a ranking, and the school list below has more options.
| School | Length | Location | Published Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresno City CollegeMedical Coding Certificate of Achievement | 34 unitsThree semesters | OnlineFresno; includes a directed practice class in a simulated setting | $1,564Tuition at $46 a unit; small campus fees extra, and books about $1,700 new | Public community collegeClose to Clovis and the Central Valley |
| Santa Barbara City CollegeMedical Coding Specialist Certificate | 38 unitsPart-time or full-time | OnlineSanta Barbara | $1,748California residents; $12,578 out of state; other fees extra | AHIMA-approved programGraduates can take the AHIMA CCA exam |
| San Bernardino Valley CollegeMedical Coding and Billing Certificate | 22 unitsAbout 2 semesters | San BernardinoInland Empire | $1,1002025-26 in-state tuition and fees; $13,288 out of state | Public community collegeCovers both billing and coding |
| U.S. Career InstituteMedical Coding and Billing Certificate | 5 to 12 monthsPart-time, self-paced | OnlineOpen to California students | $1,869Pay in full; $2,269 on the monthly plan, plus a $29 application charge | Online career schoolCovers a CBCS or CPC exam up to $425 (conditions apply) |
About these prices: These are each school’s own figures, and they include different items, so they aren’t directly comparable. Community college prices are for California residents and don’t include the net price after grants, such as the California College Promise Grant.
Checked November 2026; subject to change. Sources: Fresno City College, Santa Barbara City College, San Bernardino Valley College gainful employment disclosure (July 2025) and U.S. Career Institute.
How to Become a Medical Biller and Coder in California
- Finish high school or a GED
Most programs and all the main certification exams require it. - Complete a training program
A community college certificate takes two or three semesters; an online career school takes 5 to 12 months part-time. - Pass a national certification exam
California has no state credential, so employers look for the CPC, CBCS or CCA (see below). - Apply for entry-level jobs
Physician offices, hospitals, billing companies and insurers all hire coders and billers. Some coding jobs are remote once you have experience.
Medical Billing and Coding Certification in California
- CPC (Certified Professional Coder), AAPCThe most common coding credential for physician offices. The exam starts at $425, and coders without work experience start as apprentices (CPC-A).
- CBCS (Certified Billing and Coding Specialist), NHACovers billing and coding. You qualify by finishing a training program in the last 5 years or with a year of supervised work.
- CCA (Certified Coding Associate), AHIMAAn entry-level coding credential common in hospitals. The exam is $199 for AHIMA members or $299 for nonmembers. Santa Barbara City College’s AHIMA-approved certificate prepares you for it.
- RHIT (Registered Health Information Technician), AHIMARequires a CAHIIM-accredited associate degree in health information technology, which takes about two years. It’s the usual credential for medical records technician jobs.
Online Medical Billing and Coding Classes in California
Fresno City College and Santa Barbara City College both offer their coding certificates 100% online, at California community college tuition of $46 a unit. Online career schools like U.S. Career Institute and Penn Foster cost a bit more but let you start anytime and include an exam voucher.
Compare national online options on our medical billing and coding schools page.
Medical Billing Schools by Region
- Fresno and ClovisFresno City College’s online Medical Coding certificate is the closest public option. San Joaquin Valley College (SJVC), long a local name for billing and coding, is now part of Carrington College, which offers its Medical Billing and Coding certificate online with an in-person externship.
- SacramentoCarrington’s online certificate is run from its Sacramento campus and takes as few as 9 to 13 months. Online community college certificates are also open to Sacramento students.
- Inland EmpireSan Bernardino Valley College’s 22-unit certificate covers both billing and coding for about $1,100 in tuition and fees.
- Central Coast and Los AngelesSanta Barbara City College’s online certificate is AHIMA-approved. Los Angeles-area students can take the online certificates above or check the school list below.
Medical Billing and Coding Pay in California
California pay varies a lot by region. For current figures by metro area, see O*NET’s California wages for medical records specialists, the job category that includes billers and coders.
California Medical Billing and Coding FAQs
Do you need a license for medical billing and coding in California?
No. California doesn’t license billers or coders, but many employers ask for a national certification such as the CPC, CBCS or CCA.
How long does it take to become a medical biller and coder in California?
About two or three semesters at a community college, or 5 to 12 months at a self-paced online school.
How much does medical billing and coding school cost in California?
Community college certificates cost about $1,100 to $1,750 in tuition for California residents, plus books and fees. Online career schools cost about $1,600 to $2,300.
Can you take medical billing and coding classes online in California?
Yes. Fresno City College and Santa Barbara City College offer their certificates fully online.
Is SJVC still offering medical billing and coding?
San Joaquin Valley College is now part of Carrington College. Carrington offers Medical Billing and Coding online, with an in-person externship.
California Schools with Medical Billing and Coding Programs
These California schools offer medical billing and coding training. Open a school’s profile for programs, costs and contact details.
- Sacramento
- Lancaster, Bakersfield, Fresno, Salida, Ontario, Pleasant Hill, Rancho Cordova, Rancho Mirage, Sacramento, San Jose, San Leandro, Santa Maria, Stockton, Temecula, Hesperia, Visalia
- Canyon Country, Oxnard
- Cupertino
- Encino, Newark, Ontario, San Diego, San Jose
- Cerritos
- Glendale
- Paramount
- Lancaster, Bakersfield, Temecula
- Clovis, Modesto, Redding
- Panorama City
- West Covina, Pomona, Van Nuys, South Gate, Riverside, Anaheim, Long Beach, San Diego, Bakersfield
- Bakersfield, Chula Vista, Fresno, Garden Grove, Gardena, Huntington Park, Oceanside, Ontario, Reseda, Riverside, Sacramento, Stockton, West Covina
Asher College
Asher College's Medical Billing and Coding certificate takes 45 weeks full-time (1,050 hours) and the AAS 72 weeks. Students prepare for NHA's CBCS, CMAA and CEHRS and AAPC's CPC-A and CPB exams, and one exam is included. Coursework covers advanced billing and reimbursement, physician and facility coding and electronic health records. There is no externship. Classes are hybrid; Sacramento, CA also offers the AAS fully at a distance. Sacramento reported totals of $24,950 (certificate) and $29,720 (AAS) for 2024.
Carrington College
Carrington's Medical Billing and Coding program is taught online, with an in-person externship at an approved healthcare facility that the college places students in. A certificate or an associate degree takes 9 to 13 months. Graduates are eligible for the NHA's Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) exam. Washington residents enroll through the Spokane campus and everyone else through Sacramento. The certificate cost $21,589 in total on Carrington's 2024 California report, and its completion rate was 38%.
Charter College
Charter College's AAS in Medical Billing and Coding is taught fully online from Anchorage and takes about 15 months (102 quarter credits, 1,115 hours). It prepares students for the Electronic Health Records Specialist and Billing and Coding Specialist credentials. Charter's 2026 catalog supplement lists a $37,426 total. Charter's own 2024–25 report showed 61% retention and 29% placement, one of the lowest placement rates among its open programs, so ask how recent graduates found work.
De Anza College
Coding at De Anza is taught in the credit Insurance and Coding Certificate of Achievement, which covers procedural and disease coding, claims billing, the claims registry and how to evaluate rejected claims, with an externship. Related Health Technologies certificates in Medical Reception and Business Office Clerk add scheduling, collections and appeals. The department does not name a national coding exam, so ask whether the course sequence prepares students for one. Resident enrollment fees are $31 per quarter unit in 2026-27.
DeVry University
DeVry teaches two online coding certificates with sessions starting every 8 weeks. The 31-credit Medical Billing and Coding certificate, as short as 10 months at an accelerated pace, covers CPT and ICD-10-CM coding, insurance billing and electronic health records and prepares for the AAPC's CPC exam, with a prep course and exam voucher for eligible students. The 40-credit Health Information Coding certificate adds hospital coding and ICD-10-PCS for AHIMA's CCS exam. No externship is listed. Tuition was $514 per credit (2025–26).
Fremont University
Fremont's Medical Billing, Coding and Office Administration certificate is 45 quarter credits over 8 months, which the catalog describes as hybrid, combining online study with the Cerritos campus (its program page calls it fully online). Courses cover medical terminology, three medical coding courses, two billing and office administration courses, and an externship and professional development course. The school does not name a certification exam for the program. Total charges are about $19,339 in the 2026 catalog, including a $115 technology fee each term.
Glendale Career College
The Medical Insurance Biller & Coder diploma runs 43 weeks in eight modules, with an externship the school lists as 180 hours in its overview and 160 in its course list. CPR is included, but no coding certification exam is named. ABHES's 12 August 2026 letter continued a program-specific warning on this program over a 58% placement rate, below its 70% benchmark, and asked the college to show why approval should not be withdrawn; a decision is expected in January 2027. Total charges were $18,491 at Glendale, CA in 2023-24.
Healthcare Career College
The Computerized Medical Biller and Coder diploma runs 11 months (900 clock hours). The catalog names the NCCT insurance and coding specialist exam (NCICS) as its credential, with AAPC's Certified Professional Coder exam as an option, and the school is a testing site for NCCT and NHA exams. Placement is the weak point: BPPE's 2024 report shows 41% of graduates working in the field. BPPE lists the price as $16,872 at the Paramount, CA campus (2024).
High Desert Medical College
Medical Billing and Coding is a Certificate of Completion of 940 hours: 740 hours of hybrid study and a 200-hour externship, over 35 weeks by day or 43 in the evening. Students also earn American Red Cross CPR and First Aid certification. The program page names no coding credential such as the CPC or CCS, so ask which exam, if any, graduates can take. The 2026-27 direct cost is $19,920, and BPPE's 2024 report recorded a 22.86% completion rate and 72.09% placement.
Institute of Technology
Medical Billing and Office Administration (MBOA) is IOT's 860-hour, 40-week hybrid diploma that pairs medical billing with front-office work. Coursework is online with two campus days a week, and the program ends in a 160-hour, five-week externship. IOT says national certification may be available but names no exam, so ask which credential local employers expect. The 2026 total is about $18,800 (campus addenda, Sept 2026). IOT's Oregon campus no longer lists a billing program.
National Career College
National Career College teaches medical billing and coding through its Medical Office Specialist diploma: eight months, fully online with live day or evening classes, and open to California residents only. Students learn ICD-10-CM and CPT coding, insurance claims and the MOSS billing software, and complete a 205-hour externship at a local medical facility. Graduates are eligible for the NCCT's NCICS and NCMOA exams. The program page lists a $16,900 total, with no effective date (checked Oct 2026), and online students receive a Chromebook.
North-West College
The Medical Insurance Biller & Coder diploma has eight modules, including a 180-hour externship, and takes about 40 weeks. It is taught on campus at West Covina, Pomona, Van Nuys, Riverside, Anaheim, Long Beach, San Diego and Bakersfield. A distance-education version has been run from West Covina; ask whether it is enrolling now. The program page names no billing or coding certification exam. The school's 2023-24 BPPE fact sheet lists total charges of $18,491 for the West Covina distance-education version.
UEI College
UEI's Medical Billing and Insurance Coding diploma is about 36 weeks (810 clock hours on Arizona's listing), including a 250-hour externship. Courses cover insurance billing, coding principles, medical law and ethics, documentation and records, billing and collections, insurance practices and office procedures. UEI and Arizona's listing name the NCCT NCICS, NHA CBCS and AAPC CPC and CPB exams. Lectures are online, with campus sessions twice a week. Taught at 15 of UEI's 22 campuses. Total cost was $19,900 at the Tacoma, WA campus (2024–25).