How To Become A Code Clerk: What It Is and Career Path

What is a code clerk and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average code clerk salary is $34,847. The most common degree is a associate degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a code clerk. Code clerks with a Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -130,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCode ClerkUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,847

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.08%

Asian 7.57%

Black or African American 12.21%

Hispanic or Latino 17.90%

Unknown 4.71%

White 56.52%

Gender

female 86.74%

male 13.26%

Age - 50

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 50

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.3

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a code clerk

Explore code clerk education requirements

Most common code clerk degrees

Associate

31.1 %

Bachelor's

24.8 %

High School Diploma

19.9 %

Start to develop specific code clerk skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	24.33%
Data Entry	18.39%
CPT	8.38%
EMR	4.24%
Medicaid	4.13%

Complete relevant code clerk training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New code clerks learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a code clerk based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real code clerk resumes.

Research code clerk duties and responsibilities

Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
Attend HIPAA and Medicare meetings.
Specialize in submission of Medicaid and Medicare claims to insurance.
File Medicare and Medicaid as well as some private insurance.

Prepare your code clerk resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your code clerk resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a code clerk resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable code clerk resume templates

Build a professional code clerk resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your code clerk resume.