FAQs

In addition to individual answers to FAQs below, you can also click here to open or close all answers for all FAQs on this page.

Step 1 and Step 2 application materials are available for students and graduates of LCME- and AOA-accredited medical schools from the National Board of Medical Examiners® (NBME®) website. Step 1 and Step 2 application materials are also available for students and graduates of medical schools outside the United States and Canada from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®).

Step 1 and Step 2 applications must be submitted to the NBME if you are a student or graduate of a medical school in the United States and Canada, or to the ECFMG if you are a student or graduate of a medical school outside the United States and Canada. You must complete current, official USMLE applications and submit them to the ECFMG or NBME in accordance with the application instructions.

To request information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for Step 3, you should contact the medical licensing authority with which you intend to apply for Step 3 or the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). Application procedures for Step 3 vary among jurisdictions. Therefore, you are advised to begin inquiries well in advance of the dates on which you expect to take the examination. Depending on the licensing board, application materials are available from the FSMB or medical licensing authority. See also USMLE Bulletin: Applying for the Test and Scheduling Your Test Date

Thomson Prometric, a division of The Thomson Corporation, provides scheduling and test centers for USMLE. Computer-delivered USMLE is delivered at Prometric test centers, Step 1 and Step 2 CK at Prometric test centers in the United States and around the world, and Step 3 at Prometric test centers only in the US and its territories. To take computer-delivered USMLE, you must do the following:

1. Access application materials from the appropriate registration entity. (See also How do I apply for USMLE?)
2. Complete your application materials and submit them to the registration entity.
3. Obtain a Scheduling Permit verifying your eligibility and authorizing you to schedule the examination.
4. Follow the instructions on your Scheduling Permit to schedule your test date at a Prometric test center. Center locations are available at www.prometric.com
5. Bring your Scheduling Permit and identification as described on your Scheduling Permit to the Prometric test center on the scheduled date and time and take the examination. See also USMLE Bulletin: Applying for the Test and Scheduling Your Test Date and Testing.

USMLE Step scores are made available to you by your registration entity - for Step 1 and Step 2, either NBME or ECFMG; for Step 3, FSMB. You must contact your registration entity if you have questions about obtaining your scores.

Scores ready for release are released on a weekly basis on Wednesdays. Generally these will include examinees tested three to four weeks before the release date. However, there are many factors that may delay an individual score release. Usually these will be quickly resolved and the score released in the next weekly cycle. If you have not received your score within eight weeks of your test date, please contact your registration entity to determine the status of your score report. Please note that during 2009, no new scores for computer-delivered Step examinations will be released during the week of July 1 and during the week of December 27.

In order to assure that both the processing and scoring of USMLE examinations are done in a secure and accurate fashion, it is necessary to follow a number of quality assurance steps. These steps include monitoring reports from test centers about test delivery problems and about possible security violations. These processes are completed for a majority of examinees in three to four weeks.

Requests for a change in address must be made as follows:

• Step 1 and Step 2 NBME applicants - Update your address online on the NBME Licensing Examination Services Website by logging into your account and choosing the "Change Contact Information" option.
• Step 1 and Step 2 ECFMG applicants - Update your address online by accessing OASIS on the ECFMG website or download Form 182 from the ECFMG website and submit the completed form to ECFMG.
• Step 3 applicants - you must include your full name, new and old address, date the address change is to take effect, social security number or USMLE ID number, your signature, and "ATTENTION Exam Department" to
  FSMB
  Department of Examination Services
  PO Box 619850
  Dallas, TX 75261-9850
  Fax (817) 868-4098

Step 1 and Step 2 NBME applicants - Log in to your account on the NBME Licensing Examination Services website and select the Name Change option. Print the associated form(s) and submit it with the required documentation listed on the form. If you have a Scheduling Permit, an updated scheduling permit will be issued to you with your new name. You should discard your old scheduling permit once you receive the new one. You must bring your new Scheduling Permit for admittance to the test center. Your name on your new scheduling permit must exactly match your name on the identification you are required to present at the test center. Name change forms and documentation must be received by NBME no later than 7 business days before your testing appointment or you will not be able to test.

Step 1 and Step 2 ECFMG applicants - Download Form 182 from the ECFMG website and return the completed form to ECFMG with appropriate documentation, as described in Form 182. If your name of record with ECFMG is changed while you are registered for an examination, you can obtain a new scheduling permit by accessing IWA on the ECFMG website. You must bring the new scheduling permit to the test center on your exam date. The name on your scheduling permit must match exactly the name on the forms of identification you present at the test center. Name changes must be received by ECFMG and processed no later than 7 business days before your testing appointment, or you will not be able to test.

Step 3 applicants- send documentation noting the name change and your full new and old names, your address, social security number or USMLE ID number, your signature, and "ATTENTION Exam Department" to
FSMB
Department of Examination Services
PO Box 619850
Dallas, TX 75261-9850
Fax (817) 868-4098

Tutorials that illustrate the USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3 multiple-choice question and Step 3 computer-based case simulation (Primum® CCS) software, sample multiple-choice test questions for each Step, sample Step 3 Primum cases, and orientation materials for Step 2 CS are available at this website:

• Step 1
• Step 2
• Step 3

All applicants can download sample test and orientation materials from the USMLE website. FSMB applicants will also receive these materials on a CD from their registration entity. Once registered, ECFMG applicants can request a CD using the appropriate form, available on the ECFMG website. NBME applicants can request that a CD be sent to them, by sending an e-mail to webmail@nbme.org. The materials on the CD and on the website are identical.

Click here for frequently asked questions about the sample test materials. If you cannot find the answer to your question, you may either send your inquiry to USMLEtech@nbme.org or call (215) 590-9700 between 8:30 AM and 4:00 PM Monday through Friday, eastern time. See USMLE Bulletin: Preparing for the Test.

The Bulletin is at the Bulletin section of this website.

If you have a documented disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and require test accommodations, you must obtain information regarding procedures and documentation requirements in advance of applying for each Step. This information is available from your registration entity (ECFMG or NBME) if you are applying for Step 1 and Step 2 and from the FSMB if you are applying for Step 3, and from the Test Accommodations section of this website.

• Test accommodations information for ECFMG Step 1 and Step 2 applicants
• Test accommodations information for NBME Step 1 and Step 2 applicants
• Test accommodations information for Step 3 applicants

Your application for the Step and your request for test accommodations with required documentation must be submitted at the same time.

You must pass Step 1 and Step 2 before you are eligible to take Step 3. In LCME-accredited medical schools, although Step 1 and Step 2 can be taken in any order, most students will take Step 1 at the end of their second year and Step 2 in their fourth year; Step 3 is usually taken during the first or second year of postgraduate training. Students and graduates of medical schools outside the United States and Canada should contact the ECFMG for information on ECFMG Certification and Step 1 and Step 2 eligibility. Most medical licensing authorities require completion of USMLE Steps 1, 2, and 3 within a seven-year period, which begins when you pass your first Step. Check the FSMB website for further information on such requirements.

Any limits are established by the individual medical licensing boards, and they can vary from three to six times, while a few states have no limit. Once again, you should check this with the FSMB or the individual licensing authority in the state where you intend to apply for licensure. See USMLE Bulletin: Time Limit and Number of Attempts Allowed to Complete All Steps

See USMLE Bulletin: Retakes.

Generally no, although this should be specifically checked with individual medical licensing authorities or the FSMB.

If you pass a Step, you are not allowed to retake it, except to comply with the time limit of a medical licensing authority for the completion of all Steps or a requirement imposed by another authority recognized by the USMLE program. See USMLE Bulletin: Time Limit and Number of Attempts Allowed to Complete All Steps.

The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) provides such information. Through its program of certification, ECFMG assesses the readiness of graduates of medical schools outside the United States and Canada to enter residency or fellowship programs in the United States. The ECFMG® Certification Fact Sheet provides an overview of ECFMG Certification and preliminary information on entry into US programs of graduate medical education. For detailed information on these topics, including eligibility to take the USMLE, refer to the ECFMG Information Booklet. Both publications are available on the ECFMG website. Students and graduates of medical schools outside the United States and Canada can also contact ECFMG for information.

To obtain your USMLE transcript or have it sent to a third party, you must contact the ECFMG, FSMB, or NBME. Which entity you contact depends on which Steps you have taken and where you want your transcript sent. Contact the FSMB if you want a transcript sent to a medical licensing authority at any time. If you have not registered for or taken Step 3 and you want a transcript sent to a third party other than a medical licensing authority, the request should be sent to the same entity that registered you for Step 1 and/or Step 2, the ECFMG or the NBME. Once you register for or take Step 3, all requests for USMLE transcripts must be sent to the FSMB. See USMLE Bulletin: Official Transcripts and Providing Scores to Third Parties.

ERAS®, the Electronic Residency Application Service, is sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and was developed to transmit residency applications via the Internet, including electronic transmittal of USMLE transcripts to residency programs which participate in ERAS.

Information on electronic transmittal of USMLE transcripts through ERAS is available for students and graduates of accredited medical schools in the United States and Canada from the medical schools.

ERAS is available to students and graduates of medical schools outside the United States and Canada through ECFMG; instructions are included at www.ecfmg.org.

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