FAQs

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 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.

NBME Licensing Exam Services

Information about the cost of the exams is available on the websites of the appropriate registration entities.

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 scores for examinees who 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 new scores are not released during the week of 4th of July or the week after Christmas.

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.

• Step 1 and Step 2 NBME applicants: Update your contact information online on NLES (NBME Licensing Examination Services).
• Step 1 and Step 2 ECFMG applicants: Update your contact information online on OASIS or download the Request to Change Applicant Biographic Information (Form 182) from the Resources section of the ECFMG website and submit the completed form to ECFMG.
• Step 3 applicants: Update your contact information online on the Step 3 Candidate website.

• Step 1 and Step 2 NBME applicants: Enter your name change information online on NLES (NBME Licensing Examination Services) and print the resulting Name Change Authorization Form. Send the form and supporting documentation to NBME.
• Step 1 and Step 2 ECFMG applicants: Print the Request to Change Applicant Biographic Information (Form 182) from the Resources section of the ECFMG website. Send the form and supporting documentation to ECFMG.
• Step 3 applicants: Print the Name Change/Correction Authorization Form from the Forms section of the FSMB website. Send the form and supporting documentation to FSMB.

NOTE: If you have a Scheduling Permit, an updated permit will be issued to you with your new name. You should discard your old permit once you receive the new one. You must bring your new permit for admittance to the test center. Your name on your new 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 and processed by your registration entity no later than 7 business days before your scheduled testing appointment, or you will not be able to test.

Information on minimum passing scores for USMLE examinations is posted on the Scores and Transcripts page.

The content-based standard used for setting the passing score means that as many as 100% of candidates could theoretically pass, or conceivably 0%. The number is not arbitrarily predetermined. Similarly, the pass rate can vary from one accredited medical school in the United States to another, and from one year to another. Recent performance data for first-time takers and repeaters for each Step are available.

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 practice materials for Step 2 CS are available at this website:

• Step 1
• Step 2 CK
• Step 2 CS
• Step 3

All applicants can download practice materials from the USMLE website.

If you require technical assistance with the downloads, review the Frequently Asked Questions: Practice Materials. If you still need assistance you can fill out our contact form or call (215) 590-9700 for technical support. Read USMLE Bulletin: Preparing for the Test

The USMLE Bulletin can be found at http://www.usmle.org/bulletin. PDF files are available for download for the current and previous years. You also have the option of viewing the bulletin online via web or via online book.

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, from the FSMB if you are applying for Step 3, and from the Test Accommodations section of this website.

You must submit your application for the Step and your request for test accommodations with required documentation 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.

The USMLE Program is introducing a limit on the total number of times an examinee can take the same Step or Step Component. When this limit takes effect, an examinee will be ineligible to take a Step or Step Component if the examinee has made six or more prior attempts to pass that Step or Step Component, including incomplete attempts.

The effective date for the six-attempt limit depends upon whether an examinee has taken any Step or Step Component (including incomplete attempts) before January 1, 2012.

• Examinees who have NOT taken any Step or Step Component before January 1, 2012
  If you have not taken any Step or Step Component before January 1, 2012, the six-attempt limit will go into effect for all exam applications that you submit on or after January 1, 2012.

  Example 1: On January 15, 2012, Examinee A submits his application for his first attempt at any Step or Step Component. The six-attempt limit will be effective at that time for all Steps and Step Components and Examinee A will be allowed to take each Step or Step Component no more than six times, including incomplete attempts.

• Examinees who have taken any Step or Step Component before January 1, 2012
  If you have taken any Step or Step Component (including incomplete attempts) before January 1, 2012, the six-attempt limit will go into effect for all exam applications that you submit on or after January 1, 2013. After that date, all attempts at a Step or Step Component will be counted toward the limit, regardless of when the exams were taken.

  Example 2: Examinee B?s application for a seventh attempt at a particular Step or Step Component is received on December 15, 2012. For this examinee, the six-attempt limit will not prevent the seventh attempt, since the application was submitted before January 1, 2013. However, if Examinee B fails the exam, he will not be eligible to submit an application after January 1, 2013 to retake that Step or Step Component.

  Example 3: Examinee C attempts to submit an application for a seventh attempt at a particular Step or Step Component on or after January 1, 2013. The application will not be processed, since all exam applications submitted on or after January 1, 2013 will be subject to the six-attempt limit.

See USMLE Bulletin: Eligibility: Retakes

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

No. 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: Eligibility - Retakes.

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.

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: Scoring and Score Reporting - Transcripts.

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.