Unanticipated Testing Conditions
The USMLE program recognizes that unanticipated situations may arise that may affect performance on your examination. Examples may include significant technical malfunctions that prevent you from continuing to test or other significant and sustained interruptions. The USMLE program maintains sole discretion concerning what, if any, situation warrants further review and/or remediation.
If you experience a situation as described above, you may elect to stop testing. Whether or not you elect to stop or continue testing, if you want the USMLE program to review your case, you must:
- Promptly report any interruption you feel may adversely affect your exam performance to test center staff on the day of your exam; and
- Email the USMLE program at testadmin@nbme.org within 10 calendar days following the date of the examination. Your correspondence should include your name, your USMLE ID number, the examination name (Step 1, 2 CK, or 3), the date of administration, and a detailed description of what occurred. Making a comment in the post-examination survey does not qualify as written notification to USMLE. Please be advised, the USMLE program will not review cases if the difficulty experienced is a result of inadequate preparation for the exam. If you choose to stop testing, your exam may be scored.
Please allow at least 15 business days for your report to be investigated and evaluated. You will receive a response in writing. Score reporting for your exam may be placed on hold until the USMLE program has completed its review.
After completing its review, the USMLE program in its sole discretion will determine if the attempt will be scored (whether in full or by removing the impact of the issue on your score), or not scored. If the attempt is not scored, it may not appear on your transcript, or it may appear on your transcript as an incomplete.
If you fail to notify both the test center staff on exam day and the USMLE program with 10 calendar days following the day of your examination, you thereby waive any claim or right to any recourse against the USMLE; the test center; or their employees, agents, or representatives arising out of or relating to that claim.
The USMLE program may prohibit an examinee from completing the exam and/or may impose conditions on retesting if the examinee appears to represent a health or safety risk to the test center staff and/or other test takers. Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, an examinee exhibiting signs of illness (e.g., persistent coughing or sneezing) during the examination, showing visibly open skin lesions or active bleeding, or excreting other bodily fluids.
If you do not feel well on the day of your test, we strongly encourage you to consider rescheduling your examination. If you become ill during your exam, follow the steps described above.
The USMLE makes every effort to ensure that your registration information is properly processed and that the Step examinations are properly built, administered, and scored. In the unlikely event that an error occurs in the exam construction, processing, administration, scoring, or score reporting of your USMLE examination, the USMLE program will make reasonable efforts to correct the error and/or provide a valid score, if possible. In some cases, you will be offered a retest of all or part of the exam at no cost to you or receive a refund of the exam fee. These are the exclusive remedies available to examinees impacted by errors in the registration process; in constructing, processing, or administering exams; or in scoring or score reporting. The USMLE program, in its sole discretion, will determine which of these remedies, if any, are available.