Posted:  January 5, 2026

On January 12, 2026, United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) services currently provided to students and graduates of international medical schools (IMGs) by ECFMG®, a division of Intealth®, will transition to USMLE co-sponsor the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). Once phase one of the USMLE Service Transition is complete, all USMLE Step exam services for IMGs, including exam registration, score report delivery, and USMLE customer service, will be managed by FSMB.

ECFMG will continue to provide USMLE services to IMGs for Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) through January 7, 2026. Effective January 8, 2026, IMGs will no longer be able to access any USMLE services in ECFMG’s MyIntealth portal.

IMPORTANT: While this change is being implemented, FSMB’s USMLE portal and ECFMG’s MyIntealth portal will be temporarily unavailable starting on January 8, 2026. During this period, examinees will be unable to access their accounts or create new accounts. Examinees testing during this time should download their scheduling permits by January 7, 2026. Examinees are not allowed to test without a scheduling permit.

On January 12, 2026, the USMLE program will announce when the transition is complete and FSMB’s USMLE portal is available again. ECFMG will announce when the MyIntealth portal becomes available again.

Please note that after the USMLE Service Transition: 

• ECFMG will continue to manage the ECFMG Certification process.
• ECFMG will continue to determine whether IMGs are eligible for ECFMG Certification, and eligibility for Certification will continue to be a core requirement for IMGs to take USMLE. This means that, as part of the USMLE registration process for each Step exam, FSMB will confirm with ECFMG that examinees are eligible for ECFMG Certification.
• ECFMG will continue to require IMGs to pass USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK to meet the medical science examination requirement for ECFMG Certification. There are no changes to the requirements for ECFMG Certification as a result of this transition.
• The USMLE program will share exam outcomes with ECFMG directly as scores become available.

As previously announced, the USMLE Service Transition simplifies the examinee journey and creates a more consistent and efficient process for examinees. To do this, all USMLE services will be combined under the USMLE co-sponsors, FSMB and NBME, in two phases in January 2026. In phase one, FSMB will begin managing all USMLE Step exam services for IMGs. In phase two, NBME will begin managing all USMLE Step exam services for students and graduates of U.S. medical schools.

For more information and Frequently Asked Questions for both IMGs and students and graduates of U.S. medical schools, please refer to the USMLE Service Transition Information Hub. 

Key Dates for Phase One of the USMLE Service Transition 

Before January 7, 2026: All examinees testing during the outage period (January 8-12) should download their scheduling permits by this date. 

January 8, 2026: While the USMLE Service Transition is being implemented, FSMB’s USMLE portal will be temporarily unavailable during this outage period and is expected to be offline for several days. ECFMG’s MyIntealth portal will be briefly unavailable. IMGs should monitor the ECFMG website for notice that the MyIntealth portal is available again. 

January 12, 2026: FSMB’s USMLE portal will be available on this date, and FSMB will begin managing all USMLE services for IMGs.