Posted: January 20, 2026
The United States Medical Licensing Examination ® (USMLE®) Service Transition simplifies the examinee journey and creates a more consistent and efficient process for applicants. On January 26, 2026, Step 3 exam services currently provided to graduates of U.S. medical schools by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) will transition to NBME.
Once phase two of the USMLE Service Transition is complete, all USMLE Step exam services, including exam registration, score report delivery, and customer service, for students and graduates of U.S. medical schools will be managed by NBME through the MyUSMLE℠ Portal.
FSMB will continue to provide Step 3 services to all examinees through January 22, 2026. Effective January 23, 2026, graduates of U.S. medical schools will no longer be able to access Step 3 services in FSMB's USMLE portal.
IMPORTANT: While this change is being implemented, all Step 3 services will be temporarily unavailable in both FSMB’s USMLE portal and NBME’s MyUSMLE Portal starting on January 23, 2026. From January 23-26, 2026, all examinees will be unable to access their Step 3 scheduling permits and other Step 3 services. Examinees testing during this time should download their scheduling permits by January 22, 2026. Examinees are not allowed to test without a scheduling permit.
On January 26, 2026, the USMLE program will announce when the transition is complete, and Step 3 services are available again. At this time, graduates of U.S. medical schools will access all Step 3 services through NBME’s MyUSMLE Portal, and students and graduates of international medical schools (IMGs) will continue to access Step 3 services in FSMB’s USMLE portal.
The USMLE Service Transition combines all USMLE services under the USMLE co-sponsors, FSMB and NBME, in two phases in January 2026. In phase one, which was completed on January 12, 2026, FSMB began 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 all examinees, please refer to the USMLE Service Transition Information Hub.
Key Dates for Phase Two of the USMLE Service Transition
Before January 22, 2026: All examinees testing during the outage period (January 23-26) should download their scheduling permits by this date.
January 23, 2026: Step 3 services for all examinees will be temporarily unavailable starting on this date.
January 26, 2026: All Step 3 services will be available again. NBME will begin managing all USMLE registration services for students and graduates of U.S. medical schools through the MyUSMLE Portal.