Posted January 13, 2026

The USMLE program is committed to maintaining the integrity of its examination so that state medical boards may continue to rely upon it as an integral part of their decision-making process for licensure. Applicants and examinees are advised to observe all USMLE policies and procedures to avoid the potentially significant implications arising from a finding of irregular behavior.

The USMLE Committee for Individualized Review (CIR) meets periodically throughout the year to review cases involving allegations of irregular behavior by applicants and/or examinees.

In 2025, the CIR considered multiple cases involving the following:

• seeking or obtaining unauthorized access to examination content
• communicating about specific test items, cases, and/or answers with other examinees (including the sharing of examination content online)
• applying for and/or attempting to take an examination when ineligible
• possessing any prohibited materials, including formulas, study materials, notes, papers, or electronic devices of any kind while in the secure areas of the test center 

Actions taken by the CIR at its recent meetings included:

• annotating individual USMLE records and transcripts with a finding of irregular behavior
• barring access to USMLE for periods up to 5 years
• reporting the finding of irregular behavior to the disciplinary data bank (Physician Data Center) at the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB)
  • State medical boards routinely query this data bank as part of their licensing processes
• cancelling the examinee’s score because the validity of the passing level score is in question

As evidenced by the sanctions listed above, a finding of irregular behavior carries significant potential impact. USMLE applicants and examinees are reminded to read the USMLE Bulletin of Information carefully, follow the rules of conduct during testing, and refrain from any pre- or post-examination conduct deemed to be irregular behavior.

If you encounter a USMLE security violation, such as cheating or other forms of irregular behavior in person or online, you can report it with the STOPit App via an anonymous, easy-to-use chat feature. The STOPit App does not collect personal information and gives you direct contact with the USMLE team. You can download the app in the Apple or Google Play store or access the desktop version.