Educational commission for foreign medical graduates

Applying for Examination 

Application for USMLE

 | Medical School Students | 

Medical School Graduates

 | 

When to Apply

 | 

Exam Fees

 | 

Examinees Who Require Personal Items in the Testing Room

 | 

Examinees with Disabilities Requesting Test 

Accommodations

 | 

Testing Locations

 | 

Step 1/Step 2 CK Eligibility Periods

 | 

Step 2 CS Eligibility Periods

 | 

Reexamination and Reapplication

  

Medical School Students 

The process of applying for examination as a medical school student will vary depending on whether your medical 

school participates in 

EMSWP

. 

If you are a medical school student enrolled in a medical school that participates in EMSWP, you must print a 

Certification of Identification Form (Form 186) after completing the on-line part of the application, if you do not 

have a valid Form 186 on file with ECFMG. If you are a medical school student enrolled in a medical school that 

does not participate in EMSWP (or if the information you provide on your application is not sufficient for ECFMG to 

determine whether your medical school participates in EMSWP), you must print a Certification Statement (Form 

183) after completing the on-line part of the application. You will be able to determine if your medical school 

participates in EMSWP when you complete the on-line part of the exam application. At that time, IWA will produce 

the appropriate form, which you will be able to print. 

Both Form 186 and Form 183 must be completed by you and certified by an authorized official of your medical 

school. Each medical school has been requested to provide ECFMG with a list of the officials authorized by the 

school to certify Forms 186 and 183. Your form must be certified by an official on this list. Contact your medical 

school to determine the officials authorized by your medical school for this purpose; ECFMG will not provide this 

information to applicants. This certification must be current; the official must have signed the form within four 

months of its receipt by ECFMG. The original, signed Form 186 or Form 183 must be sent to ECFMG from 

the office of the medical school official who certifies the form. ECFMG must be able to determine that the 

form was sent directly from the office of this official. If ECFMG, in its judgment, determines that the form may not 

have been sent directly from the office of the medical school official who certified the form, the form will not be 

accepted. 

Once accepted by ECFMG, Form 186 remains valid for exam applications and requests to extend Step 1 and Step 

2 CK eligibility periods received during the following five-year period. Applications and requests submitted during 

this period can be completed entirely on-line. 

A completed Form 183 must be submitted for each exam application. 

If there are any additional documents required to complete your application, these documents must be sent to 

ECFMG with your Form 186 or Form 183, and must be accompanied by a completed 

IWA Document Submission 

Form (Form 187)

. Form 187 facilitates more efficient processing of the application by ensuring that any additional 

documents are matched with the on-line part of the application. Do not include Form 187 if you do not have any 

additional documents to submit to ECFMG or if you are submitting Form 186 or Form 183 only. 

All forms and documents required to complete your application must be sent to ECFMG in one envelope. If you 

are required to complete a Form 186 or a Form 183, this envelope must be sent to ECFMG from the office of the 

medical school official who certifies your form. If you are not required to complete a Form 186 or a Form 183, this 

envelope can be sent to ECFMG by you. 

Important Note: If you are submitting a request for test accommodations, follow the instructions in the 

Test Accommodations information on the 

USMLE website

. See 

Examinees with Disabilities Requesting 

Test Accommodations

 in Applying for Examination and Examinees with Disabilities Requesting Test 

Accommodations in the 

USMLE Bulletin of Information

. Do not send your request or supporting 

documents in the same envelope as your application materials; requests and supporting documents for 

test accommodations should not be accompanied by Form 187. 

Your application will not be considered complete until all required documents are received at ECFMG. 

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If you are a medical school student enrolled in a medical school that participates in EMSWP, to complete the 

processing of your application, your medical school must verify your status through EMSWP. You will not be 

registered for examination until your medical school verifies your status. 

Form 186 or Form 183 will be available from 

IWA

 after you have completed the on-line part of the application. 

Form 187 is available from IWA and in the Resources section of the ECFMG website. 

 

 

Last updated: September 15, 2011 

 

Copyright © 2011 by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. All rights reserved.

 

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Applying for Examination 

Application for USMLE

 | 

Medical School Students

 | Medical School Graduates | 

When to Apply

 | 

Exam Fees

 | 

Examinees Who Require Personal Items in the Testing Room

 | 

Examinees with Disabilities Requesting Test 

Accommodations

 | 

Testing Locations

 | 

Step 1/Step 2 CK Eligibility Periods

 | 

Step 2 CS Eligibility Periods

 | 

Reexamination and Reapplication

  

Medical School Graduates 

To be registered for USMLE, an international medical graduate must provide copies of his/her final medical 

diploma with the exam application, if the diploma has not been submitted to ECFMG previously. Follow the 

instructions for additional documents required to complete your application, below. For complete information on 

the medical education credentials that may be required at the time of exam application, see 

Credentials for 

ECFMG Certification

 in Medical Education Credentials.  

ECFMG also requires that, before an international medical graduate can be registered for USMLE, the applicant’s 

status as a medical school graduate must be verified directly by his/her medical school. This status must be 

verified in one of three ways: 



ECFMG receives primary-source verification of the applicant’s medical education credentials; or  



The medical school verifies the applicant’s graduate status through 

EMSWP

; or  



The medical school verifies the applicant’s graduate status through the Certification of Identification Form 

(Form 186).  

As a result, the process of applying for examination as a medical school graduate will vary depending on whether 

your medical education credentials have been verified by ECFMG and whether you are a graduate of a medical 

school that participates in EMSWP. 

All medical school graduates must print a Certification of Identification Form (Form 186) after completing the on-

line part of the application, if they do not have a valid Form 186 on file with ECFMG. Form 186 must be completed 

by you and certified by an authorized official of your medical school. Each medical school has been requested to 

provide ECFMG with a list of the officials authorized by the school to certify Form 186. Your form must be certified 

by an official on this list. Contact your medical school to determine the officials authorized by your medical school 

for this purpose; ECFMG will not provide this information to applicants. This certification must be current; the 

official must have signed the form within four months of its receipt by ECFMG. 

If you cannot appear before an authorized official of your medical school to have your Form 186 certified, your 

Form 186 can be certified as described below: 



If your medical education credentials have been primary-source verified by ECFMG, or if you are a 

graduate of a medical school that participates in EMSWP, your Form 186 can be certified by a Consular 

Official, Notary Public, First Class Magistrate, or Commissioner of Oaths.  



If your medical education credentials have not been primary-source verified by ECFMG and you are a 

graduate of a medical school that does not participate in EMSWP (or if the information you provide on your 

application is not sufficient for ECFMG to determine whether your medical school participates in EMSWP), 

your Form 186 can be certified by a Consular Official, Notary Public, First Class Magistrate, or 

Commissioner of Oaths, however your school must then sign the form to verify your graduate status. This 

means that, after your form has been certified by a Consular Official, Notary Public, First Class Magistrate, 

or Commissioner of Oaths, you must then send the Form 186 and all additional documents required to 

complete your application to your medical school. An authorized official of your medical school, as defined 

above, must then sign the Form 186, verifying your status as a graduate of the medical school.  

You can check the status of your medical education credentials via ECFMG’s 

OASIS

. When you complete the on-

line part of the exam application, IWA will produce the appropriate version of Form 186 based on the type of 

official(s) that are acceptable to certify/sign the form. You should print the version of Form 186 for the official(s) 

who will certify/sign your Form 186. 

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