Educational commission for foreign medical graduates

For all graduates, the signature of the official(s) who certify/sign your Form 186 must be current; all official(s) 

must have signed the form within four months of its receipt by ECFMG. If your Form 186 is certified or signed by 

an official of your medical school, the original, signed Form 186 must be sent to ECFMG from the office of 

the medical school official who certifies/signs 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/signed 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. 

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

ECFMG with your Form 186, if you do not already have a valid Form 186 on file with ECFMG, 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 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 and this form is certified/signed by an official of your medical school, this 

envelope must be sent to ECFMG from the office of the medical school official who certifies/signs your Form 186. 

If you are not required to complete Form 186 or if your Form 186 is certified only by a Consular Official, Notary 

Public, First Class Magistrate, or Commissioner of Oaths, 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 the completed Form 186 (if you do not have a valid Form 

186 on file with ECFMG) and any other required documents are received at ECFMG. 

If you are a graduate of a medical school that participates in EMSWP and your medical education credentials have 

not been primary-source verified by ECFMG, ECFMG cannot complete the processing of your application until 

your medical school verifies your status through EMSWP. 

You can print Form 186 from 

IWA

 after completing 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

  

When to Apply 

Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 2 CS are offered regularly throughout the year; however there may be occasional, 

brief periods when all test centers are closed or the exam is not available. In planning the timing of your 

application, see 

Application for USMLE

 in Applying for Examination for information on application processing 

times, 

Step 1/Step 2 CK Eligibility Periods

 and 

Step 2 CS Eligibility Periods

 in Applying for Examination for 

information on how eligibility periods are assigned, and 

Reporting of Scores

 in Examination Results for information 

on scoring turnaround times. You should also consider deadlines imposed by the 

National Resident Matching 

Program (NRMP)

 and graduate medical education (GME) programs. Finally, you should be aware that demand for 

test dates/centers at certain times during the year may exceed the number of testing spaces available. 

Important Note: It is solely the responsibility of the applicant to complete the required exams in time to 

meet deadlines imposed by the NRMP and/or GME programs. Since the number of applicants seeking 

to complete these exams may exceed the spaces available in time to meet those deadlines, there is no 

guarantee that sufficient spaces will be available for all applicants to meet deadlines imposed by the 

NRMP and/or GME programs. ECFMG assumes no liability of any kind if an applicant does not 

complete the exams in time to have results available to meet NRMP and/or GME program deadlines. 

 

 

Last updated: September 15, 2011 

 

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

 

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