Foreign medical graduates educational commission for foreign medical graduates

Application for ECFMG Certification

To be eligible for ECFMG Certification, you must complete an Application for ECFMG Certification. You can access the

Application for ECFMG Certification through 

Interactive Web Applications (IWA)

 on the ECFMG website. You must

have your 

USMLE/ECFMG Identification Number

 before you can begin the Application for ECFMG Certification. You

must complete an Application for ECFMG Certification before you can apply to ECFMG for examination. For the

current fee for submitting an Application for ECFMG Certification, see the 

Fees

 page of the ECFMG website.

As part of the Application for ECFMG Certification, you will be asked to confirm the name, date of birth, and gender in

your ECFMG record. If this information is incorrect, you must have the information in your ECFMG record changed to

reflect your correct name, date of birth, and/or gender before you can complete the Application for ECFMG

Certification. Instructions for how to correct this information will be provided at the time of application.

If you are a medical school student, you will be asked to confirm that you are officially enrolled in a medical school

located outside the United States and Canada that is listed in the 

World Directory of Medical Schools (World Directory)

as meeting ECFMG eligibility requirements, and that the “Graduation Years” in the ECFMG note in your medical

school's World Directory listing are listed as “Current.” If you are a medical school graduate, you will be asked to

confirm that you are a graduate of a medical school located outside the United States and Canada that is listed in the

World Directory as meeting ECFMG eligibility requirements, and that your graduation year is included in the ECFMG

note in your school’s World Directory listing. See 

Medical School Requirements

.

The Application for ECFMG Certification also will require you to confirm your understanding of the purpose of ECFMG

Certification and release certain legal claims.

The information submitted in your Application for ECFMG Certification will become a part of your permanent

ECFMG record.

Once submitted to ECFMG, your Application for ECFMG Certification typically becomes valid immediately, allowing

you to apply for examination. A notification will be sent to the e-mail address in your ECFMG record confirming receipt

of your Application for ECFMG Certification. Once your Application for ECFMG Certification has been submitted to

ECFMG, it typically remains valid throughout the certification process and cannot be changed. If you are a student

when you submit your Application for ECFMG Certification, you do not need to submit another one when you

graduate. You can use 

OASIS

 to confirm that you have submitted an Application for ECFMG Certification.

Last updated: September 7, 2017

Copyright © 2017 by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. All rights reserved.

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Examinations for ECFMG Certification

Examination Requirements | 

Time Limit for Completing Examination Requirements

Examination Requirements

To be eligible for ECFMG Certification, you must satisfy both the medical science examination and clinical skills

requirements. To satisfy these requirements, you must pass Step 1 and Step 2 of the United States Medical Licensing

Examination (USMLE). Step 2 of the USMLE has two separately administered components, the Clinical Knowledge

(CK) component and the Clinical Skills (CS) component. Refer to the 

USMLE Bulletin of Information

 for more

information. ECFMG has established time limits for completing the examination requirements for ECFMG Certification.

See 

Time Limit for Completing Examination Requirements

 in Examinations for ECFMG Certification.

Passing performance on certain formerly administered examinations can be used to meet these requirements as

described below.

Medical Science Examination Requirement

Step 1 and Step 2 CK of the USMLE are the exams currently administered that satisfy the medical science

examination requirement. There are time limits for completing these examinations for ECFMG Certification. See 

Time

Limit for Completing Examination Requirements

 in Examinations for ECFMG Certification.

ECFMG also accepts a passing performance on the following former examinations to satisfy the medical science

examination requirement for ECFMG Certification: ECFMG Examination, Visa Qualifying Examination (VQE), Foreign

Medical Graduate Examination in the Medical Sciences (FMGEMS), and the Part I and Part II Examinations of the

National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME).

Combinations of exams are also acceptable. Specifically, if you have passed only part of the former VQE, FMGEMS,

or the NBME Part I or Part II, you may combine a passing performance on the basic medical science component of

one of these exams or USMLE Step 1 with a passing performance on the clinical science component of one of the

other exams or USMLE Step 2 CK, provided that the components are passed within the period specified for the exam

program.

Additionally, ECFMG accepts a score of 75 or higher on each of the three days of a single administration of the former

Federation Licensing Examination (FLEX), if taken prior to June 1985, to satisfy this requirement.

Clinical Skills Requirement

Step 2 CS of the USMLE is the exam currently administered that satisfies the clinical skills requirement. There are

time limits for completing this examination for ECFMG Certification. See 

Time Limit for Completing Examination

Requirements

 in Examinations for ECFMG Certification.

International medical students/graduates who have both passed the former ECFMG Clinical Skills Assessment

(CSA

®

) and achieved a score acceptable to ECFMG on an English language proficiency test (such as the TOEFL

exam or the former ECFMG English Test) can use these passing performances to satisfy the clinical skills requirement

for ECFMG Certification.

Last updated: September 7, 2017

Copyright © 2017 by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. All rights reserved.

Page 20

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