The USMLE registration process depends on the step being taken, location of medical school, and accommodations needed. Test takers contact appropriate registrars, complete applications, receive scheduling permissions, and schedule exams with Prometric. Accommodations require additional action. Once requirements are met, Prometric assists in selecting test locations and times.
The United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) is a test taken for people who want to practice medicine in the US. The USMLE registration process generally depends on three factors: which of the three steps is being taken, the location of the medical school, and whether accommodations are required. Test takers contact the appropriate registrars based on one or more of these factors, complete and return application materials, receive scheduling permissions, and schedule their exams with a Prometric testing center.
To begin USMLE registration for the Step 1, Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK), or Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) exams without accommodations, US and Canadian medical school participants should contact the National Board of Examiners Physicians (NBME) for enrollment materials. . The application process requires participants to provide personal and medical school information, test fee payments, and other data. The USMLE registration process for Steps 1, 2 CK, or 2 CS for medical school participants outside the US and Canada who do not require accommodations is very similar. Such participants, however, must contact a separate registration entity: the Commission on Education for Foreign Medical Students (ECFMG).
Test takers from all countries who have graduated from medical school, passed steps 1, 2 CK and 2 CS and do not require accommodations must contact a specific registration entity as determined by the Federation of Medical Councils States (FSMB). The FSMB website directs Step 3 test takers to the appropriate state authority. This state authority will provide and verify USMLE registration materials and process test fees.
Requesting accommodations requires an additional course of action, which is also based on where test takers are registering and where their medical schools are located. At the same time that test takers apply to the appropriate registration entities, they must also request test accommodations from the divisions of the NMBE, ECFMG and FSMB that handle such requests. For the NMBE, it is the Disability Services division, the ECFMG has a testing accommodations coordinator, and the FSMB has a special testing services coordinator.
Once test takers meet all the requirements of their specific registrar, they are granted detailed programming permissions. These documents advise participants to contact Prometric, the testing center that administers the USMLE. Prometric assists participants in selecting locations and times to take their USMLE tests and outlines its own policies regarding participants. Securing a test date is the final step in the lengthy USMLE registration process. Additional information about USMLE registration, such as contact information for registration entities and their accommodation divisions, is available on the official USMLE website.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
