CBT Registration: Some New Policies and Procedures
An Overview of Registration & Scheduling: What You Need to Do
Examinees with Documented Disabilities
Computer-based USMLE: An Introduction for
Students and Graduates of Foreign Medical Schools
An Overview of Registration & Scheduling:
What You Need to Do
- Get the ECFMG Information Booklet and Application Materials.
You can download the Information Booklet and application materials from this web site. You can request a free copy of the Information Booklet 24 hours a day/7days a week by calling (215) 375-1913. If you are calling from within North America, you can call toll-free at (800) 500-8249. You can also fax your request to (215) 387-9963. Click here for the address you can use to request a copy in writing.
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Decide When and Where You Want to Take the Exam.
You must choose a three-month eligibility period during the year when you want to take the exam. You must also choose the geographical testing region where you want to take the exam. You must indicate both the eligibility period and testing region on your application form.Tip: Although you need to choose a testing region, you do not need to choose a particular test center until you contact Prometric to schedule your testing appointment
- Complete the Application Form.
Be sure to follow the application instructions carefully and complete all items. If you are asked to provide additional documentation, such as copies of your medical school diploma, be sure to include it with your application. If your application is not complete, it will be returned to you.
Tip: If the eligibility period that you want is not listed on the application form, you do not have the appropriate edition of the Information Booklet and application materials. You must use the application materials for the calendar year in which your desired eligibility period ends.
- Include Full Payment.
You must pay all fees at the time that you send your application. If you do not include full payment, your application will be returned to you.
Tip: Your payment will be applied to any amount that you owe to ECFMG before it is applied to your exam registration. If the funds remaining are not sufficient to cover all fees for the registration(s) you request, your application will be returned to you.
- Receive Your Scheduling Permit.
Once ECFMG processes your application and determines that you are eligible, ECFMG will notify NBME of your eligibility. NBME will mail your scheduling permit within two weeks of this notification. If the beginning of your assigned eligibility period is more than six months away, your scheduling permit will not be mailed to you until about six months before the beginning of your eligibility period. Although your scheduling permit will be mailed by NBME, you should contact ECFMG if you have questions or concerns about this document.
- Choose Some
Specific Dates and Prometric test centers for Taking the Exam.
Before you contact Prometric to schedule your appointment, you should choose several dates when you could take the exam. All of the dates that you choose must fall within the eligibility period indicated on your scheduling permit.
Tip: When choosing your potential testing dates, remember that:
- Prometric test centers are closed on major local holidays;
- USMLE exams are not given during the first two weeks of January; and
- The busiest testing times in the US/Canada testing region are May through July and November through December.
You should also choose one or more test centers where you could take the exam. The test centers that you choose must fall within the testing region indicated on your scheduling permit.
A list of the test centers available in each testing region is included with the ECFMG Information Booklet. However, the list of test centers available for computer-based Step 1 and Step 2 is subject to change. To obtain the most current information on available test centers, review the list of testing regions and test centers on this web site or visit the Prometric web site. You can also contact Prometric for this information before scheduling your testing appointment. Simply follow the instructions for contacting Prometric on your scheduling permit.
- Schedule Your Testing Appointment
with Prometric.
When you are ready to schedule your testing appointment, you should contact Prometric. You can schedule your testing appointment with Prometric up to six months in advance of your assigned eligibility period. You must contact Prometric before 12:00 noon (local time at the Regional Registration Center for your testing region) at least five business days before the exam date that you want. Space at test centers is available on a first-come, first-served basis. After you receive your scheduling permit and decide when and where you want to take the exam, you should contact Prometric as soon as possible to increase your chances of getting the date and location you want.
Scheduling by telephone is the most direct method. The telephone number for Prometric's Regional Registration Center for your testing region is listed on your scheduling permit. If you are registered for an international testing region and do not have access to a telephone, you can contact Prometric by fax or in writing. Prometric's fax number and mailing address are listed on your scheduling permit. Simply make a clear photocopy of the Form to Schedule an Appointment by Fax or Mail that appears on your scheduling permit and send it to Prometric.
Tip: When scheduling by fax or mail, be sure to copy the form that appears on your scheduling permit. Do not send your original scheduling permit to Prometric. When copying the form, be sure not to copy your confidential Candidate Identification Number that appears below the form.
When you contact Prometric to schedule, you will need to give the Scheduling Number listed on your scheduling permit. Prometric will let you know what dates are available at the location(s) you have chosen.
When you make your appointment, Prometric will confirm with you the date and time of your exam. Prometric will give you the address and telephone number of the test center you selected. You will also receive a Confirmation Number. Be sure to write all of this information in the spaces provided on your scheduling permit. Do not write anything else on your scheduling permit.
If you already have a scheduled testing appointment and you need to reschedule within your eligibility period, you must contact Prometric, not ECFMG. You will need to provide your Confirmation Number. For this reason, you should be sure to record your Confirmation Number on your scheduling permit when you schedule for the first time. If you contact Prometric before 12:00 noon (local time at the Regional Registration Center for your testing region) at least five business days before your scheduled appointment, you can reschedule the appointment free of charge. However, you must still take the exam within your eligibility period and testing region, or you will lose your payment for the exam. If you give notice of less than five business days, you will need to pay Prometric a rescheduling fee when you arrange your new appointment.
- Take the Exam.
On the date of your testing appointment, you should arrive at the Prometric test center thirty minutes before your scheduled start time. If you need directions to the test center, you should call the test center prior to your exam date using the telephone number that Prometric provided when you scheduled your appointment. You must bring both your original scheduling permit and acceptable identification, as described below.
If you arrive late, you may not be allowed to take the exam. If you arrive more than thirty minutes late or do not have both the scheduling permit and acceptable identification, you will not be allowed to take the exam. If you are not allowed to take the exam for these reasons, you will need to reschedule your testing appointment and pay Prometric a rescheduling fee.
Before beginning the exam, you will be asked to:- Present your scheduling permit and identification,
- Sign in,
- Have your photograph taken, and
- Store all of your personal belongings in a locker.
A proctor will lead you to a computer in the testing area. To begin your exam, you must enter your CIN into the computer. The exam will begin with a brief tutorial. The tutorial will help you become familiar with how the computer and test software work. The answers that you choose during the tutorial do not contribute to your score on the exam.
When your testing appointment is over, you will sign out, and a proctor will give you a notice indicating that you appeared for the exam. This notice does not include your score. Before leaving the test center, you must turn in the portion of your scheduling permit which contains your CIN.
Acceptable Identification
Your name as it appears on your scheduling permit and your form of identification must match exactly. Since your name on the scheduling permit appears in the Latin alphabet, i.e., in "English language letters," the name on your identification must also appear in the Latin alphabet. These names must be the same in both spelling and order. If the names do not match as described above, you will not be allowed to take the exam.
The form of identification you present must be one of the forms of unexpired, government-issued identification listed below that contains your name in the Latin alphabet, your signature and your photograph. The following forms of identification are acceptable, only if they meet all of these requirements:
- Passport;
- Driver's license;
- National identity card; or
- Other form of unexpired, government-issued identification that meets all of these requirements.
If your government-issued form of identification contains your name in the Latin alphabet and your photograph but not your signature, you can use another form of unexpired identification that contains your signature, such as a student / employee identification card or a credit card, to supplement your photo-bearing, government-issued identification.
If you do not have acceptable identification, as described above, that contains your name in the Latin alphabet, you can apply for an ECFMG Identification Card (EIC). You may use a valid EIC in place of one of the forms of identification listed above to gain admittance to the test center on the date of your exam. To receive an EIC, you must complete an ECFMG Identification Card Request Form (Form 180) for each exam for which you are applying and submit the form(s) to ECFMG with your exam application. Each EIC is valid for one testing appointment only and will be collected at the test center at the end of your testing appointment.
Please Note: The purpose of the EIC is to provide acceptable identification for examinees who do not have identification that contains their name in the Latin alphabet. Do not request an EIC if you already have identification that meets all of the requirements listed above. Exam applications accompanied by an EIC request form will require additional processing time. Requesting an EIC may delay the processing of your exam application up to four weeks beyond the normal processing time.
Copyright © 1999-2002 by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. All rights reserved.
Portions reprinted, with permission, from the USMLE 1999 Bulletin of Information on Computer-based Testing (CBT). Copyright © 1998 by the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc. and the National Board of Medical Examiners® (NBME®).