ECFMG Certification - General Information

There are approximately 1,600 medical schools throughout the world, each with varying educational standards and curricula. The purpose of ECFMG Certification is to assess the readiness of international medical graduates to enter U.S. residency and fellowship programs that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

If you are an international medical graduate and wish to enter an ACGME-accredited residency or fellowship program in the United States, you must be certified by ECFMG before you can enter the program. You must also be certified by ECFMG if you wish to take Step 3 of the three-step United States Medical Licensing Examination™ (USMLE™). ECFMG Certification is required to obtain a license to practice medicine.

To be certified by ECFMG, you must pass a series of exams; you must also provide ECFMG with copies of your medical diploma, which ECFMG will verify directly with your medical school. The certification process begins when you submit your first application for examination to ECFMG. At this time, ECFMG will assign you an identification number that you will use throughout the certification process.

The time required to complete the certification process is different for each applicant. There is no minimum time period required for ECFMG Certification. You may apply for the required exams as soon as you are eligible. All of the exams required for ECFMG Certification are offered regularly throughout the year.

Both medical school students and graduates may begin the certification process. However, since one of the requirements for ECFMG Certification is that your medical diploma be independently verified by your medical school to ECFMG, you cannot complete the certification process until you graduate and receive your diploma. The time required for some aspects of the certification process, such as the time required by your medical school to verify your medical diploma, are beyond the control of ECFMG.

The ECFMG Certification Fact Sheet provides an introduction to ECFMG Certification, as well as web-based resources for those interested in ECFMG Certification and graduate medical education in the United States.

Before applying for ECFMG Certification, you must refer to the ECFMG Information Booklet and the USMLE Bulletin of Information.

To apply for the required exams, use ECFMG's Interactive Web Application to submit an on-line application, or download the paper application materials.

If you are interested in ECFMG Certification, you should also be familiar with the following changes that will occur in 2004.

Final Medical School Transcript Becomes Additional Requirement for ECFMG Certification

Effective February 1, 2004, there will be an additional medical education credential requirement for a medical school graduate to receive a Standard ECFMG Certificate. In addition to submitting the final medical diploma, which is a current requirement to receive a Standard ECFMG Certificate, medical school graduates will be required to submit a copy of their final medical school transcript. ECFMG will verify both documents directly with the medical school that issued the documents. Refer to Medical Education Credentials in the ECFMG Information Booklet.

USMLE Step 2 CS Replaces ECFMG CSA

A clinical skills examination will become part of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) in June 2004. The new exam, Step 2 Clinical Skills, or Step 2 CS, will replace the ECFMG CSA as the exam that satisfies the clinical skills requirement for ECFMG Certification. The transition from the ECFMG CSA to USMLE Step 2 CS will result in significant changes to policies and procedures related to ECFMG Certification. Refer to Transition from ECFMG CSA to USMLE Step 2 CS.

Elimination of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as a Requirement for ECFMG Certification

When Step 2 Clinical Skills (Step 2 CS) of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is implemented in June 2004, the TOEFL exam will no longer be a requirement for ECFMG Certification. Refer to Issue 37 of The ECFMG Reporter.