Foreign medical graduates educational commission for foreign medical graduates

applicable federal, state, or local laws or regulations. Additionally, ECFMG may delay provision of services

while investigating whether the services or surrounding circumstances violate such laws, regulations, or

ECFMG's policies and procedures.

Last updated: September 7, 2017

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

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ECFMG Certification

About ECFMG Certification | 

Requirements for ECFMG Certification

 | 

Standard ECFMG Certificate

About ECFMG Certification

The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), through its program of certification, assesses

whether international medical graduates are ready to enter residency or fellowship programs in the United States that

are accredited by the 

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)

. ACGME requires international

medical graduates who enter ACGME-accredited programs to be certified by ECFMG.

ECFMG Certification assures directors of ACGME-accredited residency and fellowship programs, and the people of

the United States, that international medical graduates have met minimum standards of eligibility to enter such

programs. ECFMG Certification does not, however, guarantee that these graduates will be accepted into programs;

the number of applicants each year exceeds the number of available positions.

ECFMG Certification is also one of the eligibility requirements for international medical graduates to take Step 3 of the

three-step 

United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE)

. Medical licensing authorities in the United States

require that international medical graduates be certified by ECFMG, among other requirements, to obtain an

unrestricted license to practice medicine.

ECFMG and its organizational members define an international medical graduate as a physician who received his/her

basic medical degree or qualification from a medical school located outside the United States and Canada*. Citizens

of the United States who have completed their medical education in schools outside the United States and Canada

are considered international medical graduates; non-U.S. citizens who have graduated from medical schools in the

United States and Canada are not considered international medical graduates.

* The United States and Canada refer to the geographic locations where citizens are issued passports by the

governments of either the United States or Canada.

Last updated: September 7, 2017

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

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ECFMG Certification

About ECFMG Certification

 | Requirements for ECFMG Certification | 

Standard ECFMG Certificate

Requirements for ECFMG Certification

To be eligible for certification by ECFMG, international medical graduates must meet the following requirements.

Medical School Requirements

The physician’s medical school must meet requirements established by ECFMG. Schools that meet all requirements will be

listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools as meeting eligibility requirements for their students and graduates to apply

to ECFMG for ECFMG Certification and examination. To confirm that your medical school meets ECFMG’s requirements,

access the World Directory at 

www.wdoms.org

. Medical schools that meet ECFMG’s requirements will have an ECFMG

note stating this in the schools’ World Directory listing. The ECFMG note also will include the graduation years for which the

school meets these requirements. Since ECFMG is a sponsor of the World Directory, the ECFMG note is located on the

“Sponsor Notes” tab of the medical school listing. If there is no ECFMG note on the Sponsor Notes tab of your medical

school’s listing, you are not eligible to apply to ECFMG for ECFMG Certification and examination.

Important Note: Beginning in 2023, to be eligible for ECFMG Certification, ECFMG will require that applicants

graduate from a medical school that has been appropriately accredited. To satisfy this requirement, medical

schools must be accredited by an agency that has been recognized by the World Federation for Medical

Education through its Programme for Recognition of Accrediting Agencies. ECFMG is in the process of

establishing policies and procedures for implementing this requirement and will publish updates, as they become

available, on the ECFMG website. International medical students and graduates interested in ECFMG

Certification should monitor the ECFMG website for the latest information.

Application for ECFMG Certification

International medical students/graduates must submit an Application for ECFMG Certification before they can apply to

ECFMG for examination. The Application for ECFMG Certification consists of questions that require applicants to confirm

their identity, contact information, and graduation from or enrollment in a medical school that is listed in the 

World Directory

as meeting ECFMG eligibility requirements. See 

Medical School Requirements

. As part of the application, international

medical students/graduates must also confirm their understanding of the purpose of ECFMG Certification and release

certain legal claims. See 

Application for ECFMG Certification

.

Examination Requirements

The examination requirements for ECFMG Certification include passing Step 1 and Step 2 of the USMLE. The Step 2 exam

has two separately administered components, the Clinical Knowledge (CK) component and the Clinical Skills (CS)

component.

To meet the examination requirements for ECFMG Certification, applicants must:

1. Satisfy the medical science examination requirement.

Step 1 and Step 2 CK of the USMLE are the exams currently administered that satisfy this requirement.

2. Satisfy the clinical skills requirement.

Step 2 CS of the USMLE is the exam currently administered that satisfies this requirement.

ECFMG has established time limits for completing the examinations required for ECFMG Certification.

For detailed information, including information on time limits and using a passing performance on former exams to satisfy

these requirements, see 

Examinations for ECFMG Certification

.

Medical Education Credential Requirements

The physician’s graduation year must be included in the ECFMG note in the medical school's World Directory listing. See

Medical School Requirements

. International medical graduates must have been awarded credit for at least four credit years

(academic years for which credit has been given toward completion of the medical curriculum) by a medical school that is

listed in the World Directory as meeting ECFMG eligibility requirements. There are restrictions on credits transferred to the

medical school that awards an applicant’s medical degree that can be used to meet this requirement. See 

Transfer Credits

in Medical Education Credentials.

Applicants must document the completion of all requirements for, and receipt of, the final medical diploma. ECFMG

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