General Applicant Information
Before you apply to ECFMG for examination or other services, please review the following information. The information in this section pertains to all services for which you may apply with ECFMG.
Important Note: Application and other requests for services will not be processed if it is determined that doing so would be violative of any applicable federal laws or regulations.
USMLE/ECFMG Identification Number
Before you apply for the first time to ECFMG for an exam, you must obtain a USMLE/ECFMG Identification Number. You can obtain a USMLE/ECFMG Identification Number by accessing IWA.
The information you provide during the process of obtaining a USMLE/ECFMG Identification Number will become a part of your permanent ECFMG record. For example, if you fail to provide your correct and current legal name, you will be required to submit acceptable documentation, as described in Changing or Verifying Your Name, to change your name of record with ECFMG. You should read the instructions carefully to ensure you submit correct information. If ECFMG determines that the biographical information you enter is inaccurate, not complete, or insufficient to assign a USMLE/ECFMG Identification Number to you, your request for the USMLE/ECFMG Identification Number will not be processed.
Once ECFMG informs you of your number, you must include it on all communications, applications, medical education credentials, request forms, and payments that you send to ECFMG. You will also need your USMLE/ECFMG Identification Number to use ECFMG’s on-line services.
Your USMLE/ECFMG Identification Number cannot be changed. If you forget or lose your USMLE/ECFMG Identification Number, you can obtain it by accessing IWA or by contacting ECFMG. To protect the privacy of applicants, ECFMG will not provide USMLE/ECFMG Identification Numbers by telephone.
Important Note: As part of the process of obtaining an identification number and/or applying for examination, you will be asked whether you have applied to ECFMG previously. If you have submitted a prior exam application, you must answer "Yes" to this question, even if you submitted the prior application under a different name or did not take the exam for which you applied. You must answer "Yes" regardless of whether you submitted an Interactive Web Application (IWA) or a paper application. If you have submitted an application to ECFMG but indicate subsequently that you have not applied previously, this may result in a finding of irregular behavior. See Irregular Behavior in General Applicant Information and Irregular Behavior in Examination Requirements.
Name of Applicant
You must ensure that the name in your ECFMG record is your correct and current legal name. The name in your ECFMG record will appear on all communications that ECFMG sends to you. This name will also appear on your Standard ECFMG Certificate once you have met all requirements for certification. You must use this name consistently in all communications you send to ECFMG, including exam applications and requests for other services. Failure to use the name in your ECFMG record consistently in all communications with ECFMG may delay exam registration. It may also prevent you from taking an exam for which you are registered and scheduled.
You can check the name in your ECFMG record on-line using OASIS. If you legally change your name, you must submit acceptable documentation to ECFMG to change the name in your ECFMG record. See Changing or Verifying Your Name.
- The name you enter on your application will appear on your exam scheduling permit. The name on your scheduling permit, including the spelling, must match exactly the name on the form(s) of identification you present at the test center. See Acceptable Identification.
If you change the name in your ECFMG record while you are registered for Step 1/Step 2 CK, a new scheduling permit reflecting this change will be issued to you. You must bring the new scheduling permit to the test center on your exam date. If you change the name in your ECFMG record while you are registered for Step 2 CS, you can print a new scheduling permit reflecting this change by accessing IWA. Name changes must be received and processed by ECFMG no later than seven business days before your testing appointment, or you will not be able to test.
If the name on your scheduling permit has been misspelled, contact ECFMG immediately by e-mail at permits@ecfmg.org or by telephone or fax (see General Inquiries). - If the name on your medical diploma, transcript, or other credential does not match exactly the name in your ECFMG record, you must submit legal documentation, as described in Changing or Verifying Your Name, that verifies the name on your medical diploma, transcript, or other credential is (or was) your name. See Name on Medical Diploma and Medical School Transcript for examples of common name discrepancies that require name verification.
Changing or Verifying Your Name
If you have legally changed your name and want to request a change of name in your ECFMG record, send a completed Request to Change Applicant Contact Information (Form 182) to ECFMG. Form 182 must be accompanied by a copy of one of the legal documents listed below. For the purpose of changing your name, the document you provide must be unexpired (if applicable).
- Passport (including the page with your photograph),
- Birth certificate,
- Marriage certificate,
- Official court order,
- U.S. Resident Alien Card,
- U.S. Naturalization Certificate, or
- National Identity Card.
Attestations and affidavits are not acceptable as documentation to change or verify your name.
Please do not submit an original document; a copy of the document is sufficient.
If the name in your ECFMG record is correct but this name does not match exactly your name as listed on your medical diploma, transcript, or other credential, you must verify that the name on these documents is (or was) your name. To verify your name, send to ECFMG a copy of one of the acceptable documents listed above that verifies the name on your medical diploma, transcript, or other credential. As an alternative to one of the documents listed above, ECFMG will accept for purposes of verifying your name a letter from the Dean, Vice Dean, or Registrar of your medical school that verifies that the name on your medical diploma, transcript, or other credential is (or was) your name. If you choose to submit a letter from your medical school to verify the name on your medical diploma, transcript, or other credential, the letter must be signed by the Dean, Vice Dean, or Registrar and must be written on the medical school’s official letterhead stationery. The legal documentation you send must show your name exactly as it appears on your medical diploma/transcript.
All documents submitted to change or verify your name that are not in English must be accompanied by an official English translation. See English Translations.
All documents submitted to change or verify your name will become a part of your permanent ECFMG record.
Contact Information
The contact information in your ECFMG record consists of your e-mail and mailing addresses, your telephone number, and your fax number (if applicable). If you provide an e-mail address, ECFMG will send information on the status of your exam applications by e-mail. You will also need an e-mail address to use ECFMG’s on-line services.
You should ensure that the contact information in your ECFMG record is current. You can check and update your contact information on-line using OASIS. You can also change your contact information by submitting a completed Request to Change Applicant Contact Information (Form 182) to ECFMG. You cannot submit changes to your contact information to ECFMG by e-mail. ECFMG will not process changes to contact information received from any person other than the applicant.
Changing your e-mail address using OASIS or Form 182 does not update your e-mail address in your e-newsletter subscription(s). If you are subscribed to one or more of ECFMG’s e-mail newsletters, such as The ECFMG® Reporter, and your e-mail address changes, you must update your e-mail address for each e-newsletter. To update your e-mail address in your e-newsletter subscription(s), visit the Publications page of this website, click on the newsletter(s) you receive, unsubscribe your old e-mail address, and subscribe your new e-mail address.
To protect the privacy of applicants, ECFMG will e-mail applicant-specific information only to the e-mail address in the applicant’s ECFMG record. If your e-mail inquiry requires a specific response, you must send your inquiry from your e-mail address of record.
Payment
Full payment for all services is due at the time of application. If the funds in your ECFMG financial account are not sufficient to cover all fees, your application or other service request will be rejected. If you apply for more than one exam at the same time, you must pay applicable fees for all exams, or your application will be rejected.
If you apply on-line, you can pay on-line by:
- Credit Card - Visa, MasterCard, or Discover.
- Electronic Check - To use this option, you must have a checking account at a U.S. bank and either a U.S. Social Security Number or U.S. driver’s license.
If you submit a paper request for service and have a USMLE/ECFMG Identification Number, you can pay on-line, as described above. To make an advance on-line payment to your ECFMG financial account, access OASIS.
ECFMG’s on-line payment is secured using industry-standard encryption technology.
All applicants who submit paper requests can pay by completing the payment section of the paper request form. If you complete the payment section of the paper request form, you can pay by:
- Credit Card - Visa, MasterCard, or Discover.
- Check, bank draft, or money order made payable to the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (or ECFMG). All payments must be made in U.S. funds through a U.S. bank. You must write your full name and USMLE/ECFMG Identification Number, if one has been assigned, on your payment.
- Wire Transfer - To pay by wire transfer, contact ECFMG for assistance.
Do not send payments in cash.
If you owe money to ECFMG at the time that your application/service request is processed, ECFMG will apply the payment included with your application/service request to the amount that you owe. Any money that is left after this will be used to pay for the exam(s)/service that you request. If there is not enough money remaining to pay for the exam(s)/service you request, your application/request for service will be rejected.
If you have money in your ECFMG financial account at the time that your application/service request is processed, it will be used to pay for the next exam/service request processed by ECFMG.
You can check the status of your ECFMG financial account and make on-line payments using OASIS.
All fees are in U.S. dollars. Fees are subject to change without notice.
Refunds
If you have money in your ECFMG financial account and will not request additional exams/services, you may send a written request to ECFMG for a refund. If the money in your account was a payment for an exam application that was rejected (because you were not eligible or the application was incomplete or otherwise deficient), your refund will be subject to a $100 processing fee.
Important Note: You should consider carefully the timing of your exam application, eligibility period, and test date. Once registered, you cannot cancel or postpone your registration. If you do not schedule and take the exam, you will not receive a refund or credit of your exam fee(s), and you will be required to reapply, including payment of all applicable fees, to take the exam.
Although you cannot cancel or postpone your registration, there are options that provide registered applicants with flexibility. All registered applicants may change their scheduled test date and/or center, subject to availability (see Rescheduling). Applicants registered for Step 1/Step 2 CK may request extension of their eligibility periods (see Eligibility Period Extension). Applicants registered for Step 2 CS who are unable to obtain the appropriate visa to enter the United States to take the exam may request a full refund of the exam fee. Other requests for exceptions from Step 2 CS applicants are considered on a case-by-case basis. ECFMG will consider requests for exceptions only after the applicant’s eligibility period has expired.
Irregular Behavior
The ECFMG Medical Education Credentials Committee and/or the USMLE Committee on Irregular Behavior review allegations of irregular behavior. If the ECFMG Medical Education Credentials Committee determines that you engaged in irregular behavior, a permanent annotation will be included in your ECFMG Status Report and ECFMG Certification Verification Service (CVS) Report. Effective August 31, 2006, additional information explaining the basis for the finding of irregular behavior and the resulting action will accompany every ECFMG Status Report and CVS Report and may also be provided to legitimately interested entities; this additional information will be provided if there is a finding of irregular behavior made on or after August 31, 2006, regardless of the date of the conduct or activity that gave rise to the finding. Furthermore, ECFMG may bar you from an exam, terminate your participation in an exam, withhold and/or invalidate the results of your exam, withhold a certificate, revoke a certificate, or take other appropriate action, including reporting instances of irregular behavior to the USMLE Committee on Irregular Behavior, FSMB Board Action Databank, state medical licensing authorities, and directors of graduate medical education programs, or to any other organization or individual who, in the judgment of ECFMG, has a legitimate interest in such information. If the USMLE Committee on Irregular Behavior determines that you engaged in irregular behavior, a permanent annotation will be included in your USMLE transcript. You may also be barred from examination, or your exam results may be withheld or invalidated.
For examples of irregular behavior and its consequences, see Irregular Behavior in Examination Requirements, Irregular Behavior in Medical Education Credentials, and Irregular Behavior in the USMLE Bulletin of Information.