ECFMG International Credentials Services (EICS)
About EICS | Verification of Credentials | Credentials Verification Reports | EICS for Physicians | EICS for Medical Regulatory Authorities | EICS Applications | Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the role of EICS in my application for medical registration?
The role of EICS is to seek primary-source verification of medical credentials required by your medical registration authority. EICS has no input or function in the processing of your registration application. Please direct questions concerning your registration application to the medical authority.
2. What if my medical credentials have been previously submitted to ECFMG?
If your medical credentials have been submitted previously to ECFMG for the purposes of taking the USMLE/ECFMG exams or receiving a Standard ECFMG Certificate, or if they were submitted through the Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials (EPICSM), you must still submit copies to EICS. EICS will review your credentials and their verification status in your ECFMG file.
- If your credentials have been verified previously by ECFMG and are consistent with copies submitted with your EICS application, EICS will accept the ECFMG verifications in lieu of sending new verification requests to your institutions.
- If your credentials have been submitted previously to ECFMG but not verified, EICS will send new copies of your credentials for verification.
Acceptance of ECFMG verification of credentials does not change your EICS application fee.
3. What if my medical credentials have been submitted previously to EICS?
If your medical credentials have been submitted previously to EICS, it is not necessary to submit additional copies with your EICS application. You must, however, submit copies of credentials that were not included with your previous EICS application.
Please remember to include your EICS number and check the appropriate boxes on the EICS Application Fee Payment Sheet, as explained in the EICS Application Instructions.
4. What medical credentials does EICS verify?
The types of medical credentials EICS accepts for primary-source verification are:
- Medical diplomas
- Medical school transcripts
- Certificates of postgraduate medical education, and
- Certificates of medical registration/licensure
EICS does not verify dental or non-medical credentials or letters of recommendation concerning non-postgraduate training positions.
Contact your medical registration authority if you are unsure which credentials to submit to EICS.
5. My credentials were sent to EICS by the Physician Credentials Repository of Canada (PCRC). Can you tell me their status?
No. Physicians applying to the Australian Medical Council (AMC), Medical Council of Canada (MCC) or the Physician Credentials Repository of Canada (PCRC) must contact the appropriate authority for all questions.
EICS cannot release processing information to physicians applying to these authorities.
6. Do I have to submit original or notarized documents with my application?
No. Since EICS will contact the issuing institutions to request primary-source verification of your credentials, it is not necessary to submit original or notarized copies of the credentials. Oversized documents should first be reduced to 8½ x 11 inches (216 mm x 279 mm) by photocopying them to this specification.
7. Do I need to submit translations for non-English language documents?
Yes. For any credential that is not in English, you must provide an English translation, prepared by and certified to be correct by a government official (for example, a Consular Officer), medical school official (for example, a Dean or Registrar), or a professional translation service.
8. Can I pay the EICS application fee by wire transfer?
EICS does not accept payments by wire transfer. Payment of the EICS application fee may be made by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express) or by money order/bank draft. Applications submitted without payment will not be fully processed until payment of the application fee is received by EICS.
EICS will notify you if your credit card or bank draft is declined for payment. If this occurs, EICS will not release verification information and reports to your medical registration board until it receives payment of the application fee.
9. Will EICS send me a receipt for payment of the application fee?
No. EICS does not issue formal receipts. You may contact EICS to request a letter confirming payment of the application fee be sent to you.
10. How long does the EICS verification process take to complete?
The time required to complete the verification of medical credentials varies and depends on a number of factors, including the internal processing times of the institutions that issued the credentials. Additionally, for medical schools that have not registered with ECFMG to verify credentials electronically through the ECFMG Medical School Web Portal (EMSWP), postal conditions may be a significant factor.
If ECFMG does not receive a response from the institution within the anticipated time period, ECFMG will send subsequent verification requests. You are advised to contact your institutions and request that they promptly complete and return verifications to EICS.
11. What if my institution has a fee for verification of my credentials?
Payment of verification fees imposed by an institution is the responsibility of the physician. EICS will notify you if payment of a fee is required by your institution to respond to EICS verification forms and inform you of the payment details, as provided to EICS by the institution.
12. Can you send me the EICS verification forms to take personally to my institutions?
EICS verification forms are sent directly to and received directly from the issuing institutions in order to maintain the integrity of the verification process. Verification forms cannot be provided to physicians, family members, or friends for the purpose of delivery to or retrieval from issuing institutions.
13. Can I speed up the verification of my credentials?
EICS requests verification in one of two ways:
- electronically through the ECFMG Medical School Web Portal (EMSWP), for credentials issued by medical schools that have EMSWP accounts for this purpose, and
- by airmail for credentials issued by all other medical schools and institutions.
You can provide EICS with a courier service account number to have your verification request sent by courier service. In this case, EICS will e-mail the courier tracking number to you once the verification has been sent to the institution.
To maintain the integrity of the verification process, EICS sends the verification request directly to the institution. Additionally, the institution must return the verification directly to EICS.
EICS will only courier your credential verification requests one-way. You must contact your institutions to arrange for courier service shipment back to EICS.
14. What if EICS does not receive a response to a credential verification request?
In the event EICS does not receive a response to a credential verification request after sixty (60) days, a new request will be sent to the medical school or other institutions.
You are advised to contact your medical school or other institutions and request they complete and return the EICS verification form as soon as possible.
15. Will I receive a copy of my EICS Credentials Verification Report?
EICS reports are issued only to your medical registration authority. EICS reports are not released to physicians or third parties. You will receive notification from EICS when all verifications have been received and an EICS report has been issued to your medical registration authority.
16. How long do EICS verifications remain valid?
There is no expiration date for EICS verifications. Additionally, your EICS record and verifications will be maintained permanently.
17. A recruiting service is assisting me through the medical registration application process. How will this affect my EICS processing?
The involvement of a recruiting service has no effect on the processing of your EICS application. Additionally, recruiting services are not authorized to receive information on the verification status of physicians using EICS, even if they are assisting them with their registration application.