ABEM exams explained: Qualifying vs Certifying

ABEM describes initial certification as a series of steps after residency: you apply for certification, take the Qualifying Exam, and — once you pass it — take the Certifying Exam (certification process). The Qualifying Exam is the written, multiple-choice test of medical knowledge. The Certifying Exam is the in-person, case-based exam — ABEM calls it “the final step to becoming ABEM Certified.”

• Format: about 305 single-best-answer multiple-choice questions based on the EM Model. Some questions include images such as x-rays or ECGs (ABEM).
• Where and when: each fall at over 200 computer-based Pearson centers in the US and Canada. The 2026 window is October 29 – November 7, 2026 (register & schedule); ABEM lists November 1–13, 2027 for next year (Qualifying Exam page).
• Mix: ABEM targets roughly 30% critical, 40% emergent and 21% lower-acuity content, with minimums for pediatrics (8%) and geriatrics (6%) (ABEM).
• Passing score: ABEM says the passing score was last examined in 2019 and set at 77 out of 100 (scoring).
• Results: within 90 days, ABEM emails you when results are in your MyABEM portal (scoring).
• Don’t skip your first seat: if you don’t take the first available exam, your status changes to “Delayed Certification,” which may add requirements to stay board eligible (ABEM).

• Format: 10 cases in a half-day session, in person at the AIME Center in Raleigh, NC (ABEM). Two case types cover eight content areas (candidate packet).
• Clinical Care Cases are discussion-based: Clinical Decision-Making and Prioritization (exam content).
• Communication & Procedure Cases cover Reassessment, Difficult Conversations, Managing Conflict, Ultrasound, Procedures, and Patient-Centered Communications (exam content). In the ultrasound case, an examiner runs the machine while you acquire the views (content).
• Scheduling: ABEM will contact eligible physicians in January 2027 for preferences, then assign an administration and send registration instructions. ABEM lists nine administrations in 2027, from April 5–8 to November 15–18 (ABEM).

Want the station-by-station walkthrough? See how the new ABEM Certifying Exam works.

ABEM says the exam is criterion-referenced: everyone is judged against a predetermined standard, it is not graded on a curve, and everyone who meets the standard passes. Scoring criteria differ by case type. See ABEM’s scoring page for the current criteria.

Scores arrive within 90 days of the last day of the administration, with an email notice when they are ready in MyABEM. If you pass, you become ABEM certified. If you don’t, ABEM policy says you wait 9 months before trying again (scoring).

• Training: graduate from an ACGME-, RCPSC- or ACEM-accredited emergency medicine program (or an ABEM-approved combined program) and meet ABEM’s licensure policy (board eligibility).
• Applying: follow ABEM’s application instructions and verify your own eligibility and deadlines with the board.
• Board eligibility starts after graduation once your program director verifies your training, and expires five years later, on December 31 of the final year. Some physicians may qualify for a second 5-year period (board eligibility).
• Delayed Certification applies if you don’t apply in your first available period, or don’t take or pass the first exam assigned to you (board eligibility).

Qualifying Exam: it’s a knowledge test, so classic question-bank study against the EM Model fits. ABEM publishes the content weighting on its Qualifying Exam page.

Certifying Exam: it’s a case-based exam — you talk through decisions, conversations and procedures in real time. Start with ABEM’s public exam content and sample resources, scoring criteria, and Know Before You Go guide.

Then practice out loud. Saying your plan, your reassessment and your hard conversations in real time is a different skill from picking the right answer on a screen. You can browse DOME’s emergency medicine practice cases or see how DOME practice works.