MOC Assessment Dates and Information

If you are eligible to take the traditional, 10-year Maintenance of Certification (MOC) exam or the Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA^®), you can enroll through the Physician Portal during the open enrollment window (starting December 1 each year). Test appointments are filled on a first-come, first-served basis by the test vendor, Pearson VUE.

How to Register for and Schedule the Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam

1. Sign in to your Physician Portal.
2. Click the My Assessment Options button next to the assessment you wish to take.
3. Complete the registration steps.
   • For Adolescent Medicine: Once you have completed the registration steps you will be contacted by ABIM with instructions on how to schedule your appointment with the vendor used by the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP).
4. Once you have completed the registration steps, you will be routed to Pearson VUE’s site to schedule your appointment.
5. To schedule your appointment you may also call Pearson VUE directly at 1-800-601-3549, Mon. – Fri., 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CT. Provide the Pearson VUE representative with your ABIM ID. Please include “ABIM” in front of your ID number (i.e., ABIM999999) and confirm which exam you will be taking.

How to Enroll in the Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment:

1. Sign in to your Physician Portal.
2. Click on the My Assessment Options button next to the assessment you wish to take.
3. Complete the enrollment steps.

To change your test center location:

1. Sign in to your Physician Portal.
2. Click the Change Appointment button.

Exception:

For Adolescent Medicine, contact ABP.

To cancel your appointment:

1. Sign in to your Physician Portal.
2. Select the assessment.

Click the Cancel Assessment button.

A blueprint is a table of specifications that defines the content of each assessment. The blueprint also includes the target percentage of questions from each primary medical content category on the assessment. This ensures appropriate and equal representation of the content categories between assessment administrations.

The ABIM Specialty Boards, Advisory Committees and Approval Committees for each discipline work collaboratively to ensure that assessment blueprints are informed by broad stakeholder input from practicing physicians, societies and training program directors. This includes an analysis of current practice to ensure the blueprint reflects what is most relevant in that discipline.

Changes to the composition of the blueprint usually follow trends in current practice. View the blueprint for your specialty.

Multiple editions, or “forms,” of the assessment are used, and they may differ in question order and content. Some questions require the interpretation of illustrative materials such as electrocardiograms, radiographs and photomicrographs (e.g., blood films, Gram stains, urine sediments).

The ABIM assessment development process involves multiple phases, including input from subject matter expert physicians who create and review questions based on an assessment blueprint that reflects current clinical practices. Questions undergo thorough review, pretesting and statistical analysis before being included in the assessment. This structured process ensures that each assessment remains up to date and relevant to clinical practice. Learn more about the assessment development process.

Assessments feature multiple-choice questions (MCQs) with a single best answer. Research has shown that scores obtained with MCQs are correlated with superior clinical performance. Moreover, MCQs are particularly suitable for simulating clinical decision-making. The overwhelming majority of ABIM assessment questions use a clinical stem (patient-based case scenario) format that assesses the higher-order cognitive abilities required for clinical decision-making. A small number of questions address specific knowledge points without the use of a clinical stem. ABIM assessment questions include both Système International (SI) and imperial units for height (cm/in), weight (kg/lb) and temperature (C/F). View examples in Exam Tutorials.

Reference ranges for laboratory test reports are included in the text of ABIM assessment questions, as well as a high/low indicator if a patient's test result falls outside the reference range. As is true in practice, interpretation of a particular patient's test result in relation to the reference range depends on the clinical context. For example, reference ranges for tests assessing lipid or glucose metabolism may not be applicable in certain clinical settings. ABIM reference ranges should not be confused with patient-specific targets for such tests.

Laboratory test results in examination questions are followed by their reference ranges, in brackets and italicized.

For example:

Serum albumin 4.0 [3.5–5.5 g/dL]

“H” or “L” will be shown if the patient's test result is higher or lower than the reference range.

For example:

Serum albumin 6.0 H [3.5–5.5 g/dL]

For laboratory tests in which the reference range varies according to patient characteristics such as gender or age, the range provided will be appropriate for the patient.

For example, for a 45-year-old man:

Hematocrit 39 L [42%–50%]

For a 45-year-old woman:

Hematocrit 39 [37%–47%]

The National Cancer Institute advises that there is no specific normal or abnormal level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood. Therefore, ABIM is reporting “no specific normal or abnormal level” in place of the reference range for PSA.

The comprehensive metabolic panel contains the following assays: albumin, alanine and aspartate aminotransferases (ALT and AST), alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, blood urea nitrogen, calcium, creatinine, electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate), glucose and total protein.

Unless noted otherwise in examination questions:

• Arterial blood gas studies are done at sea level with the patient breathing room air
• Reticulocyte counts are uncorrected
• Tuberculin skin tests are done with purified protein derivative (PPD) at intermediate strength (5 TU)
• Electrocardiograms are recorded at normal standard and speed
• Lung volumes are determined by body plethysmography

The assessment pass-fail decision is based on your performance on the entire assessment. Unanswered questions are scored as incorrect, so you should answer every question. The minimum passing score reflects an absolute standard that is independent of the performance of any group of candidates. The standard for each assessment is set by the designated ABIM Specialty Board or Advisory Committee.

ABIM is aware that, on occasion, for a small number of questions, changes in medicine (such as the publication of new practice guidelines for hypertension) occur late in the examination publishing process and may alter what was previously the correct answer. Do your best to answer all questions according to your understanding of current clinical principles and practice. If ABIM determines that what was designed to be the correct answer has been changed by new information, this question will not be counted in the overall score.

After the exam is administered, it will be analyzed and evaluated to ensure the reliability of individual results.

Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam: Your final results will be released within three months of the last date of the exam in that area. When your results are released, you will receive an email notification with instructions on how to access your score report from your Physician Portal.

Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®): For the majority of questions, you will receive feedback immediately after responding to each question. At the end of the five-year LKA cycle, you will receive your final score which will indicate whether you have met the LKA Performance Standard.

Access to an interim formative progress report will be available after you have answered enough questions. For most physicians, that will happen at the end of the first quarter of the second year of taking the LKA. The quarterly progress reports will let you know how you are performing relative to the current passing standard, helping you understand areas you are performing well in, as well as those which you may want to focus on for future study. When your progress report is released, you will receive an email notification with instructions on how to access your report from your Physician Portal.

Questions regarding exam results should be submitted in writing within six months of the date results were released.

ABIM's scoring process is meticulous and includes a rigorous set of quality control steps to verify the accuracy of results for every examinee. Learn more about the exam process.

While it is highly unlikely that an error occurred in retrieving your answers or scoring your assessment, you may request a rescore for a fee of $250.

To request a rescore for an ABIM administered examination, please submit a written request within six months of the results' release date. Your request should include your name, ABIM ID, the examination to be rescored, and a check for $250.00 payable to the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Send to:
Rescore Request
American Board of Internal Medicine
510 Walnut Street, Suite 1700
Philadelphia, PA 19106-3699

Results of the rescore will be mailed to you within eight weeks of receiving your request.

View First-Time Taker Pass Rates for Maintenance of Certification (pdf).