Become Certified

Information about Initial Certification Exams

Review background information before applying for a certification exam.

Taking a Specialty Exam

Review dates and specific requirements for taking an initial certification specialty exam.

Taking a subspecialty exam

Review dates and specific requirements for taking an initial certification subspecialty exam.

Academic Pathway

The Academic Pathway is a pilot alternate pathway to ABPN certification eligibility in primary specialties, intended for psychiatrists and neurologists who do not meet standard ABPN eligibility criteria but have demonstrated accomplishments and further future potential as academic faculty members. Qualification through the Academic Pathway renders physicians eligible to apply for an ABPN primary specialty certification examination. The pilot will be available to applicants each year from the 2026 through the 2032 examinations.

The Academic Pathway is open to all psychiatry- or neurology-trained physicians who meet the qualifications below. Determinations of qualifications are made by the ABPN; all ABPN determinations are final and are not subject to appeal.

How to Apply

To request an application to the Academic Pathway, email [email protected] and include ‘Academic Pathway application request’ in the subject line. A $350 evaluation and processing fee will be collected during the eligibility review of the application process, in addition to a standard examination fee (non-refundable). See application deadlines and the ABPN exam schedule.

Academic Pathway Requirements, Experience, and Documentation

• Downloadable PDF of Academic Pathway Requirements below
• Downloadable PDF of Academic Pathway Document Checklist
• Applicants must submit this checklist along with the required documents at the time of application for the certification examination or at the time of request for a pre-eligibility letter

1. Medical school documentation:

a. For graduates of LCME-accredited medical schools, submission of medical school diploma

Or

b. For graduates of AOA-accredited medical schools, submission of medical school diploma

Or

c. For graduates of medical schools not accredited by the LCME or the AOA, submission of valid
ECFMG certification and applicant’s date of birth

2. Satisfactory completion of at least 4 full years (48 calendar months) of post-medical-degree clinical specialty training (i.e., residency or equivalent) in psychiatry, neurology, or child neurology, which must be one of the following:

• • • International training that includes a minimum of 3 years (36 calendar months) of training in the primary specialty for which certification is being sought
    • Osteopathic training accredited by the AOA and successfully completed before the creation of the Single Accreditation System
    • ACGME-accredited training successfully completed if the physician has ‘timed out’ of requirements for standard ABPN certification eligibility criteria

3. Unrestricted U.S. medical license, as stipulated in the ABPN policy on licensure

4.         a. Minimum of 4 continuous years (48 consecutive calendar months) as a member of the full-time  academic faculty at a LCME-accredited U.S. school of medicine, concurrent with 4.b.

b. Minimum 4 continuous years (48 consecutive calendar months) of participation as a member of the teaching faculty of an ACGME-accredited residency training program in the primary specialty, concurrent with 4.a.

c. The following apply to 4.a. and 4.b.:

i. Must currently hold the faculty roles, specified in 4.a. and 4.b., with at least 3 continuous
years (36 consecutive months) at the current school and residency training program.
ii. The medical school faculty appointment must be either (a) full-time; or (b) a part-time employed appointment at minimum of 50% effort throughout the appointment term if that effort represents their total professional effort and if the institution recognizes the appointment as having full faculty privileges.
iii. Voluntary faculty appointments, and other faculty appointments not meeting criterion 4.c.ii., do not qualify as they do not meet criterion 4.a.
iv. Solely voluntary or part-time teaching of residents, such as teaching residents only when
on-call, does not qualify as this does not meet criterion 4.b.
v. The required 4 continuous years must take place after the completion of training; for example, a faculty appointment concurrent with fellowship training does not meet criterion 4.a.
vi. In these roles, must provide regular and routine direct patient care and/or regular and
routine direct supervision of residents providing patient care (with the faculty member having attending physician-level responsibility for the patient care) for at least 8 hours/week on average during each of the 4 continuous years.
vii. In these roles, must have responsibility for formal evaluation of residents, and roles in
which the physician is evaluated by residents, with findings reported directly to the program
director and/or department chair.
viii. At the time of application, must have attained a minimum rank of Assistant Professor, or the institution’s equivalent level of faculty rank if the institution does not use the Assistant Professor rank.
ix. Short-term leaves during the faculty appointment term are allowed if they do not exceed 6 months in total duration during the required 4 continuous years; however, any short-term leave(s) must be completed prior to the time of application for the academic pathway (i.e., applicants cannot currently be on any kind of leave).

5. Must provide ABPN attestation form signed and submitted to ABPN by the department chair (or equivalent institutional leader); the form is found here.

i. Prospective applicants should email the ABPN to request access to the examination application with ‘Academic Pathway application request’ in subject line.

ii. Application deadlines are posted on the ABPN website. There will be an additional non-refundable $350 evaluation/processing fee for eligible applicants.

Physicians assessed by ABPN to meet all the above criteria, and thereby are determined as ‘fully qualified’ in the Academic Pathway, are eligible to take the ABPN certification examination in their primary specialty.

Physicians must become Board certified within seven years of ABPN approval of the Academic Pathway (i.e., within seven years of the date of their full-approval letter from the ABPN).

Physicians in the Academic Pathway who pass an ABPN certification examination and become certified in an ABPN primary specialty become eligible to take ABPN subspecialty certification examinations if they have completed ACGME-accredited fellowship training in that subspecialty and meet the other standard ABPN eligibility criteria for that subspecialty.

Please note that the ABPN pilot of the Academic Pathway will run for six years from 2026 through 2032 exam administrations. Applications to the Pathway will not be accepted after these dates. If the ABPN decides to offer a subsequent version of this Pathway after the conclusion of this pilot, the criteria for the subsequent version would be announced at that time.

Department Chair Attestation Form

Academic Pathway Attestation from Department Chair

Applicants must provide ABPN an attestation form signed and submitted to ABPN by the department chair (or equivalent institutional leader).

1. 1. 1. Prospective applicants who have completed all Academic Pathway requirements, including the faculty appointment, should email the ABPN to request access to the examination application.
      2. ‘Academic Pathway application request’ should be the subject line of the email request to ABPN.
      3. Application deadlines are posted on the ABPN website.

Academic Pathway FAQs

Read the Academic Pathway FAQs for all the details and explanation of the pathway.

Academic Pathway FAQs

Applicants seeking pre-eligibility review

ABPN will provide ‘pre-eligibility letters’ to prospective applicants anticipating, beginning, or in the midst of the requisite four-year faculty appointment. However, physicians may only apply for the ABPN certification examination after meeting all requirements and receiving formal ABPN approval of their full qualifications. Prospective applicants interested in obtaining a pre-eligibility letter should email [email protected] and request a special Academic Pathway application. Please put “Academic Pathway pre-eligibility request” in the subject line of the email. The $350 evaluation/processing fee will be collected during the pre-eligibility review of the application process. Department chairs seeking a pre-eligibility letter from a prospective or current faculty member should direct the applicant to email ABPN.

Recognition of Focused Practice (RFP)

CNS Endovascular RFP Exam offered by American Board of Neurosurgery (ABNS)

The CNS endovascular surgery Recognition of Focused Practice (RFP) designation exam is scheduled twice a year – the second Friday in May and first Friday in December – for eligible ABPN-certified neurologists and child neurologists.

The RFP is approved through the American Board of Medical Specialties with the goal of recognizing candidates who have successfully completed a standardized neuroendovascular training program and/or met practice criteria. The RFP is administered by ABNS and co-sponsored by the ABPN and the American Board of Radiology. The application is available online. Deadline eligibility requirements, and more information can be found on the ABNS website.

Focused practice designation enables the ABMS Member Boards to set standards for, assess, and acknowledge additional expertise that diplomates gain through clinical experience, and may include formal training.  For more information about the focused practice designation, please visit the ABMS website.

Qualifying Boards Assessments

Qualifying Boards CC Assessments