Frequently Asked Questions

ABPN has lowered initial certification fees by 54 percent since 2007, and these fees are approximately 31 percent below the average of other ABMS boards. See the chart below for more information.

The cost of an initial certification exam fee is $1,945 and is non-refundable. Payments are made online in the Physician Portal account at the time of application.

ABPN Initial Certification Fees by year

The ABPN initial certification examination fees remain in the bottom half of the 24 ABMS Member Boards.  The current examination fee is $1,945 and candidates are offed the option of selecting a split payment when submitting the applications. This fee covers the cost of the examination and credentialing due to ongoing board eligibility requirements.

To be Board-certified in psychiatry, neurology or neurology with special qualification in child neurology, a candidate must:

1. Be a graduate of an accredited medical school in the United States or Canada or of an international medical school listed by the World Health Organization.
2. Complete all training in either a U.S. program accredited by the ACGME or approved by the ABPN or in a Canadian program accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada as well as meet the other requirements specified in the reciprocity agreement.
3. Have an active, full, unrestricted medical license* in the U.S. or Canada as defined in the separate General Information and Board Policies Manual on this website. Applicants are required to update their active, full, unrestricted medical licenses in their ABPN Physician Folios account.
4. Have satisfactorily completed the Board’s specialized training requirements described on this website.
5. Apply online and submit an application through ABPN Physician Folios. Required documents should be emailed, mailed or faxed to 847.229.6600 separately.

Physicians certified in psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, neurology, or neurology with special qualification in child neurology before October 1, 1994 were granted lifetime certificates.

Between October 1, 1994 and December 31, 2011 all individuals achieving specialty Board certification by the ABPN were issued time-limited certificates that expired December 31, ten years after they were issued. Certificates issued in all subspecialties except child and adolescent psychiatry have always been time-limited. Time-limited certificates for child and adolescent psychiatry began in 1995.

Beginning January 1, 2012, all certificates are dependent upon continuous maintenance of certification based on a three-year cycle of requirements with certificates being valid as long as they are maintained. The examination cycle remains at ten years.

To ensure continuity of training, the Board requires that two of the three years of residency training, excluding the PGY-1, be spent in a single program. The 36 months of full-time specialized residency training must be completed in no more than two blocks. If completed in two blocks, the blocks must not be more than ten years apart. In addition, credit is not given for less than one-year blocks of training (including the PGY-1). The ABPN Credentials Committee considers exceptions to these rules only under extraordinary circumstances. In such cases, respective program directors should contact the Board office, in writing, prior to the transfer. The letters must outline the resident’s training content, duties, and responsibilities, including exact dates (from month/day/year to month/day/year) of training, and indicate clearly that the resident will satisfy all ACGME program requirements. Each case is considered on an individual basis.

Training may be completed on a part-time basis, provided that it is no less than half time.

The ABPN requires that all programs allow a minimum of four weeks of leave time (including vacation, sick time, maternity/paternity leave, etc.) during training per year. These four weeks should be averaged over the four-year training period. Leave or vacation time may NOT be used to reduce the total amount of required residency training or to make up deficiencies in training. Programs must allow a minimum of 6 weeks of time away from training for purposes of parental, caregiver, and medical leave at least once during training, without exhausting all other allowed time away from training and without extending training. Within ABPN and ACGME policy guidelines, it is up to the program director and the program clinical competency committee to determine whether a given resident has met training requirements or must extend their period of training.

Applicants who do not yet have an unrestricted medical license because they are in training are not required to submit a copy of their medical license at the time of application for examination in psychiatry, neurology, or child neurology. However, such applicants must submit a copy of their unrestricted medical license(s) no later than the date specified in the appropriate Information for Applicants publication. These dates differ for different examinations and failure to meet the deadlines for licensure could result in delay of scheduling or invalidation of scores. Applicants holding more than one license must submit a copy of each license.

There is currently no limit on the number of times an applicant may apply for examination.

The ABPN does not recognize or use the term “Board Eligible” and does not issue statements concerning “Board Eligibility.” The Board informs an applicant of admissibility to examination only when the applicant has an active, approved application on file in the Board office.

• Effective January 1, 2012, ABPN will require a physician to become Board certified within seven years following successful completion of ACGME-accredited or ABPN-approved residency training in their primary specialty or ACGME-accredited subspecialty.
• Graduates can take the ABPN Certification Examination as many times as allowed during the seven-year period.
• For example, individuals who completed an accredited residency program prior to January 1, 2012 had until January 1, 2019 to become board certified.
• Individuals who do not become certified during the 7-year period (or before January 1, 2019 for those who completed residency training before January 1, 2012) will be required to (1) repeat the required clinical skills evaluations; and (2) complete one block of Continuing Certification (CC)/MOC requirements [(90 CME credits, 24 self-assessment CME credits, and 1 PIP activity (includes a clinical module or feedback module)] in order to apply and be credentialed to take the ABPN Certification Examination. CC/MOC block requirements are valid for three years and must be completed at the time of the application.
• Diplomates must obtain initial certification in an ABPN primary specialty prior to obtaining subspecialty certification. Physicians who do not pass the subspecialty certification examination within seven years of graduating from an ACGME-accredited subspecialty program will be required to complete one block of CC/MOC activities (90 CME credits, 24 self-assessment CME credits, and one PIP activity) in order to apply and be credentialed to take an ABPN subspecialty certification examination. CC/MOC block requirements are valid for three years and must be completed at the time of the application.