Obtaining Permanent Validation of ECFMG Certificate
Notice of Deadline Change: Applications to 2024 Pathways Must Be Submitted by December 31, 2023
To facilitate the transition to the new MyIntealth™ environment, the deadline for submitting applications to the Pathways for ECFMG Certification for the 2024 Match has changed to December 31, 2023, at 6:00 p.m., Eastern Time (ET) in the United States. International medical graduates (IMGs) who need to meet the clinical and communication skills requirements for ECFMG Certification through the Pathways and plan to participate in the 2024 National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) Main Residency Match® (The Match®) must submit a 2024 Pathways application by 6:00 p.m. on December 31, 2023. There will be no exceptions.
Deadlines for submitting information and documentation in support of a 2024 Pathways application that has been submitted by 6:00 p.m. ET on December 31, 2023, have not changed.
For more information, please read the announcement.
Requirements
ECFMG Certificates issued to applicants who satisfy the clinical and communication skills requirements for ECFMG Certification through the Pathways program are subject to expiration.
For an applicant’s ECFMG Certificate to become valid indefinitely (i.e., no longer subject to expiration), the applicant must have successfully completed at least 12 months of clinical education in an eligible U.S. graduate medical education (GME) training program. Eligible GME programs include:
- U.S. GME training programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
- U.S. non-standard training programs associated with an ACGME-accredited program
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Obtaining Permanent Validation
If you have met the requirements and you are sponsored by ECFMG on a J-1 visa, you do not need to take additional action. We will make your Certificate valid indefinitely in our records on the basis of your J-1 visa status after your successful completion of at least 12 months of eligible clinical training and notify you when the process is complete. See Notification and Reporting on Certification Status below for additional information.
If you have met the requirements and you are not sponsored by ECFMG on a J-1 visa, you may submit a Request for Permanent Validation of ECFMG Certificate. To submit the request, complete the following steps:
- Complete Section I of the Request for Permanent Validation of ECFMG Certificate form. Be sure to confirm that all of your biographic and contact information is accurate. You should enter your name as it appears on your ECFMG Certificate. Sign the form to certify that you completed at least 12 months of clinical education in an eligible GME training program.
- Provide the Request for Permanent Validation of ECFMG Certificate form with Section I completed to the Program Director of your GME training program. The Program Director must complete Section II of the form to provide information about the training program and to certify that you have successfully completed at least 12 months of clinical training.
- After completing Section II and signing the form, the Program Director must e-mail the completed form to ECFMG at validindefinitely@ecfmg.org.
After receiving the completed Request for Permanent Validation of ECFMG Certificate form, we will evaluate it and, if acceptable, make your certificate valid indefinitely in our records.
Access the Request for Permanent Validation of ECFMG Certificate form.
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Notification and Reporting on Certification Status
We will notify you at your e-mail address of record when the process is complete. If you meet the requirements and your certificate is made valid indefinitely, we will provide you with a confirmation letter that you can use to demonstrate that your certificate is valid indefinitely. You will not receive a new ECFMG Certificate. Note that it is your responsibility to ensure that your e-mail address of record is up to date in order to receive the confirmation e-mail and letter. For information on updating your e-mail address of record, see our On-line Services Overview.
Training programs and other entities can request confirmation of your certification status directly with ECFMG by requesting an ECFMG Certification Verification Service (CVS) report. Through CVS, ECFMG will confirm your certification status when a request is received from a U.S. medical licensing authority/state medical board, residency/fellowship program, hospital, or other organization that, in the sole judgment of ECFMG, has a legitimate interest in such information. ECFMG provides this confirmation at no cost to residency/fellowship programs. For status reports sent to medical licensing authorities/state medical boards, you also may submit a request. Additional information can be found in the CVS section of this website.
The preceding information is current as of November 30, 2023 and is subject to change. Please visit the ECFMG website frequently for updates regarding these requirements.
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