ABIM certification requirements
To take the ABIM Internal Medicine Certification Exam you need to complete an accredited three-year internal medicine residency, with your program director confirming your clinical competence, and to be certified you need a valid, unrestricted medical license. You’re ‘board eligible’ for seven years after meeting the training requirements; after that you must retrain for a year before applying.
From ABIM’s general certification policies and key dates; the three-year residency as described in residency program policies. Checked October 12, 2026. ABIM’s Policies and Procedures for Certification govern eligibility.
What you need
- Completed residency training in an accredited internal medicine program, with satisfactory evaluations submitted by your program to ABIM.
- A valid, unrestricted license to practice medicine to be certified.
- Registration in the open window (December 1 to April 15, or late until April 28 for $400 extra).
The seven-year rule
ABIM considers physicians who’ve met the training standards ‘board eligible’ for seven years. If you don’t become certified in that time, you can no longer describe yourself as board eligible, and you can only apply again after completing a year of retraining in the specialty. ABIM says misrepresenting your status can lead to sanctions.
Subspecialties
- You must be certified in Internal Medicine first, and can’t take both exams in the same year.
- Fellowship training must meet ABIM’s duration and clinical training requirements for that subspecialty, finishing by October 31 to test that year.