(1) Eligibility requirements for USMLE Step III are:

(a) an M.D. or D.O. degree;

(b) completion or near completion of one year of postgraduate training in a program of graduate medical education accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or the American Osteopathic Association;

(i) National Board of Medical Examiners examination (NBME) Parts I and II, taken before January 1, 2000; or

(ii) Federation Licensing Examination (FLEX) Component I, taken before January 1, 2000; or

(iii) USMLE Steps I and II; and

(d) for foreign medical graduates not eligible for the fifth pathway, a passing score on ECFMG.

(2) USMLE Step III must be taken within seven years of the applicant's first examinations under (1)(c), unless the applicant is or has been a student in a recognized M.D./Ph.D. program in a field of biological sciences tested in the Step I content. Applicants seeking an exception to the seven-year rule shall present a verifiable and rational explanation for being unable to meet the seven-year limit.

(3) If an applicant fails to pass the first attempt at USMLE Step III, the applicant may be reexamined no more than five additional times.

(4) For exams taken prior to January 1, 2000, the board will accept the following combination of examinations, with passing scores on each:

(a) NBME Parts I, II, and III; or

(b) NBME Part I or USMLE Step 1, plus NBME Part II or USMLE Step 2, plus NBME Part III or USMLE Step 3; or

(d) FLEX Component 1 plus USMLE Step 3; or

(e) NBME Part I or USMLE Step 1, plus NBME Part II or USMLE Step 2, plus FLEX Component 2.

(5) For exams taken after January 1, 2000, the board will accept only USMLE Steps 1, 2, and 3.

(6) The board will accept an examination by the National Board of Examiners for Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons, or its successor, with a passing score, regardless of date of examination.

History: 37-3-203, MCA; IMP, 37-3-305, 37-3-309, MCA; Eff. 12/31/72; AMD, Eff. 11/4/74; NEW, Eff. 3/7/76; AMD, 1979 MAR p. 801, Eff. 7/27/79; TRANS, from Dept. of Prof. & Occup. Lic., Ch. 274, L. 1981, Eff. 7/1/81; AMD, 1983 MAR p. 69, Eff. 1/28/83; AMD, 1985 MAR p. 687, Eff. 6/14/85; AMD, 1995 MAR p. 2480, Eff. 11/23/95; TRANS, from Commerce, 2001 MAR p. 1471; AMD, 2001 MAR p. 1474, Eff. 8/10/01; AMD, 2003 MAR p. 1636, Eff. 8/1/03; AMD, 2014 MAR p. 2833, Eff. 11/21/14; AMD, 2018 MAR p. 2048, Eff. 10/20/18.