In January, the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) transitioned to a new 5-Year Certification Cycle, replacing the previous 10-year process and reshaping how family physicians maintain board certification going forward.
Those who would have been due to take their recertification exam in 2025 instead began the 5-Year Cycle on January 1, 2025, marking this exam cohort’s first encounter with longitudinal assessment. While longitudinal assessment has been available since 2019, this marks the first year it will roll out as the foundation of the 5-Year Cycle. As a heads up, those due to recertify in 2026 — who last certified in 2016 — will begin to see notifications this summer to register for their upcoming 5-Year Cycle.
- 25 multiple-choice exam questions will be available to answer each quarter.
- 300 total questions must be answered to fulfill the exam requirement.
- Questions are designed to be answered in three to four years, with the fifth year as a buffer year to take the one-day exam if needed.
Other components of the 5-Year Cycle remain mostly unchanged. Continuing medical education requirements are set at 200 credits, continuing the average pace of 50 credits per year; fully completing the longitudinal assessment earns 30 CME credits toward that amount. The professionalism requirement is still present, as are the self-assessment and performance improvement requirements.
- No More One-Day Exam – You are NOT required to take the one-day exam before you begin the 5-year Cycle.
- Longitudinal Assessment Instead – To meet your exam requirement, you’ll complete the longitudinal assessment over three to four years.
- Flexibility and Convenience – You can choose whatever day, time, and location works best for you to answer 25 quarterly exam questions.
For a comprehensive overview of this change, please read Due to Take the Board Exam Next Year? Here’s What You Need to Know. on the American Academy of Family Physicians website.
In addition, the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians’ ABFM webpage was recently updated to provide members with an overview of the ABFM and includes an on-demand video to help you understand how the changes impact your certification journey.