EMS Initial Certification FAQs

American Board of Emergency Medicine

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Initial Certification

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EMS ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

1. How long will the EMS practice pathways be in effect? The EMS practice pathways

closed at the end of the 2019 application cycle, on July 1, 2019.

2. Is it true that physicians certified by another board are eligible to apply for

certification in EMS? Yes. Physicians with current primary certification issued by any of

the 24 American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Member Boards, you may apply for

certification in EMS. ABEM is the sponsor of the EMS subspecialty, so you will apply to ABEM

for certification, ABEM will verify your credentials, administer the certification exam, and

issue your EMS certificate, and ABEM will administer your EMS continuing certification

program.

3. I am board eligible in my specialty, but not actually certified. Do I need to

become certified in my specialty to be eligible for certification in EMS? Yes. You

must be certified in your specialty by an ABMS Member Board to meet the eligibility criteria

of the EMS subspecialty.

QUESTIONS ABOUT EMS FELLOWSHIP TRAINING

4. What is the best way for me to train in EMS? As of November 2019, there were 69

EMS fellowship programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical

Education (ACGME). Alternatively, you may complete an “acceptable” unaccredited EMS

fellowship program to be eligible for certification in EMS. This means that the program is at

least 12 months in length and the curriculum covers the The Core Content of EMS Medicine.

Go to the National Association of EMS Physicians website, http://www.naemsp.org, to see

the accepted EMS Fellowship Curriculum and a list of current EMS fellowship programs.

5. How do I find out which EMS fellowship programs are ACGME accredited? To

find out which EMS programs have been approved by the ACGME, follow the link below,

select Emergency Medical Services from the “Search by Specialty” drop-down menu, and

click “Search.” You can start the process by clicking here.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EMS CERTIFICATION APPLICATION PROCESS

6. Is applying for certification and registering for the exam the same thing? No.

You must apply for certification and receive approval before registering for the exam. After

you apply, ABEM will review your credentials and independently verify that you have met the

eligibility criteria. This process may include review by the ABEM Credentials Committee.

After your application has been approved as meeting the eligibility criteria, starting on March

1 of the exam year you will be able to register for the EMS Certification Exam.

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7.  When is the application period for EMS certification? Please follow this link to see 
the application dates for EMS certification. 
8.  How do I apply for certification in EMS? You can apply for EMS certification online 
through the ABEM secure portal.  
9.  Do the or training requirements have to be met as of the date of the exam, or 
as of the date when I submit my application? You can finish EMS fellowship training 
after you submit your EMS certification application, provided that you graduate at least two 
weeks prior to the exam. 
10.  What credentials will ABEM review? ABEM will verify that you hold primary 
certification by an American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Member Board, and that 
your medical licensure status fulfills the ABEM Policy on Medical Licensure.  
If your primary certification is not in Emergency Medicine, ABEM will submit your name to 
the ABMS to verify your primary certification. ABEM will verify your certification again prior 
to issuing you a certificate in EMS.  
ABEM will also submit your name to the ABMS to verify the status of your medical licensure 
through the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB).  
11.  If my application is found not to meet the eligibility criteria and is therefore 
not approved, will I be able to receive a refund of my application fee? No. 
Application fees are not refundable.  
 
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EMS CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION 
 
12.  What resources will be used to create the EMS Certification Exam? The EMS 
Certification Examination is based on the The Core Content of EMS Medicine. In addition, the 
knowledge, training, and practice experience of the minimally qualified EMS subspecialty 
candidate has been defined, and also serves as a foundation for the EMS certification exam.  
13.  What topics will be covered on the EMS Certification Examination? The EMS 
certification examination is a comprehensive exam covering the breadth of the field of 
Emergency Medical Services. The Core Content of EMS Medicine forms the basis of the 
exam. The list below describes the relative weight given to different elements of The Core 
Content of EMS Medicine in constructing the EMS multiple choice certification exam. 
Clinical Aspects of EMS Medicine  40% 
Medical Oversight of EMS    30% 
Quality Management and Research  10% 
Special Operations      20% 
14.  Are there sample questions, textbooks, prep courses, or other materials ABEM 
recommends to help physicians prepare for the EMS certification exam? ABEM 
does not provide sample questions or recommend textbooks or materials other than the The 
Core Content of EMS Medicine and a description of the minimally qualified EMS subspecialty 
candidate, to assist physicians in preparing for the EMS exam. ABEM also does not track or 
endorse prep courses for its exams. However, such courses may be available, and you may 
participate in any of them as you wish. 

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Initial Certification FAQ

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15. When will the EMS Certification Exam be administered? Please follow this link to

see the date(s) for the next EMS certification exam.

16. When will I be able to register for the EMS Certification Examination?

Registration for the exam typically begins March 1 of the year in which the exam will be

offered for physicians who have an open, approved application on file with ABEM.

17. How will I sign up for the EMS Certification Examination? If you have an open,

approved EMS certification application on file with ABEM, you will be able to register for the

exam using the ABEM website, www.abem.org. When your application is approved, ABEM

will send you instructions for obtaining your ABEM user ID and password and accessing

registration. Within 24 hours after you register and submit your exam fee, you will be able

to call the ABEM testing vendor, Pearson VUE Professional Testing Centers, to schedule your

appointment to take the exam.

18. What type of exam is the initial certification examination? The exam contains

approximately 300 single-best answer multiple choice questions. Up to 15 percent of the

questions have a pictorial stimulus. The EMS certification examination is administered at

Pearson VUE professional computer-based testing centers throughout the United States.

Each exam appointment is approximately 8 hours in length, with approximately 6.5 hours

devoted to actual testing time.

19. After I schedule an appointment to take the exam, may I change the

appointment? Yes. You may change your exam appointment up to 24 hours before the

exam begins.

20. If I register for the EMS Certification Examination and later discover that I

cannot take the exam, will I receive a refund of my exam fee? Yes. You must

cancel your exam appointment and submit a request in writing to ABEM to withdraw from

the exam no later than the day before your exam appointment or the day before the last

day of exam administration if you do not have an exam appointment. You will then receive a

90% refund of your exam fee. ABEM will retain 10% of your exam fee to cover

administrative expenses. See the ABEM Policy on Fees for more information.

21. If I do not take the EMS Certification Examination the same year I apply, must

I reapply? If your application is approved before the exam begins, but you do not take it,

you do not need to reapply if you take the exam the next time it is offered. Instead, you

would need to reactivate your status and pay a reactivation fee to be able to register for the

next offered exam. If you do not reactivate and take the next offered exam, you would have

to reapply for certification, meeting the eligibility criteria in place at the time and paying the

full application fee. See the ABEM Policy on Maintaining Open and Active Subspecialty

Certification Applications for more detail.

December 2019