Continuing Certification Overview
Background
ABPM’s Continuing Certification Program (CCP) provides an avenue for diplomates to demonstrate their commitment to lifelong learning and to fulfill ABPM’s obligation to the public to ensure its diplomates maintain their knowledge and skills and improve the practice of their specialty or subspecialty.
ABPM created its CCP in response to diplomate feedback calling for a simpler, more meaningful program and an alternative to the traditional, high-stakes Maintenance of Certification exam. ABPM’s CCP complies with the American Board of Medical Specialties’ (ABMS) Standards for Continuing Certification.
ABPM diplomates who possess time-limited certificates must participate in ABPM’s CCP to remain certified. Maintenance of a primary board certification is not a requirement for continuing certification in an ABPM subspecialty.
Find your specific requirements by logging into ABPM’s Physician Portal.
Three-Phase Transition
To ensure a smooth transition to the new CCP, ABPM is introducing the program in three phases. ABPM will extend the certification of diplomates who are currently certified and are participating in ABPM’s CCP.
Get answers to your CCP questions here.
During Phase 2 of the transition, in effect for calendar years 2025 through 2029, diplomates have only four annual requirements:
- Maintain a current, valid, and unrestricted medical license in every US state, US territory, or Canadian province in which the diplomate holds a license to practice medicine;
- Pay the annual fee using ABPM’s Physician Portal;
- Attest to earning 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ using ABPM’s Physician Portal;
- Six of the credits must be relevant to diplomates’ ABPM certification(s). Diplomates will choose for themselves which CME courses are relevant to the ABPM specialties or subspecialties in which they are certified.
- Answer 30 LAP questions annually for each active, time-limited ABPM certificate the Diplomate currently holds.
Continuing Certification
Dates and Fees
Annual Continuing Certification Fee
and CME Attestation
Due December 31, 2026
Annual Fee
$150 per ABPM certificate, if paid January 1-March 31, 2026*
$175 per ABPM certificate, if paid April 1-June 30, 2026*
$200 per ABPM certificate, if paid July 31-December 31, 2026
*Discounts will be applied at checkout.
$150 late fee assessed for annual fees paid after December 31 of the year they were due
Learn more about early-payment discounts for the annual fee beginning 2025.
About the Annual Fee
In 2023, ABPM launched the first phase of the new CCP. As part of the transition, ABPM implemented an annual fee, which replaces the previous $1,750 Maintenance of Certification (MOC) exam fee that every Diplomate needed to pay once per certification cycle to take the MOC exam.
The annual fee allows ABPM to create an effective and sustainable CCP that is in line with ABMS standards. Updates to the ABPM website, the online Physician Portal, and programs like the Longitudinal Assessment Program (LAP) are only possible with the implementation of the annual fee structure.
What does the annual fee cover?
- Development and implementation of the new CCP
- Development and Administration of the LAP
- Access to LAP Platform
- Access to online ABPM Physician Portal
- Direct access to ABPM Staff and other resources
Longitudinal Assessment Program (LAP)
Important Note: There may be a delay between when you complete the 2026 LAP and when your completion is accurately reflected in your ABPM Physician Portal account. If you have already completed the 2026 LAP through the Learnswell platform, please disregard the red triangle appearing under Requirement #4 in your Physician Portal account. Please refer to your Learnswell account to find your up-to-date status for the current year’s LAP.
On January 7, 2025, ABPM launched an extended LAP pilot as part of the second phase of the Continuing Certification Program (CCP). The extended pilot will continue through December 31, 2029.
All ABPM diplomates with current, time-limited certificates will participate in the extended LAP pilot for their respective specialty or subspecialty beginning in 2025, except for those certified in Health Care Administration, Leadership, and Management (HALM). The HALM LAP pilot will begin in 2027.
What is the LAP?
The LAP is an innovative replacement for the traditional, high-stakes, point-in-time MOC exam. ABPM’s goal for the LAP is to offer physicians a flexible, convenient, and, most importantly, educational experience, while ensuring they are keeping up on core knowledge in their specialty or subspecialty.
What am I required to do during the extended LAP pilot?
During the pilot, all current ABPM diplomates with time-limited certificates will answer 30 specialty-specific questions per calendar year. Diplomates with multiple current ABPM certificates will answer 30 LAP questions for each of their certificates.
Diplomates may consult textbooks and other resources during the assessment, consistent with how physicians practice medicine in today’s environment.
While ABPM will not require diplomates to achieve a specific minimum score to pass, all current diplomates are expected to participate in “good faith.” This means that they must answer all 30 questions for their specialty(ies) annually and their performance must be better than chance (i.e., they must answer more than 25% of questions correctly each year).
After opening a question, a Diplomate must answer the question. Closing the question/browser window prior to submitting an answer will result in the response being marked as incorrect. The online LAP platform will time out after a question has been open for 60 minutes; ABPM advises answering each question within that timeframe to avoid having the question marked incorrect.
LAP Content
Instead of covering the breadth of each specialty’s/subspecialty’s knowledge base every year, the LAP will focus on a smaller number of content areas. Diplomates will answer LAP questions only in the specialty(ies)/subspecialty(ies) in which they are certified.
Stay up-to-date
ABPM will share information about participation in the LAP pilot with Diplomates by email. To ensure you receive communications regarding the LAP, please make sure your contact information is accurate and up-to-date in your Physician Portal account.
Have questions? Review the LAP FAQs.