Important Information for Students and Graduates of Canadian Medical Schools
Overview and Eligibility for ECFMG Certification
As previously announced, effective July 1, 2025, the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) will assume sole responsibility for accrediting medical education programs in Canada. These programs will no longer be accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).
LCME accreditation establishes eligibility to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) and to enter U.S. residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). With the transition away from LCME accreditation for Canadian medical education programs, Canadian medical school graduates will establish their eligibility for USMLE and ACGME-accredited residency programs through ECFMG Certification. As a result, individuals who graduate from Canadian medical schools on or after July 1, 2025 will be considered international medical graduates (IMGs) for the purpose of entering U. S. graduate medical education (GME).
Important Note: If you graduated from a medical school located in Canada prior to July 1, 2025, you are not considered an IMG, and you are not eligible for ECFMG Certification.
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Applying for ECFMG Certification
ECFMG Certification is the standard for evaluating the qualifications of IMGs entering the U.S. health care system and includes requirements for medical schools, examination requirements (which include USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) among other requirements), and verification of medical education credentials directly with the issuing institution. To determine whether you are eligible for ECFMG Certification and for detailed information on the requirements, you must read the current edition of the ECFMG Information Booklet.
Once you have determined that you are eligible to apply for ECFMG Certification based on your graduation date and degree medical school, you will need to submit an Application for ECFMG Certification using ECFMG’s on-line services. The process for meeting certain requirements for ECFMG Certification currently differs slightly for students and graduates of Canadian medical schools, including that USMLE co-sponsor NBME will continue to register all students and graduates of Canadian medical schools for USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK. See Applying for USMLE below for more information.
To access ECFMG’s on-line services and begin the application process, you must:
- First create a user account in the MyUSMLE portal , and obtain a USMLE ID. If you previously applied for USMLE, you already will have this ID.
- Once you have obtained a USMLE ID through MyUSMLE, contact us by e-mail at [email protected] and include in your e-mail the following information:
- Last Name/Surname
- Rest of Name
- Date of Birth
- Gender
- E-mail Address
- USMLE ID
- Medical School Name
- Graduation Month and Year
- Attendance Dates
Once your information has been received and your applicant record created in our system, you’ll be sent an e-mail with information on how to access your ECFMG on-line services account.
After you create your on-line services login, you can use ECFMG’s Interactive Web Applications (IWA) to submit the Application for ECFMG Certification. An overview and detailed instructions are provided with the application.
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Applying for Residency Positions in the United States
If you graduate from a Canadian medical school prior to July 1, 2025, continue to use the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) as your Dean’s office when applying to U.S. programs. If you graduate on or after July 1, 2025, you will use ECFMG as your designated Dean’s office.
If you plan to use the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS®) to apply electronically for residency positions in accredited U.S. GME programs, ECFMG issues ERAS Tokens for IMGs and assists them with the MyERAS application process. Residency Tokens for the ERAS 2026 application season are expected to be available through ECFMG’s On-line Applicant Status and Information System (OASIS) beginning June 25, 2025. More information is available in the ERAS Support Services section of this website.
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Applying for USMLE
Until the USMLE Service Transition , USMLE co-sponsor NBME will continue to register all students and graduates of Canadian medical schools for USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK. This means that regardless of your graduation date, you should continue to apply for USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK using the MyUSMLE portal . All graduates will continue to register for Step 3 with USMLE co-sponsor the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) .
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