Below is the policy update from the United States Medical Licensing Examination program. Examinees who would like to request the Georgia Composite Medical Board's sponsorship for another attempt should complete the form linked at the bottom of this article and return it completed to the Board.  The Board will also need a copy of the exam transcript sent directly from the examination body.

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From USMLE:
The United States Medical Licensing Examination program recently updated its policy on the number of attempts an examinee can take each step. The total number of attempts allowed per Step is four. Examinees who have attempted any USMLE Step (including Step 2 CS) four or more times and have not passed are ineligible to apply for USMLE Steps.

The USMLE Composite Committee, the governing body of USMLE, considers all aspects of the examination as they work to ensure that the program fulfills its mission to support medical licensing authorities in the United States. The committee voted to change the number of allowed attempts to protect the integrity of the exam and to more closely match the USMLE attempt limits imposed by the majority of state medical boards.

As part of the review, the committee was also presented with information showing that it is uncommon for individuals with more than four repeated attempts on USMLE Steps to complete the examination sequence successfully, gain access to postgraduate training and ultimately receive a license to practice medicine in the United States.

The only exception to the attempt limit policy identified by the USMLE Composite Committee allows for one additional attempt beyond the four-attempt limit at the explicit request of a medical licensing authority. This policy exception recognizes that USMLE is intended to support state medical boards’ licensing decisions. Therefore, the program will accept a request from a medical licensing authority to allow one additional attempt for an individual who would be eligible to become licensed in that jurisdiction if they passed that Step after more than four attempts and go on to meet all other licensure requirements.

The policy change is effective for all applications submitted on or after July 1, 2021.

For more information about the USMLE, please visit https://www.usmle.org/.

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