Disqualification from the Qualifying Examination
If a candidate is found to be involved in litigation or investigation regarding ethical or moral issues, the application will be reviewed. ABOG may defer a decision for entry into the examination to gain further information.
If the candidate has one or more licenses to practice medicine in any US state or Canadian province, each license may not be restricted, suspended, revoked, or on probation. Any restrictions or conditions placed on a license, regardless of whether the limits deal specifically with patient care, will disqualify the physician from entry to the Qualifying Examination. Such restrictions and conditions include any provisions requiring the physician to complete additional training and/or practice in a specified manner.
Falsification of any of the submitted data or evidence of other egregious ethical, moral, or professional misbehavior may result in a deferral of a candidate’s application for a minimum three years. The candidate must then meet all eligibility requirements in effect at the end of the deferred period.
When the Board rules an applicant not admissible to the Qualifying Examination, a new application and application fee must be submitted after the cause of the inadmissibility has been resolved.
Page last updated: August 25, 2025