Other Boards and Certification
Boards Outside of ABMS
There are a number of non-ABMS and self-designated medical boards in the United States. Some have applied for ABMS membership and some have not. Applicant boards are reviewed and accepted jointly by ABMS and the American Medical Association Council on Medical Education after initial review by Liaison Committee for Specialty Boards.
ABMS monitors and takes action against any board claiming to be an ABMS Member Board and any individual wrongfully claiming to be certified by an ABMS board.
Please note that neither ABMS nor any of its boards is affiliated with BoardCertified LLC. Subscription to or payment of any fees to Boardcertified.com or BoardCertified LLC will not affect any diplomate’s certification status with their specialty board or listing in the ABMS database.
Unless the board is recognized by ABMS, we do not have information about its particular requirements for certification and cannot provide certification verification.
Certification of Doctors of Osteopathy (DO)
If a physician’s post-graduate training is osteopathic, then he or she is only eligible to take the exams administered by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). To be eligible to take a certification exam given by an ABMS Member Board, a DO must complete residency training program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Osteopathic physicians may choose to be certified by an ABMS specialty board AND an approved AOA specialty board. For more information about osteopathic medicine visit the American Osteopathic Association website.
Certification of podiatrists, dentists, oral surgeons or chiropractors
Practitioners of these professions are not certified through any of the ABMS Member Boards. Each of these professions has their own certifying bodies. These individuals can be located through their appropriate professional organization.
Certification of cosmetic surgeons and ABMS
ABMS Member Boards do not certify cosmetic surgeons, though several boards evaluate and certify specialists as qualified to perform some types of plastic or aesthetic (cosmetic) surgery. Contact the ABMS Member Board directly to determine if its physicians are qualified in a specific procedure.