Seven Year Rule and the USMLE

Seven Year Rule and the USMLE

Currently there are 8 States which do not have a 7 year rule concerning the USMLE Examination. What is the 7 year rule? The seven year rule is measured by the total number of years it took to pass the First Step of the USMLE by a physician and the Final Step of the USMLE. If it took more than 7 years between the two then most Boards will not issue a license to the Physician. The Board which have this rule typically will require that the Physician take one of three courses:

1. Retake the Steps of the USMLE which fall out of the 7 year period from the passing of the last Step.

2. Sit and pass the SPEX examination

3. Apply for a waiver of the USMLE 7 year rule. The Physician must provide a valid reason as to why it took longer than 7 years. These typically include family crisis, health issues, Civil Unrest, and Natural Disasters. The route is not guaranteed. The Board can arbitrarily decide not to issue the license.

The States which do not have a 7 year rule for the USMLE are as follows:

California	Florida	Kansas (10 years)
Louisiana	Michigan	New Hampshire
New York	Wyoming

This information is valid as of April 5th, 2006. As with all information posted on this site, it is subject to change. If you have any specific questions you can call the individual Medical Board.