ELIGIBILITY AND REGISTRATION FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE BOARD

Candidates who have completed the training requirements as outlined are eligible to apply for examination by the Board. Applications are available online. A memorandum will be sent to the program directors to inform residents in their final year of training about the availability of the online application forms. The completed application must be filed online before March 1st of the year in which the candidate plans to take the examination. Physicians who complete their residency training in dermatology by July 1 are eligible to apply to take the examination in August of the same year. Under the special conditions described under Guidelines for Determining Adequacy of Clinical Training, candidates completing additional (make-up) training before September 1 may also be eligible to apply to take the certifying examination. It is emphasized that it is the candidate's responsibility to submit a completed application form online if he or she plans to take the certifying examination of the Board.

A candidate is not considered an "active" candidate until his or her application has been received and approved by the Board. This approval includes a review of the application and annual evaluation reports from the candidate's training director. Residents who complete an approved dermatology residency will not be permitted to take the certifying examination later than five years following the completion of their training. Physicians who completed dermatology residency training prior to 2012 will not be permitted to take the certifying examination after December 31, 2016. A dermatologist who has not met these requirements may not claim to be "board eligible" unless the American Board of Dermatology determines that that physician has been prevented from taking the examination within the applicable five year period by military deployment or by catastrophic illness. If either of these situations exists, a dermatologist wishing to claim to be "board eligible" or wishing to take the examination after the expiration of the five year period may be granted a one or two year deferral by making application to the Board. The decision to grant or deny a deferral will be at the sole discretion of the Board.

This policy also applies to diplomates completing subspecialty fellowships with certification examinations.