To determine if a candidate is eligible to take any Level of COMLEX-USA, the candidate is referred to the eligibility requirements established for each level in the Bulletin of Information. Candidates are reminded that eligibility requirements may change from time to time and that they should consult the Bulletin of Information and/or the NBOME website for the most recent information.

As of July 1, 2004, all candidates are required to pass COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE as a condition for eligibility to take COMLEX-USA Level 3, with the exception that candidates who graduated from a college of osteopathic medicine accredited by the AOA’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) prior to January 1, 2005, will be exempt from the requirement of passing COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE if they passed COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE prior to June 30, 2005.

Although the NBOME does not limit the number of times a candidate may retake an examination he or she did not pass, the NBOME recommends that a medical licensing authority require that the candidate successfully complete the full sequence of the COMLEX-USA exam within a seven-year period, beginning when the candidate passes COMLEX-USA Level 1; and allow no more than three attempts to pass each Level without demonstration of additional educational experience acceptable to the medical licensing authority.

The time period within which all Levels must be completed and the number of attempts allowed to complete a Level without additional educational experience vary among the state medical licensing authorities.  The NBOME recommends a minimum passing score for each Level.  Medical licensing authorities may accept the recommended pass/fail result, or they may establish their own passing score.  To obtain specific information, the candidate should contact the medical licensing authority in the jurisdiction in which he or she intends to apply for medical licensure  (www.fsmb.org).

The COMLEX-USA Levels must be taken in sequence.  For example Level 2 cannot be taken before Level 1.  However, Level 2-CE and Level 2-PE may be taken in any sequence. If a candidate has failed the CE Examination, he or she may still choose to take the PE Examination, and if the candidate has failed the PE Examination, he or she may still take the CE Examination.  Both the COMLEX-USA Level 2 CE and PE examinations must be passed in order to take Level 3.