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With 2025 in full swing, so too are American Board of Family Medicine certification changes that have modified the timing and way family physicians maintain certification. Family physicians who are due for recertification will begin the 5-Year Cycle as opposed to the previous certification process, which consisted of three-year stages and an exam at year 10. And for family physicians who last certified 10 years ago, the longitudinal assessment may present a new and better way to recertify.
These changes don’t roll out for every physician at once, however. “We’re committed to honoring our diplomate’s current 10-year exam cycle,” Erin Myhre, certification program director at ABFM told AAFP News. Over the next few years, recertifying family physicians will transition to the new cycle when they would have been due to sit for the exam. We’ve assembled some of the most important changes that those recertifying in 2025 or 2026 will need to know.
Those who would have been due to take their recertification exam in 2025 instead began the 5-Year Cycle on Jan. 1, 2025, marking this exam cohort’s first encounter with longitudinal assessment. While longitudinal assessment has been available since 2019, this marks the first year it will roll out as the foundation of the 5-Year Cycle. As a heads up, those due to recertify in 2026 — who last certified in 2016 — will begin to see notifications this summer to register for their upcoming 5-Year Cycle.
The 5-Year Cycle aligned with the longitudinal assessment will look like this:
Other components of the 5-Year Cycle remain mostly unchanged. CME requirements are set at 200 credits, continuing the average pace of 50 credits per year; fully completing the longitudinal assessment earns 30 CME credits toward that amount. The professionalism requirement is still present, as are the self-assessment and performance improvement requirements.
Both the 5-Year Cycle and the longitudinal assessment were implemented following the 2019 Continuing Board Certification Vision Report published by the American Board of Medical Specialties. Family physicians and doctors of other specialties provided feedback about the financial and logistical strain and outsized consequences for the one-day exam and requested reasonable alternatives.
“Using longitudinal assessment as the foundation for the 5-Year Cycle was an opportunity for us to simplify the process and reduce burden for ABFM diplomates,” Myhre said. Additionally, family physicians have largely preferred the longitudinal assessment, with 82% choosing it over the one-day exam. “We have received really positive feedback from longitudinal assessment, both from that of convenience and from that of a learning opportunity.
“One of the most encouraging statistics is that 85% of physicians sought more information after answering longitudinal assessment questions and 83% report making changes inside their practice.”
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2025, the ABFM implemented a new family medicine exam blueprint for both the one-day exam and the longitudinal assessment. The new blueprint is designed to better align with clinical activities of today’s practicing family physician and to provide meaningful performance feedback that supports targeted learning. It is organized into five domains of care based on clinical activities rather than organ systems.
To view the new exam blueprint, a description of the five domains of care, and FAQs, please visit the 2025 Exam Blueprint page.
Most family physicians who are due to recertify in 2025 have begun the first quarter of the longitudinal assessment. For those who have not yet begun the longitudinal assessment, the buffer time built into the process means that you can easily begin in the second quarter of 2025 via your MyABFM portfolio.
For family physicians who are due to recertify in 2026, registration for the longitudinal assessment will open late summer. Until then, no actions are needed other than to focus on completing your current three-year stage requirements.
The one-day exam will continue to be available in the fourth year of the 5-Year Cycle for those who prefer completing their assessment inside the test center or who are unable to successfully complete the longitudinal assessment. Additionally, the one-day exam will continue to be a requirement for residents, who upon initial certification will begin the longitudinal assessment during their first 5-Year Cycle the following January.
Board review resources can be found throughout the AAFP website, including:
For additional information about the ABFM board certification change, you can also visit the ABFM certification resources on their website.