Reinstating a Lapsed Certificate using the Knowledge Check-In
In 2018, ABIM announced that physicians who let a certificate lapse can meet their assessment requirement by passing two consecutive Knowledge Check-Ins within a two-year period. This allows physicians to use the Knowledge-Check in to reinstate a lapsed certificate as long as they are meeting all other MOC requirements.
This new policy is a direct result of feedback ABIM received from the physician community. Many physicians have told ABIM they would like to take the Knowledge Check-In but were unable to because the former policy required a diplomate to be certified to be eligible. The Board of Directors and Council agreed that the Knowledge Check-In should be available as a re-certification pathway for all physicians that would like to take it.
Check out the chart below to see potential scenarios for reinstating your board certification.
Note: The Knowledge Check-In, in any given specialty, is administered only every other year from the first administration. However, physicians are allowed to take assessments multiple times within the same calendar year.
Physician A had a lapsed board certification, but chose to become certified again by passing the traditional Maintenance of Certification (MOC) exam in 2019. Her next assessment won’t be due until 2029.
Physician B had a lapsed board certification, but chose to become certified again by passing two consecutive Knowledge Check-Ins (KCI) in the spring and fall of 2019. Her next assessment is due in 2021, which she can pass or fail and still be considered board certified.
Physician C had a lapsed board certification, but chose to become certified again by passing two consecutive KCIs. However, since Physician C chose to take only one KCI in 2019, he had to wait until 2021 to pass the second KCI and be considered board certified again. His next assessment is due in 2023.
Physician D had a lapsed board certification and attempted to become certified again by passing the KCI. He passed in 2019, but failed in 2021. He is still considered not certified, because he did not pass the KCI two consecutive times.
Physician E had a lapsed board certification and attempted to become certified again by passing the KCI. She passed in the spring of 2019, but failed in the fall of 2019 and was still considered not certified. Since she tried again in 2021 and passed in both the spring and the fall, she is considered board certified again. Her next assessment is due in 2023.
