Frequently Asked Questions

How can I receive a registration form for the APMLE Part I/II?
The registration form is on page 21 of the Part I/II Candidate Bulletin. If you would like a Bulletin mailed to you please contact the registrar at your school or Prometric at (877) 302-8952 or E-mail your request to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please provide your name, address, telephone number and the Bulletin of Information you are requesting (Part I/II Bulletin).
How can I receive a registration form and Candidate Bulletin for the APMLE Part III?
The current Bulletin and registration form can be found here. If you have any questions regarding the Part III Bulletin or the Part III registration forms, please contact Prometric at their toll free number (877-302-8952) or e-mail Prometric at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
How can I send a copy of my Part I and/or Part II examination scores to a state board, federal agency, hospital or institution?
Please complete the Part I/II Request Form. Forms are also available at the school registrar office. Please send the form and $35.00 fee (by credit card, personal check, certified check, cashier check or money order) made payable to: The National Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners.
Mailing or Express Service Address:
Prometric
ATTN: NBPME
1260 Energy Lane
St. Paul, MN 55108.
Telephone: (877) 302-8952
How can I request my Part III (PMLexis) examination scores to be transferred to another state?
Score requests are available for online ordering with payment by credit card at the Federation of Podiatric Medical Board's (FPMB) web site www.fpmb.org. Alternatively, requests may be printed and mailed to the Federation with a check. If you have any questions, you may contact FPMB at their new address and phone number:
Federation of Podiatric Medical Boards
6551 Malta Drive
Boynton Beach, FL 33437
(561) 752-3735.
How much does the National Board charge to register for the exams?
The fee for each exam (Part I, II and III) is $900.00
Payment must be made in certified funds (certified check, cashier check or money order) made payable to The National Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners. Personal checks are not accepted.
What is the examination date and deadline?
The current exam dates and deadlines can be found here.
May I request a location other than the testing site near my school to sit for the Part I/II Exam?
If you need to request an exam appointment at an alternate test site, please go online to check for test locations and schedule your exam by going to www.prometric.com/NBPME.  You can also call Prometric at 877-302-8952 and tell the representative where you would like to test.  They will check if a seat is available.
Do the questions on the test always follow the content outline in the Bulletin of Information?
Yes. Prometric assembles the test from approved questions according to the content specification. The Board receives a test evaluation report after each examination that lists the number of questions in each subject area. The percentage of questions per subject area always matches the content outline.
Why do some of the questions seem too broad and others seem too picky?
Several steps are taken to assure that only appropriate questions are included on the examinations. The questions in Parts I and II are written by faculty members from the colleges/schools of podiatric medicine and then reviewed for appropriateness by content experts and practicing podiatric physicians prior to being incorporated into an examination. See the test development process for further detail. Test Development Process
Why does the exam cost so much?
There is an extensive process of development and review to assure the appropriateness and defensibility of the examination, as well as a secure computer-based test delivery in numerous locations around the country. A relatively small candidate population shares these costs. For further detail see the Fall 2008 Newsletter, NBPME 2008-09 Budget. Fall 2008
How should I study for the examination?
You should review the course documents (textbooks, syllabus, class notes, course examinations) and consult with the faculty members who teach in the subject area outlined in the Bulletin of Information.
Does the examination test the curriculum?
The content of the examination derives directly from the practice analysis of the profession conducted by NBPME. It focuses on competencies necessary to protect the public. It does not derive from a study of the curricula of podiatric programs, which, for example, may be broader or deeper in some areas than the exam. However, questions for Parts I and II are written by podiatric faculty and subjected to numerous expert reviews for appropriateness before being placed on the examination. Questions for Part III are written by expert practitioners. For more information, see below.
How does NBPME develop its credentialing examinations that is legally defensible?
Adherence to Professional Standards
The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (1999) is a comprehensive technical guide that provides criteria for the evaluation of tests, testing practices, and the effects of test use. It was developed jointly by the American Psychological Association (APA), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME). The guidelines presented in the Standards, by professional consensus (including a review by the National Board of Medical Examiners-NBME) have come to define the necessary components of quality testing. As stated in Standard 14.14,
"The content domain to be covered by a credentialing test should be defined clearly and justified in terms of the importance of the content for credential-worthy performance in an occupation or profession. A rationale should be provided to support a claim that the knowledge or skills being assessed are required for credential-worthy performance in an occupation and are consistent with the purpose for which the licensing or licensure program was instituted....Some form of job or practice analysis provides the primary basis for defining the content domain....(p.161, Standards for Educational & Psychological Testing, American Educational Research Association-Copyrighted 1999)
NBPME conducted a practice analysis in 2000 and 2006. Podiatric physicians were surveyed on the knowledge and skills necessary for our Parts I, II and III examinations. That information was used to develop the content to be tested and the percentage of questions (items) per content area. The 2006 data led to changes in the Part II exam in the areas of surgery, pediatric orthopedics, pain management and research design. Minor changes in the Parts I and II content outlines updated these areas.
Test Development
The Dean of each College (School) of Podiatric Medicine nominates members of the faculty to write questions for Parts I and II.
Part I and II
  1. Podiatric Medical College Faculty submit questions (with accompanying references) to Prometric.
  2. The pool of questions (items) are reviewed by a panel of practicing podiatric physicians and two podiatric medical school faculty in each content area.
    1. The primary responsibility of the faculty is clarity and a current reference check.
    2. The primary responsibility of the DPM members is
      • what is the relationship between the item and the tasks performed by a DPM in practice?
      • priority with regard importance in practice.
      • estimated difficulty-Is it easy, medium or hard?
  3. For Part I, the questions (items) also are reviewed by a content specialist in one of the basic sciences for accuracy and currency. This individual is a medical school faculty member.
  4. Prometric assembles the test from approved questions according to the content specification.
Part III
The process is similar except the items are written by a panel of DPM practitioners with item writing experience. A second panel of DPM's review the pool of items while a third panel reviews the assembled test.
Post Test Administration
Double Scoring Ensures Accuracy
At the examinee level, each computer-based test undergoes two independent scorings. Each test is first scored at the testing site and subsequently rescored when the data arrive back at Prometric. If scores do not match exactly, the examinee's record is held until the results can be reconciled. Irregularities that may have occurred at the testing site are also noted and any examinees who may have experienced irregular testing conditions at the test site (such as hardware or software failures or power interruptions) receive a thorough review of their responses. Scores for these examinees are not released until all irregular conditions are given consideration and resolution processing rules are applied fairly to ensure equity in the test administration process.
Item Analysis
Each item is statistically analyzed to determine how many candidates answered correctly and whether the item discriminated between the high and low scoring candidates (the high scoring candidates answered correctly and the low scoring candidates did not). If the item is "flagged", content experts review each of the flagged items for accuracy.
Deans' Report
At the conclusion of the above analyses and after the scores are mailed to the candidates, each Dean receives a report, which compares the performance for first time candidates at that school with the national examination data.
Score Reliability
Reliability refers to the consistency of test scores, the consistency with which candidates are classified as either passing or failing, and the degree to which test scores are free from errors of measurement. Errors of measurement result from factors not related to the test, factors such as fatigue or heightened attention, personal interests and other characteristics not related to the test. A person's score will not be perfectly consistent from one occasion to the next as a result of measurement error. Also, the estimated percentage of candidates obtaining the same passing or failing classification each time is about 90% for both Part I and Part II.
Determination of Passing Scores
The criterion-referenced method approved by the National Board to determine passing scores for each of the Part I and Part II examinations was noted by William H. Angoff in 1971. The Angoff method is based on the idea that, since qualified persons should pass the examination while unqualified persons should fail, the candidate who scores exactly at the pass/fail point should be one whose level of knowledge is at the borderline between qualified and unqualified. This distinction between qualified and unqualified candidates is provided by convening a panel of judges, who represent a cross section of podiatric practice in the United States, to participate in a systematic cut-score study. The judges consider each question as a whole and make a judgment of the probability that a borderline candidate would answer the question correctly. Adding these probabilities for all questions yields the expected number of correct answers for the borderline, or minimally competent, practitioner. The National Board decides the passing scores for the Part I Basic Science examination and the Part II Clinical Science examination.
How does a test question make its way to the exam through the test development process?
Test Development Process