Failed the ABPMR Part II oral exam: retake facts and a plan

By The MockOral.ai team. Updated October 2026. Last reviewed October 22, 2026.

Not passing Part II after years of training is hard, and it happens to a meaningful number of candidates every year. Here are the facts the ABPMR publishes about reviews, appeals, eligibility and the next exam, and a plan that changes how you prepare rather than repeating it.

You are not alone

In May 2026, the ABPMR's largest Part II administration to date, 647 candidates sat the exam. Of 550 first-time candidates, 489 passed (88.9%), so 61 first-time candidates did not. Counting all candidates, first-time and repeat, 429 of 529 passed in 2025 and 440 of 517 (85%) in 2024. Every year, a meaningful group of well-trained physiatrists is in your position.

The facts that matter now

Results and the score report

The ABPMR releases results by email notice, typically six to eight weeks after the exam, with a score report in your abpmr.org account. Read it before you plan anything: it is the only evidence you have about where you fell short.

Reviewing a failing result

The ABPMR policy manual allows a candidate who receives a failing score to request a review. For Part II, the review is limited to tracking your scores from origination through each step of the scoring process. It is not a re-evaluation of your answers or of the passing standard. The written request must include a nonrefundable $250 fee and be submitted within 14 days of the official release of results.

Appealing an administration irregularity

If something went wrong during the exam itself, the policy requires a two-part process:

1. A notice of intent to appeal, emailed to office@abpmr.org within 24 hours of the end of your exam, describing everything you believe was nonstandard.
2. If you then receive a failing result, a formal written appeal with a nonrefundable $250 fee, within 14 days of the results release.

If you skip the first step, you cannot appeal on these grounds later. The policy also says technical problems caused by a candidate's own unstable Wi-Fi are not grounds for appeal.

When you can sit again

The ABPMR calendar lists one Part II administration a year: May 6 to 9, 2026, and May 4 to 8, 2027. The application window for the 2027 exam is Oct. 1 to 31, 2026 ($1,910 including the processing fee), with a late window Nov. 1 to 15, 2026 ($2,410). If you did not pass in May 2026 and have not yet applied, the on-time deadline is Oct. 31, 2026. See the 2027 dates and fees.

Your board eligibility period

Under the ABPMR's Board Eligibility Policy, physicians who completed residency on or after Jan. 1, 2012 have seven calendar years after completing residency to become board certified. After that, they can no longer describe themselves as board eligible and must complete the ABPMR's re-entry requirements. The policy lists some exceptions, such as an approved appeal. Check where you are in that window and plan accordingly.

Change the preparation, not just the volume

Part II tests how you apply knowledge across five independently scored domains. Many candidates who do not pass know the medicine well. What often separates a pass from a fail is how the knowledge comes out under questioning. Use your score report, then work through this list.

Domain A: are you specific?

"I'd take a full history and physical" scores little. Name the items that change management and say why. Always include function and psychosocial factors.

Domain B: are you prioritizing?

Give the most likely diagnosis, the differential that matters, and the next test, in that order. Say what must be ruled out first.

Domain C: are you prescriptive?

Name medications, therapy goals and frequency, equipment, injections and follow-up. Vague plans read as uncertainty.

Domain D: are you thinking about the system?

Level of care, team members, referrals, insurance and equipment justification, outcomes. This domain is easy to under-practise.

Domain E: are you speaking, not narrating?

Say the actual words you would use with the patient and family. Acknowledge emotion, inform honestly, end with a plan. See Domain E in depth.

Delivery

The ABPMR advises speaking precisely and at a moderate pace, following examiner cues, moving on when information is unavailable, and not reading silence as failure. If you rushed, froze, or argued with redirection, practise those specifically.

A six-month plan for May 2027

Getting enough repetitions

The ABPMR recommends practising cases through all five domains with a mentor or study partner. If you are now in practice or fellowship and your old cohort has moved on, finding partners is harder the second time. See practising Part II without a partner for options, and work through the spinal cord injury sample vignette to calibrate what complete answers sound like.