ABPN Geriatric Psychiatry

It is a Continuing Certification exam, aimed at diplomates who already hold ABPN geriatric psychiatry certification and are maintaining it. If you are seeking the subspecialty for the first time, you want the initial certification pathway instead. Check the ABPN Continuing Certification pages for your specific eligibility status before applying.

ABPN certification exams are multiple-choice and delivered by computer at Pearson test centers, per ABPN's computer-based testing information. ABPN sets the item count and time limit, and those figures are not fixed on this page - confirm them on the current ABPN exam schedule and the exam-specific page for your cycle.

Fees are published on the ABPN Fee Schedule and vary by exam and certification type, so verify the current amount there rather than relying on secondhand figures. For deadlines, ABPN lists a Geriatric Psychiatry Continuing Certification deadline of 11/23 for the March 2027 exam dates, with all deadlines at 11:59 pm CT. Confirm your cycle on the ABPN deadlines list.

It is a subspecialty-level assessment for already-certified psychiatrists, so the difficulty comes from breadth and from late-life nuance rather than from basic recall. Expect questions where medical comorbidity, drug interactions, and cognitive change complicate the psychiatric picture. Most candidates find structured review plus practice questions sufficient; ABPN does not publish a pass rate for this exam here.

ABPN's retake rules, waiting periods, and any associated fees are governed by the Continuing Certification program policies, which are not reproduced on this page. Do not assume a fixed retake window. Read the ABPN CC program FAQs and contact ABPN directly to confirm your options and timing before you reapply.

Continuing Certification is by design an ongoing process rather than a single certificate with a fixed expiration date; diplomates meet recurring requirements over a defined cycle. The specific cycle length and component requirements are set by ABPN and should be confirmed on the ABPN Continuing Certification pages and in your Physician Portal.

Start with late-life syndromes where geriatric psychiatry diverges most from general adult work: neurocognitive disorders, late-life depression and suicide risk, psychosis in dementia, anxiety, and substance use in older adults. Then refresh general psychiatry, since half the content is core psychiatry. Reserve the final stretch for practice questions to expose weak areas.

Three recur: studying only geriatric content and neglecting general psychiatry; memorizing criteria without practicing application to complicated older patients; and missing administrative steps such as the application deadline or CC activity requirements. Treat the ABPN deadlines list and your Physician Portal checklist as part of exam preparation, not an afterthought.

Use the ABPN Exam Schedule and the Upcoming Deadlines list on abpn.com, which is the authoritative source for cycle dates. ABPN notes that all deadlines are based on 11:59 pm CT. Because dates and requirements are revised between cycles, re-check shortly before you apply.