ABR (NAR)

It is a computer-based exam administered remotely over three days, taking approximately five and a half hours per day. It is offered twice a year, typically in late May or early June and in November. After registering you receive an Exam Readiness Check link; run it on the same computer and in the same location you will use on exam day.

No. There is no separate physics exam. Physics questions are embedded throughout the Core Exam and reflect the fundamental medical physics radiologists encounter when interpreting images, performing procedures, and consulting colleagues. Performance on physics-related questions is factored into your overall score, so physics cannot be skipped or compartmentalized.

Both the Core and Certifying Exams use criterion-referenced scoring against a fixed standard rather than against other candidates, and each is scored as a whole with a pass or fail result. If your combined performance across all categories does not meet the passing standard, you must retake the entire exam, not individual sections.

It has four modules: the required Essentials of Diagnostic Radiology module, covering core knowledge and noninterpretive skills topics such as contrast reaction management and professionalism, plus three clinical practice modules you choose from areas including breast, cardiac, GI, GU, musculoskeletal, neuroradiology, nuclear, pediatric, thoracic, ultrasound, and vascular and interventional radiology. It takes about seven and a half hours in one day.

Clinical categories offer modules at fundamental and advanced levels. If you take more than one module in the same category, the second and third are at the advanced level. If you choose three different practice areas, each module has the same core difficulty. Pediatric radiology and physics elements are integrated into all clinical modules.

The Core Exam is taken after 36 months of residency; in limited circumstances your program director, or program chair for IMG Alternate Pathway candidates, can request earlier permission. For 2026 and 2027, the Certifying Exam is available after passing the Core Exam and at least 12 months after completing residency. After 2027, candidates take the Oral Exam instead.

It is an oral, case-based exam with seven 25-minute sessions, one per clinical category, each with a different examiner. It is scored by content category: pass, conditional pass, or fail. Failing one or two categories yields a conditional pass and you retake only those categories, re-evaluated by two examiners who both must pass you; failing three or more means retaking the entire exam.

Board eligibility runs six full calendar years from residency completion to initial board certification. Separately, effective July 1, 2026, you must complete your four-year residency within eight years of your residency start date. If you miss an exam opportunity while still within your eligibility period, you are invited to the next available exam.

Start from the ABR's Core Exam domain blueprint, critical concepts, and domain overview, then work through the NIS, physics, and radioisotope safety study guides, since physics and RISC are woven into the exam rather than isolated. A common failure mode is studying only high-yield subspecialty content and neglecting NIS, physics, and safety, whose items still count toward the whole-exam score.

Your program director or coordinator submits your name and email once you start residency, and the ABR sends a welcome notification with myABR instructions. Applications are accepted between July 1 and October 31, with the fee due at application. Computer-based exam results appear in myABR about one month after the exam, with email notification when posted.