New MOC Exam Registration Process

May 31, 2017

The American Board of Surgery (ABS) is pleased to introduce a streamlined, paperless registration process for its MOC exams in general surgery, vascular surgery, pediatric surgery, and surgical critical care. With this new system, the registration process for an MOC exam can potentially be completed in just a few days.

A separate exam application is no longer required, nor are any hardcopy paper submissions. As long as surgeons are meeting the requirements of the ABS Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program and have an ABS certificate that will expire in three years or less, they may register for the exam.

Quick Guide to New Registration Process (pdf)

Once logged into the online registration process, surgeons first will be asked to update their personal and practice information. They will then be asked to submit four items through the ABS website:

Operative experience report
Registration fee
Information for reference forms
Attestation form (brief legal form)

Submission of reference forms will now be done entirely online. Once the surgeons' registration is approved, their exam admission authorization letter, with the details needed to schedule at a testing center, will be posted on the exam registration page within 24-48 hours.

Eligible surgeons are encouraged to use the links below to learn more about their exam and the new paperless process. We have also created a Quick Guide (pdf) with step-by-step instructions.

General Surgery MOC Exam

Vascular Surgery MOC Exam

Pediatric Surgery MOC Exam

Surgical Critical Care MOC Exam

About the ABS

The American Board of Surgery is an independent, nonprofit organization founded in 1937 for the purpose of certifying individuals who have met a defined standard of education, training and knowledge in the field of surgery. Surgeons certified by the ABS have completed at least five years of surgical training following medical school and successfully completed a written and oral examination process administered by the ABS. They must then maintain their board certification through ongoing learning and practice improvement activities.
The ABS offers board certification in general surgery, vascular surgery, pediatric surgery, surgical critical care, complex general surgical oncology, surgery of the hand, and hospice and palliative medicine. It is one of the 24 member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties.