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American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
The American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (ABOMP) endeavors to represent the interest of oral and maxillofacial pathologists within the profession itself, in the dental and medical community, and to the public at large. The ABOMP administers two types of exams through Pearson. Both exams are administered through Pearson testing centers.
The Initial Certification Examination is administered on a yearly basis for those candidates wishing to become certified. This exam is administered at Pearson Professional Centers in the continental United States and Canada (except Quebec).
Scheduling Instructions for All Examinations
IMPORTANT: Test takers for ABOMP exams will receive instructions by email for scheduling a Pearson exam appointment from the ABOMP. Instructions will be sent after the ABOMP reviews and approves the applications for each exam. Test takers are unable to schedule a Pearson appointment until the ABOMP furnishes them with instructions for doing so.
Test takers will receive an email from ABOMP when the scheduling period opens with instructions for scheduling an exam. Examination appointments may be made during the designated Exam Scheduling period only (dates to be announced by email). The appointment testing time noted on Pearson web pages reflects the total appointment time, including a tutorial, examination, breaks if applicable, and exit survey. Exam locations may be limited, schedule your examination as soon as possible when the scheduling period opens.
All ABOMP exam test takers must create a new Pearson account to schedule an ABOMP exam.
If you are requesting special accommodations for an examination including accommodations for nursing mothers, please contact support@abomp.org prior to scheduling an exam appointment. We must notify Pearson that you have been approved for an accommodation before you can schedule.
If you need assistance in scheduling or creating an account with Pearson, please contact Pearson customer service.
Initial Certification Examination
The Initial Certification Examination is divided into two days. They are computer-based examinations consisting of two sections of free-response virtual microscopy, a free-response clinical practical section with images, and a multiple-choice, single best answer format written section.
Visit the Application for Initial Certification secton on ABOMP's website for more detailed information about what to expect at Pearson Test Centers, ID policy and daily exam schedules.
View a practice tutorial and a virtual microscopy demonstration to familiarize yourself with the exam administration platform and virtual microscopy viewing software administered by the American Board of Pathology (ABPath) and used by ABOMP.
At the beginning of an ABOMP exam, you will be required to agree to the terms and conditions of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Honor Code.
Submission of the initial certifying examination application constitutes intent to sit for that year’s examination. If a candidate applying for the ABOMP certifying examination chooses to cancel, there will be no refund of the examination fee.
If any of the following occurs, a candidate will forfeit the entire examination fee:
- Candidate registers for the examination with ABOMP and does not schedule the examination with Pearson by the scheduling deadline date.
- Candidate cancels the examination or does not appear for the examination on the scheduled examination dates.
- Candidate arrives more than 15 minutes after the scheduled examination start time.
If a candidate cancels the examination due to personal illness, the examination fee will be refunded minus a $100 administrative fee. This must be verified by the candidate’s personal physician and supporting documentation must be submitted and received by ABOMP within 30 days of the examination dates. If the cancellation occurs within 48 hours of the examination dates, an additional $400 Pearson no-show fee will be withheld. Other extenuating circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
If you choose to cancel your examination, you must notify the ABOMP by email at support@abomp.org. If you scheduled your exam appointment, you must also contact Pearson or access your online Pearson account to cancel your exam.
Certification Maintenance (CM) Exam
The CM examination takes approximately two hours, start to finish, and consists of 50 multiple-choice, single best answer format clinical practical questions with images.
Visit the CM Requirements & FAQs section on ABOMP's website for more detailed information about the exam process and ID policy.
At the beginning of an ABOMP exam, you will be required to agree to the terms and conditions of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Honor Code.
Submission of the CM application constitutes intent to sit for that year’s examination. If a diplomate applying for the CM examination chooses to cancel, there will be no refund of the examination fee.
If any of the following occurs, a diplomate will forfeit the entire examination fee:
- Diplomate registers for the examination with ABOMP and does not schedule the examination with Pearson by the scheduling deadline date.
- Diplomate cancels the examination or does not appear for the examination on the scheduled examination date.
- Diplomate arrives more than 15 minutes after the scheduled examination start time.
If a diplomate cancels the examination due to personal illness, the examination fee will be refunded minus a $100 administrative fee. This must be verified by the diplomate’s personal physician and supporting documentation must be submitted and received by ABOMP within 30 days of the examination date. If the cancellation occurs within 48 hours of the examination date, an additional $400 Pearson no-show fee will be withheld. Other extenuating circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
If you choose to cancel your examination, you must notify the ABOMP by email at support@abomp.org. If you scheduled your exam appointment, you must also contact Pearson or access your online Pearson account to cancel your exam.
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Last updated 2026-05-07