PM&R Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts

Exam Snapshot: Format, Fees, Scoring

This cheat sheet condenses the operational facts every candidate for Certification in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) through the American Osteopathic Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AOBPMR) needs on one page. It focuses specifically on the Part I Written Exam for initial certification - not the oral exam and not the renewal/longitudinal assessment, which have separate rules and separate study resources.

• Format: 100 multiple-choice questions
• Time allowed: 4 hours
• Written exam fee: $750
• Part II Oral Exam fee: $750 (separate exam, separate fee)
• Late fee: $225, applied per applicable examination
• Passing score: 500 on a 200-800 scaled range
• Pass rate: 92% five-year aggregate for first-time board-eligible examinees

Registration Timeline for This Cycle

The October 15, 2026 written examination was remotely proctored, with registration opening April 15, 2026. The regular deadline fell on August 15, and the final (late) deadline closed on September 15 - meaning registration for this specific administration has now closed. Missing the regular deadline still allowed registration through the final deadline, but only with the $225 late fee attached.

If you missed this window, don't guess at the next one from memory - the full cycle-by-cycle breakdown, including how deadlines typically space out across a year, is covered in PM&R Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling. Budgeting for both exam fees and possible late fees is easier when you see the full cost picture at once in PM&R Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Domain-by-Domain Breakdown

The Part I Written Exam draws from four published domains, each with a defined percentage range. Knowing these ranges tells you where to spend your review hours.

Eligibility Checklist

Before registering, confirm you meet every eligibility component the board verifies:

• An accepted medical degree, or a qualifying ECFMG certificate for international graduates
• Completion of an AOA-approved internship where applicable
• Completed (or within three months of completing) an AOA-approved or ACGME-accredited PM&R residency, verified directly by the program director
• DO applicants with ACGME residency training must have AOA approval, per the written-exam page
• Compliance with the board's documentation and ethics requirements

Part I must be passed before you're eligible to sit Part II. The oral exam additionally requires completed residency and active licensure, and final certification only follows AOA approval. A full walk-through of every prerequisite lives at PM&R Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

Remote Proctoring Setup

Recent written exam administrations, including the October 15, 2026 sitting, are remotely proctored through MonitorEDU. AOA guidance for remote exams calls for:

• The MonitorEDU secure browser installed and tested in advance
• PARADIGM practice-platform checks completed before exam day
• A compatible computer plus a compatible mobile device
• A private, quiet room free of interruptions and unauthorized materials

OCC and Longitudinal Assessment Basics

Passing Part I (and eventually Part II) leads to a ten-year primary certification term, conditional on ongoing Osteopathic Continuous Certification (OCC) participation. In 2021, longitudinal assessment replaced the traditional decennial high-stakes exam for maintaining certification.

• CME requirement (2025-2027 cycle): 75 CME credits total, including 18 Category 1-A credits
• Practice component: One Practice Performance Assessment module or quality-improvement activity attestation per three-year cycle
• Licensure: Active licensure required throughout
• Question release: Beginning in 2026, all 30 untimed annual questions are released together via the AOA Learning Portal instead of quarterly
• Assessment window: Closes November 30 each year
• Passing standard: 80% cumulative grade across three years; a second attempt is available seven days after an unsuccessful first attempt
• Fees: $200 annual assessment fee; $50 late registration fee
• Grace period: New primary certificants get one full calendar year before entering the registration and assessment sequence

Remember: initial written, oral, and renewal assessments each require separate study resources - don't assume a single question bank covers all three stages.

One-Week Rapid Review Plan

If you're using this cheat sheet as a final-week refresher rather than a full study plan, structure your remaining days around domain weight rather than an even split.

For a longer-horizon plan built around this same domain logic, see PM&R Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. If you want a realistic sense of exam difficulty before committing your schedule, read How Hard Is the PM&R Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026. You can also run timed domain-weighted practice sets on our main practice test platform to simulate the four-hour, 100-question format.

FAQ

Keep this cheat sheet handy as a quick-reference companion, not a substitute for full domain study. For background on the credential itself before you dive into exam mechanics, start with PM&R Certification or What Is PM&R?, and when you're ready to test your recall under real time pressure, head to our practice test platform.