Board Certification vs. Maintenance of Certification

Physicians understand the importance of maintaining high standards. Patients, hospitals, credentialing committees, payers, and healthcare organizations all rely on clear evidence that a physician has the knowledge, training, judgment, and ethical commitment required to provide excellent care. Board certification has long served as one of the clearest ways to demonstrate that professional achievement.

But for many physicians, the conversation around certification has become more complicated. Terms such as board certification, recertification, continuing certification, and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) are often used in ways that can create confusion. More importantly, some physicians have raised concerns that certain maintenance of certification systems have become too burdensome, too costly, or too disconnected from the realities of clinical practice.

At the American Board of Physician Specialties® (ABPS), we believe physicians deserve a clear, rigorous, and practical pathway for maintaining board certification. We do not require participation in an annual MOC process. Instead, our Diplomates obtain recertification every eight years through a structured process that emphasizes continuing medical education, ethics, professional standing, and specialty-specific examination.

What Board Certification Means

Board certification is a professional credential that demonstrates a physician has met defined standards in a medical specialty or subspecialty. It reflects more than medical school, residency training, licensure, or practice experience alone. It shows that a physician has completed a formal certification process and demonstrated mastery of a core body of knowledge and skill in their field.

Through our Member Boards, we certify qualified physicians who meet eligibility requirements, adhere to our Code of Ethics, and successfully complete required examinations. ABPS certification helps physicians show patients, hospitals, employers, and credentialing committees that they have achieved a recognized level of specialty expertise.

This matters in practical ways. Board certification can support hospital privileging, payer participation, employment opportunities, leadership roles, and patient confidence. In many settings, it is not simply a professional distinction—it is an important credential that affects how physicians practice and advance in their careers.

What Maintenance of Certification Usually Means

Maintenance of Certification, or MOC, generally refers to an ongoing process used by some certifying organizations to require physicians to complete periodic or annual activities in order to maintain active board certification. These activities may include continuing education, assessments, practice improvement modules, fees, reporting requirements, and other recurring obligations.

The stated goal of maintenance of certification is to promote lifelong learning and continued competency. We agree that physicians should remain current, ethical, and engaged in professional development. The question is not whether physicians should continue learning. They already do. The more important question is whether a specific maintenance of certification model is the best, fairest, and most meaningful way to support that goal.

Many physicians have expressed concern that annual MOC-style requirements can become administratively heavy, expensive, and disruptive. When certification maintenance becomes more about checking boxes than improving care, the process risks losing credibility with the very physicians it is meant to support.

How ABPS Recertification Is Different

We take a different approach. ABPS certifications are valid for eight years and expire on December 31 of the eighth year. To maintain certification, our Diplomates complete recertification through their Member Board rather than participating in an annual MOC process.

Our recertification model is designed to uphold high standards while respecting physicians’ time and professional judgment. We require physicians to demonstrate continued competency through meaningful components, including continuing medical education, ethical standing, and a written recertification examination. Our process is structured, rigorous, and clinically relevant—but it is not built around continuous annual maintenance requirements.

This distinction is important. We do not view physician recertification as a way to burden busy professionals with unnecessary administrative tasks. We view it as a way to confirm that board-certified physicians remain qualified, knowledgeable, ethical, and prepared to provide the care their patients deserve.

Recertification Is Not a Lower Standard

A practical recertification pathway should never be mistaken for an easier or less meaningful pathway. Our recertification standards are designed to be stringent and aligned with the expectations placed on physicians when they originally achieved certification.

To recertify through ABPS, physicians must maintain appropriate professional standing, meet Member Board requirements, complete continuing medical education, fulfill ethics requirements, and pass a written recertification examination. In many cases, physicians with current or recently expired certification from ABPS, ABMS, or AOA may be eligible to apply for recertification with the appropriate ABPS Member Board, provided they meet our requirements.

Our position is straightforward: physicians should be held to high standards, but those standards should be relevant, fair, and connected to real clinical practice.

Why Ethics Is Central to Our Process

At ABPS, we place ethics at the center of board certification and recertification. All ABPS Member Boards require Diplomates to complete a medical ethics course as part of recertification. This requirement reinforces the pledge every ABPS Diplomate makes to adhere to our Code of Ethics and reflects our belief that medical excellence must be grounded in professional integrity.

Knowledge matters. Skill matters. But trust also matters. Patients depend on physicians not only to understand their specialty but also to exercise sound judgment, communicate honestly, act impartially, and place patient welfare at the center of care.

By making ethics a required part of recertification, we emphasize that certification is not only a measure of clinical knowledge. It is also a reflection of professional responsibility.

Why Physicians Want a Choice

Choice in physician board certification matters because no single system should define professional legitimacy for every physician, every specialty, and every practice setting. Physicians work in hospitals, clinics, emergency departments, rural communities, academic centers, private practices, and multidisciplinary health systems. Their professional responsibilities differ, and their paths to expertise are not always identical.

We believe physicians should have access to certification and recertification options that recognize excellence without forcing them into one inflexible maintenance model. A physician who has built a successful career, maintained an unrestricted license, completed substantial CME, practiced ethically, and passed a rigorous examination should have a respected way to demonstrate continued competence.

Choice also supports competition, and competition can improve certification. When physicians have more than one recognized pathway, certifying organizations must remain responsive, practical, and accountable. That benefits physicians, patients, and the healthcare system.

How Patients Benefit From a Practical Certification Model

Patients benefit when board certification remains meaningful, trustworthy, and accessible to qualified physicians. If recertification requirements become unnecessarily burdensome, they can contribute to physician frustration, burnout, and administrative strain. That does not serve patients.

A practical recertification model helps keep physicians focused on what matters most: staying clinically current, practicing ethically, and delivering excellent care. By requiring CME, ethics training, and examination on an eight-year cycle, we support ongoing professional development without turning certification into a constant administrative distraction.

Patients may not always understand the differences between certification models, but they do understand trust. When they see that their physician is board certified, they deserve confidence that the credential reflects real standards, real accountability, and a genuine commitment to care.

How Hospitals and Health Systems Benefit

Hospitals, credentialing committees, and employers also benefit from clear certification pathways. Board certification helps organizations evaluate physician qualifications, support privileging decisions, and maintain quality standards. It can also help healthcare systems recruit and retain physicians in specialties where staffing is challenging.

This is especially important in communities where access to care depends on flexible, qualified physicians. Rural hospitals, emergency departments, maternity care programs, and specialty service lines all need ways to recognize physicians whose training and experience may not fit neatly into one traditional pathway.

Through our Member Boards, we help provide credible certification options that reflect the realities of modern healthcare. Our approach supports both professional accountability and workforce stability.

Board Certification Should Serve Medicine, Not the Other Way Around

We believe certification should serve physicians, patients, and the public—not create unnecessary barriers that distract from care. The purpose of board certification is to identify qualified physicians, support trust, and encourage excellence. The purpose of recertification is to confirm that those standards remain active throughout a physician’s career.

When maintenance systems become too complex, costly, or rigid, they can begin to feel disconnected from that purpose. Physicians should not have to choose between meaningful professional accountability and an administrative process that consumes time without clear clinical value.

Our approach is designed to keep certification focused on what it should measure: knowledge, experience, ethics, and continued professional competence.

The ABPS Commitment

We were founded in 1952 to recognize licensed physicians who have mastered their respective fields of medicine, and we certified our first physician in 1960. Today, we continue to provide board certification and recertification standards that meet the healthcare needs of the public while helping physicians succeed in an evolving medical environment.

Our commitment is to maintain rigorous standards while offering physicians a practical and respected pathway. We believe qualified physicians deserve recognition. We believe patients deserve confidence. And we believe the healthcare system is stronger when certification supports excellence without unnecessary burden.

If you are a physician seeking a meaningful alternative to an annual MOC-style process, we invite you to explore recertification through ABPS. Our Member Boards provide rigorous, respected pathways that support professional accountability, ethical practice, and long-term career stability. Contact us today to learn more about eligibility requirements, recertification options, and how ABPS can help you maintain the credentials you have worked hard to earn.