USMLE Score Report vs Transcript: How to Read and Send Yours

Short answer: the score report is your personal copy of one exam result, posted by the organization that registered you and kept online for about 365 days. The USMLE transcript is the official record of every Step you have taken, and it is the only version residency programs, licensing boards, and other third parties accept. Since June 4, 2026, all transcript requests for ERAS go through FSMB's USMLE portal for $70 per application cycle.

Score report vs transcript at a glance

How to read your USMLE score report

What you see depends on the Step. Step 1 has been reported as pass/fail only since January 26, 2022. Step 2 CK and Step 3 reports show a three-digit score and a pass/fail outcome; the minimum passing scores are 218 for Step 2 CK and 200 for Step 3.

• Performance comparison (Step 2 CK and Step 3): a histogram of scores from a recent group of first-time takers from U.S. and Canadian medical schools, with your score marked by an orange rectangle and solid line and the minimum passing score by a black rectangle and dashed line.
• Passing Step 1: the report shows the pass outcome without performance feedback.
• Failing Step 1: the report shows, for each content area, whether you scored below, about the same as, or above a low-pass, meaning performance just above the passing standard. Use it to target the weakest areas before a retake.
• Two-day Step 3: the report and transcript show only the first test day, but both days are scored.

The score report does not print a percentile. To see where a Step 2 CK score ranks in the official USMLE norm table, use the Step 2 CK percentile calculator; for Step 3, use the Step 3 percentile calculator.

What percent correct do you need to pass?

USMLE says the percentage of questions you need to answer correctly varies by Step and from form to form, but that examinees typically need about 60% correct to pass. Scores are equated across forms and are not set on a curve, so there is no fixed percentage that guarantees a pass on your form.

When your score report arrives and how long it stays

• Results typically post two to four weeks after your test date; USMLE advises allowing at least eight weeks. You get an email from the organization that registered you.
• USMLE does not give scores by phone, email, or fax, and does not speed up scoring for anyone.
• The score report stays on the registering organization's website for about 365 days from that email. Download a copy; after it is removed, your results are available only as an official transcript, for a fee.

For a date estimate based on your test day, use the USMLE score release dates calculator.

What is on your USMLE transcript

• Your name, date of birth, and other identifying information.
• Your complete history of all Steps you have taken, including attempts with no reported result.
• Whether you previously took the former NBME Parts, FLEX, or the ECFMG Clinical Skills Assessment.
• Any annotations for indeterminate scores, findings of irregular behavior, or actions reported to the FSMB Physician Data Center.

How to send your USMLE transcript to ERAS

1. Create or sign in to your account in FSMB's USMLE portal. Since June 4, 2026, this applies to every examinee, whatever the location of your medical school.
2. Submit the ERAS transcript request and pay the $70 fee, which covers the whole residency application cycle.
3. In MyERAS, open Additional Documents and choose Initiate Score Retrieval. The transcript usually arrives the same day.
4. Assign programs in MyERAS. ERAS then sends your USMLE transcript to the programs you apply to.

Double-check the USMLE ID in your MyERAS account: USMLE says a wrong ID, or a name or date-of-birth mismatch, can delay processing. Programs that use ResidencyCAS, such as obstetrics and gynecology and emergency medicine, get your transcript through a separate request in the same FSMB portal.

Transcripts for licensing boards and other recipients

FSMB now handles every USMLE transcript request. International medical graduates moved from ECFMG to FSMB on August 21, 2024, and non-residency transcripts are now delivered electronically by email rather than on paper. Send transcripts to state medical boards and any other third party through FSMB, since a score report you forward yourself is not accepted as official.

Score rechecks and who else sees your result

• Score recheck: request it, with a fee, within 90 days of your result. The recheck rescores your responses on a separate system; USMLE says it has never changed a score.
• Your medical school: NBME reports Step 1 and Step 2 CK results to LCME- and COCA-accredited schools. To opt out, email the request at least 10 business days before your test date. For Step 3, set the preference on your application.
• International schools: NBME may report results to them; you set the preference on your FSMB application.