National Board of Medical Examiners
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
NBME advances assessment of health care professionals to achieve optimal care for all. While centered on assessment of physicians, this mission encompasses the spectrum of health professionals along the continuum of education, training and practice and includes research in evaluation as well as development of assessment tools.For further information visit www.nbme.org.
- Income
- $189.8 million
- Spending
- $178.6 million
- Spent on programs
- 80%
- Reserves
- 21.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 91%
- Employees
- 647
- Volunteers
- 679
- Highest pay
- $2.2 million, president & ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 96 out of 100. Higher than 92% of charities in its peer group (health care, over $100m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 21.7 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 19% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 6% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 9% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1580% of spending went to programs.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 52% of charities in its peer group (health care, over $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2511 of 12 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $88.5 million spent. The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is a three-step examination for medical licensure in the United States and is sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and NBME. The USMLE program supports medical licensing authorities in the United States through its leadership in the development, delivery, and continual improvement of high-quality assessments across the continuum of physicians' preparation for practice. It assesses a physician's ability to apply knowledge, concepts, and principles that are important in health and disease and that constitute the basis of safe and effective patient care.For further information visit www.usmle.org.Note: The expenses reflected above do not include management and general expenses.
- $29.9 million spent. The Medical School and Student Services program provides assessment services to domestic and international medical schools, students, and residents. Assessments include the subject examination program, self-assessment services, and web-based examination programs and pilot projects. Subject exams measure achievement in the traditional basic and clinical science disciplines and are used to compare student performance with a national reference group. A series of web-based self-assessments are available to help students assess their readiness to take USMLE. Faculty services include item-writing workshops, and medical school liaison activities include the Advisory Committee for Medical School Programs.Note: The expenses reflected above do not include management and general expenses.
- $14.6 million spent. The Growth and Innovation unit includes the Office of Research which supports NBMEs research enterprise by coordinating NBMEs research efforts across the organization and ensuring that NBMEs research portfolio is consistent with institutional priorities. In addition to these defined programs of research and development, each program area and service unit is charged to carry on a program of research and development relevant to the work of the program or unit, for example, development of new item formats for USMLE, exploring relationships between prior measures and certifying exam performance for those we serve and developing new testing methods for those we serve. These research and development activities result in the publication of dozens of research reports in scientific journals and presentations at scientific meetings each year.The Office of Research is responsible for conducting research related to improving the quality and efficiency of NBME products, services, and procedures. It is also aimed at developing capabilities that allow NBME to expand its range of assessments both geographically and across the health professions. In addition to this work, the Office of Research provides non-routine technical support to other organizational divisions and subunits and conducts research to contribute to the field of measurement.This unit delivers information vital for planning strategy related to innovative assessments to meet stakeholder needs. They support conception and market testing of product ideas and the research to investigate and sustain products and services.On January 31, 2024, NBME completed the acquisition of the assets of MedVR Education (MedVR), a business segment of ELearning Design Center, LLC, based in South Lyon, Michigan. MedVR is an extended reality platform that offers both off-the-shelf and customized virtual reality simulation training solutions for patient care, critical care nursing skills, and health care management utilized by universities and healthcare institutions.The primary reasons for the acquisition included expanding NBME's capabilities in innovation and enhancing its portfolio of advanced educational technologies. Specifically, NBME acquired MedVR to leverage its leading technology in simulation-based learning to support NBMEs strategic objective of developing new tools and assessments that support learners throughout their medical education.
- $10.5 million spent. Custom Programs consist of a diverse portfolio of global customized assessment services and examination programs. The primary sources of revenue for Custom Programs are Health Profession Services, the Health and Wellness Coach Certifying Examination and the Post Licensure Assessment System. The Health Profession Services program provides comprehensive assessment, educational, consultative, and research services for healthcare organizations. During 2024, NBME's Health Profession Services worked with a variety of organizations to administer examinations for purposes of licensure and other evaluations of special competence for examination programs sponsored by health-related organizations. These organizations included allied health professional associations, members of the American Board of Medical Specialties, and medical societies. Examinations are administered worldwide, where applicable.NBME and the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching collaborate to provide the Health and Wellness Coach Certifying Examination. The collaboration provides an opportunity to draw upon the unique capabilities of each organization to provide a high-quality assessment for health and wellness coaches. Exam content is developed by nationally recognized leaders in the field of health and wellness coaching and covers areas such as coaching structure and process, health and wellness, and ethics.The Post-Licensure Assessment System (PLAS) is a joint activity of NBME and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). PLAS comprises two programs: the Special Purpose Examination (SPEX) Program and the Assessment Center Program (ACP). SPEX is a one-day, multiple-choice examination of current knowledge requisite for the general, undifferentiated practice of medicine and is intended to be used for reasons of endorsement or reciprocity of licensure. The ACP provides comprehensive objective and personalized assessments of physicians for whom there is a question regarding clinical competence. Together, the PLAS programs have assessed physicians for reasons that range from endorsement of licensure to license reactivation after disciplinary action.Note: The expenses reflected for Custom Programs on Part III, line 4d do not include management and general expenses.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since September 1937.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
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