Candidates who have initiated the certification process prior to July 1, 2009 (i.e. submitted an application for the primary certification written examination or the subspecialty certification examination), are exempt from these new requirements and will follow the previous certification requirements.  The previous certification requirements state that there is no time-frame requirement to attain certification and no requirement to establish Board Eligibility.

Board Eligibility defines the six year time-frame, commencing on the completion date of residency training and terminating on December 31st of the following sixth year, during which a candidate is expected to complete the certification process and attain certification.

Board Eligible is the term used to describe the status granted to a candidate who has met the requirements as established by the AOA.

Be a member in good standing of the AOA;.

Have had all years of osteopathic training approved by the ACOOG;

Have had all years of ACGME training approved by the AOA;

Submit the prescribed Application for Board Eligibility along with all documentation and fee(s) as specified by the American Osteopathic Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AOBOG).

Board Eligible status shall terminate on December 31 of the sixth year following completion of the residency training. Upon termination of this status, the candidate may no longer use the designation "Board Eligible".

If a candidate does not successfully complete the certification process within the period of eligibility, Board Eligible status will be automatically terminated and so recorded by the AOBOG.

Failure to maintain AOA membership will result in loss of Board Eligible status.

Failure to attain certification during the board eligibility time-frame requires the candidate to initiate re-entry into the certification process in its entirety.

Board Eligible status automatically terminates with certification.

Termination of Board Eligible status will be reported to the AOA Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists and to the candidate.

Failure to attain certification during the board eligibility time-frame requires the candidate to initiate re-entry into the certification process in its entirety

A candidate who has not attained certification at the end of six years of board eligibility, may petition the AOBOG to re-enter the certification process. The AOBOG will grant the candidate the ability to re-enter the process after which the candidate must apply for each subsequent examination at its first available administration.

The candidate will have two attempts to pass each step of the examination process. If a failure of any of the steps occurs, the candidate must repeat that examination at the next available administration.

In the event that a candidate fails to achieve certification status in the first re-entry process, the candidate must re-petition the AOBOG for a second and final re-entry process. The AOBOG will establish the requirements that the candidate must complete prior to being granted admission to the second re-entry process. The established requirements will be submitted to the Standards Review Committee of the AOA Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists for approval.

Upon completion of the requirements, the candidate will have two attempts to pass each step of the examination process. If a failure of any of the steps occurs, the candidate must repeat that examination at the next available administration.

If the candidate is unsuccessful in the second re-entry process, there will be no further opportunities to achieve certification.