CHICAGO, Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- To help physicians, medical specialists, researchers, board certification professionals, and the public learn more about board certification, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) has released the 2025-2026 ABMS Board Certification Report. ABMS also updated the ABMS Data Viewer, which provides free access to aggregated board certification data collected by ABMS and its 24 Member Boards, enabling users to explore and better understand the distribution of board certified physicians and specialists across the U.S. healthcare system.

According to the latest report, more than one million physicians and medical specialists (diplomates) are certified by an ABMS Member Board. ABMS board certification provides an independent evaluation of a physician or medical specialist's knowledge and skills, serving as a trusted credential patients can rely upon when selecting a provider for their healthcare needs.

"ABMS board certification indicates to patients that their physician or medical specialist has met rigorous standards for knowledge and skills," said Richard E. Hawkins, MD, ABMS President and Chief Executive Officer. "By pairing the latest certification report with the enhanced Data Viewer, ABMS is making trusted information more accessible and helping patients better understand the evolving physician workforce."

The 2025-2026 ABMS Board Certification Report reflects a growing population of diplomates who use board certification to demonstrate their specialty expertise and continued commitment to provide safe, high-quality, and effective care.

The new report offers updated, interesting facts about the ABMS board certification landscape and diplomates, including (as of June 30, 2026):

- 1,020,705 diplomates hold an active certification.

- 36,206 new specialty certificates and 15,018 new subspecialty certificates were awarded.

- 796,162 diplomates were participating in continuing certification.

- The breakdown of age and gender for the diplomate population continues to change over time. Currently, 35.3% of all active diplomates are women, while 58.3% are men. Note that 6.3 % of diplomates are unknown.

- Younger diplomates (35-44 years old) are nearly evenly distributed between males (46.7%) and females (43.5%), with approximately 9.8% of diplomates' genders unknown.

Introduced in 2025, the ABMS Data Viewer makes aggregated data available with filtered views. It is organized by Member Board Overview, U.S. Certificates, Continuing Certification Participation, U.S. State Distribution, and International Certificates. Within each view, users may apply filters such as age, gender, specialty, and geographic location. The updated ABMS Data Viewer includes the ability to choose a specific month of interest. It currently includes June, July, and August 2026, with months being added throughout the year.

ABMS also recently published the 2027 ABMS Guide to Medical Specialties. This edition of the guide provides an overview of board certification and descriptions of each specialty and subspecialty area in which physicians may be certified.

About ABMS

Established in 1933, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is responsible for the creation of standards overseeing physician certification in the United States. Dedicated to improving the quality of care to the patients, families, and communities they serve, the 24 ABMS Member Boards develop educational and professional standards and programs of assessment to certify physicians and medical specialists. More than one million physicians and medical specialists are certified by one or more of the ABMS Member Boards in one or more of 38 specialties and 90 subspecialties. For more information about ABMS, visit abms.org or call (312) 436-2600.

SOURCE American Board of Medical Specialties

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