The ABR is a nonprofit organization; and to sustain the mission of the Board, revenue has to balance expenses. The board has done analyses in the past for initial and subspecialty certifications on a cost-per-candidate basis, and has used a similar process for the MOC fees determination. For those initiating a full 10-year cycle, the $2800 fee will be billed in equal annual installments over the 10 years. You must remain current with your payments throughout the MOC cycle.

Current analysis and setting of fees are based on the development of a new ABR MOC division with creation of new space, the addition of a division chair and three full-time staff, as well as significant Information Technology infrastructure. This division is expected to grow incrementally.

Please note that the ABR reserves the right to make changes in its fees, policies, and procedures at any time, and cannot assume responsibility for giving advance notice thereof.

The annual fee pays for ABR services related to all four components of the MOC program, including the staff and infrastructure resources required for their development and ongoing service. The fee covers:

• Your examination fee (i.e., there is no additional fee due at the time of exam registration)
• Your Personal Data Base (PDB) on the ABR web site
• Information resources - web sites and resource people to answer your questions about any part of the process
• Annual - or more - contact from the ABR to help you understand program requirements and where you stand in relation to them
• The ABR's partnership with societies in qualifying appropriate self-assessment modules, and appropriate practice quality improvement projects

For those with cycles ending in 2015 and before, there is a schedule of prorated fees because the program was still in development. For cycles ending in 2004-2006, the fee was $1400; for the cohort with cycle ending in 2007, the fee is $1900, and it increases $100 per cohort until it reaches the "full cycle fee" of $2800 for the cohort with certificates ending in 2016.

Whatever the total amount for the MOC cycle, the fee is billed in equal annual installments from 2006 through the last year of the cycle. Thus, the $2000 fee for a cycle ending in 2008 results in a $666 annual fee, while the $2800 fee for a cycle ending in 2016 results in a $280 annual fee.

In 2004, the policy called for an enrollment, mid-cycle, and exam fee, totaling $2800. In 2005, the board of trustees revised the policy to an annual fee policy. The reason was to facilitate annual communication between the diplomates and the board, and to avoid large, lump-sum payments such as $1400 at the time of the examination.

When the first annual invoices were sent out in 2006, any fees the diplomate had previously paid within the current MOC cycle were counted toward the cycle fee, and the remaining fee due was divided equally over the remaining cycle years. Please call the ABR office if you are uncertain how your fee was calculated.