About COMLEX-USA
All osteopathic medical students are required to take COMLEX Levels 1 and 2. COMLEX Level 3 is taken during post-graduate medical training. The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) website provides the following description of the COMLEX exams:
"The COMLEX-USA series is designed to assess the osteopathic medical knowledge and clinical skills considered essential for osteopathic generalist physicians to practice medicine without supervision. COMLEX-USA is constructed in the context of medical problem-solving which involves clinical presentations and physician tasks." For additional information on the NBOME and COMLEX exams, please refer to the website.
Students take the COMLEX level 1 following completion of their second year and level 2 after completion of their third year. Level 3 must be taken after graduation and during residency.
First-Time Pass Rates for COMLEX-USA Level 1
| Testing Cycle | First-Time Pass Rate | National Pass Rate |
|---|---|---|
| May 2018–April 2019 | 98.8% | 93% |
| May 2019–April 2020 | 97.8% | 94.3% |
| May 2020–April 2021 | 98.1% | 93.7% |
| May 2021–April 2022* | 94.4% | 92.2% |
| May 2022–April 2023* as of July 26, 2022 | 96.9% | 94.9% |
First-Time Pass Rates for COMLEX Level 2 Cognitive Evaluation (CE)
| Testing Cycle | First-Time Pass Rate | National Pass Rate |
|---|---|---|
| June 2018–May 2019 | 98.9% | 95.6% |
| June 2019–May 2020 | 99.4% | 96.8% |
| June 2020–May 2021 | 98.3% | 96.5% |
| June 2021–May 2022* | 97.6% | 95% |
First-Time Pass Rates for COMLEX-USA Level 2 Performance Evaluation (PE)
The NBOME indefinitely postponed the COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE in 2020. Please refer to NBOME for the latest information.
| Testing Cycle | First-Time Pass Rate | National Pass Rate |
|---|---|---|
| March 2017–February 2018 | 92.4% | 93.2% |
| March 2018–February 2019 | 92.8% | 93.2% |
| March 2019–March 2020 | 90.4% | 92% |
First-Time Pass Rate for COMLEX-USA Level 3
| Testing Cycle | First-Time Pass Rate | Number of Students |
|---|---|---|
| September 2018–December 2019 | 99.1% | 229 |
| January 2020–December 2020 | 98.7% | 156 |
| January 2021–December 2021* | 97.5% | 157 |
| January 2022–December 2022* as of July 26, 2022 | 99.1% | 105 |
*Data represent all test takers during the specified cycle. First-time test taker results for these cycles are not yet available from NBOME.