Primary source verifications of credentials are required by most medical regulatory authorities worldwide, so if you are planning to work internationally as a doctor, you will require an official report of confirmed primary source verifications. EPIC is the most commonly used report and this guide explains how apply for an EPIC Portfolio Account and report.

Gone are the days when medical regulatory authorities would issue a licence to practise in a country or jurisdiction on the basis of viewing original copies of a doctor's medical degree and postgraduate qualifications. A few fake doctors, often detected only after several years of practice, put an end to the basic system of trust and personal honour and now most medical regulatory organisations worldwide require some form of official report which proves that all qualifications and professional licences have been verified at the primary source of origin.

The most commonly used system is the EPIC Report, accepted worldwide except in the Middle East Gulf States which have their own similar system called DataFlow.

Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK and Ireland all use the primary source verification acquired through the EPIC portfolio. If you are planning to work as a doctor in any of these countries, then you will need to have an EPIC Portfolio Account and an EPIC Report and it is wise to organise this early on in the recruitment process as it can take some time to complete (depending upon the country which awarded your qualifications) and you will not be able to get a licence to practice without it.

The application follows a simple process - registration, identity verification and upload of documents for primary source verification of qualifications, then generation of the report. The report lasts a lifetime so you need only do it once.

What is EPIC?

The Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials is a service of the USA based Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) which is "the authorized credential evaluation and guidance agency for non-U.S. physicians and graduates of non-U.S. medical schools who seek to practice in the United States or apply for a U.S. medical residency program."

The ECFMG provides access to a high-quality service that verifies the authenticity of credentials related to a physician’s medical education, training, and registration/licensure. This primary-source verification is a best practice and the best protection against fraudulent credentials.

Physicians can also build up a digital portfolio of credentials related to their education, training and registration - this portfolio can grow as your career grows and follow you from country to country.

What is primary source verification? 

Primary source verification or source verification is the process of confirming authenticity directly with the source of a document.

This means that the ECFMG will contact the university or organisation which issued your qualifications and licence to practise in a particular jurisdiction to confirm the authenticity of the qualifications, documents issued and licence to practise. This is usually a routine and quickly processed service which is completed with 1-2 months. However, some organisations are slow to respond to requests for verifications and delays can extend the time frame of the service.

How does it work?

The first step to start using EPIC is to go to the EPIC account page and complete a request to establish an account. The request requires that you submit some basic personal information, details about your medical education, and, if applicable, details about your postgraduate medical education and licensure. You also will be asked to provide a digital photograph and scanned image of your passport.

If you take some time to gather the necessary information before you begin your request, it should only take about 15 minutes to complete. Before you begin, make sure you have the following available:

• a full-colour photograph of your face (see Photograph for more details);
• a scanned, full-colour copy of the photograph page of your current, unexpired passport (see Passport for more details);
• information about your medical education, including your medical school identification number (if applicable) and attendance and degree issue dates;
• your medical licensure information (if applicable), including any identification numbers;
• your ECFMG/USMLE Identification Number (if you have one); and
• your ECFMG International Credentials Services (EICS) Identification Number (if you have one).

Important Note: If you are unable to provide all information and identity documentation in one session or if you leave the request for any reason, your request will not be saved and you will be required to begin a new request when you return. Make sure you gather all of the above items, including your scanned passport and photograph, prior to beginning your request!

Prior to establishing an EPIC Account:

• You are responsible for reading and becoming familiar with the ECFMG Policies and Procedures Regarding Irregular Behavior (available on the website)
• Refer to EPIC Reports on the Using EPIC page if you plan to send reports to U.S. state medical boards for the purpose of medical licensure.

Full payment is due at the time you submit your request to establish an EPIC Account. For more information on fees and payment, see Fees.

EPIC will send you an e-mail to confirm receipt of your request to establish an EPIC Account.

Once your account request has been processed, EPIC will send you an e-mail containing your EPIC ID and instructions on how to complete the final step in the account establishment process, completion of the EPIC Identification Form (EIF) to confirm your identity. See EPIC Identification Form (EIF) for more details.

EPIC also will send additional e-mails that include your temporary user name and your temporary password. For security reasons, your user name and password will be sent in separate e-mails. Please allow three business days for ECFMG to process your account request; if you do not receive these e-mails within three business days, please contact EPIC.

Once you have a valid EIF on file, you can begin Using EPIC to upload credentials and build your career portfolio!

Electronic copies of medical documents and credentials should be uploaded in PDF, JPG or TIF format. More information and the full list of credentials that can be uploaded to EPIC can be seen on their website. 

Please note that all documents which are not written in English must be accompanied by a certified, official translation to English.

How much does it cost?

There are three lots of fees payable for the service:

1. Account opening fee
2. Credential verification fee
3. Report issue fee

Additional fees can be paid for optional courier services to expedite the report.

Full details of EPIC fees are available on their website.

Full payment is due at the time you submit your request for service. You can pay on-line through EPIC by credit card; ECFMG accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express.

Once you have requested and paid for a service through EPIC, you cannot cancel that service and obtain a refund. If EPIC staff determine that your request for service cannot be processed, you will be notified that your request cannot be processed, and any payment received with that request will be credited to your EPIC financial account.

Funds credited to your EPIC Account will be available for a period of two years to pay for service requests. Any funds not used during a two-year period will be forfeited to ECFMG; this means that you will lose those funds. The two-year period is calculated from the date of last transactional activity in the account. A refund request should be made to claim any funds that will not be used prior to the expiration of the two-year period.

You can monitor the status of your account, including dates on which payments were made to your account, using EPIC.

In some countries, employers will refund the cost of the report and document translations so please ensure that you retain all receipts!

What are the benefits of EPIC Reports?

1: Build a portfolio of your credentials

As soon as you establish an account with EPIC,  you can get your credentials verified and generate a report which is valid for many medical licensing boards across the world. Your credentials need be validated only once and your portfolio remains active and accessible for the duration of your career.

2: World class verification

The ECFMG has been conducting primary source verifications for over 30 years and has developed a rigorous, multi-step verification process, recognised across the world.

3: Online services

As everything on EPIC is web-based, your credentials are just as mobile as you are and you can access them wherever you are in the world. This allows you to store all your verified credentials in one secure location. 

Medical Jobs in Countries Requiring an EPIC Report

If you wish to work in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK, Ireland, Singapore or Hong Kong, please register your CV and contact us to discuss your options. You can view advertised jobs and apply for them with a recent CV. Please ensure that your CV addresses all eligibility criteria as defined in the job advert.