ABR-NMP-P2 Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling

The 2027 ABR-NMP-P2 Cycle at a Glance

Nuclear Medical Physics Part 2 candidates work on a fixed annual cycle administered by the American Board of Radiology. Unlike open-enrollment certificate programs, this exam has a defined application window, a single invitation period, and one published test date per cycle. For the 2027 cycle, the American Board of Radiology has published the application window, invitation timing, and the examination date itself. Understanding how these three checkpoints connect lets you plan residency completion, Part 1 timing, and study blocks with far less guesswork than treating "exam dates" as a single isolated fact.

If you are still confirming which credential and content this article covers, see our companion piece on What Is ABR-NMP-P2? before mapping dates to your own eligibility timeline.

Application Window and Deadlines

The current ABR certification page lists the 2027 Part 2 application window as opening the first business day in February and closing March 31, 2027. That six- to eight-week window is the only opportunity to submit your application for the August 2027 administration - there is no rolling or late-application path published for this exam.

• Window opens: First business day of February 2027
• Window closes: March 31, 2027
• Where to apply: Through myABR, the American Board of Radiology's candidate portal

Because eligibility documentation (Part 1 results, residency progress verification) must be in order before you apply, candidates who are still finishing Part 1 or residency milestones should review ABR-NMP-P2 Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify well before February to avoid a missed cycle entirely.

From Registration Invitation to Test Day

Applying is not the same as registering for a seat. After the application window closes, the American Board of Radiology reviews eligibility and sends registration invitations to approved applicants. For the 2027 cycle, those invitations go out in May 2027 - roughly three months before the exam itself. Registration for the exam takes place through myABR once invited.

The published 2027 examination date for Nuclear Medical Physics Part 2 is August 11, 2027. That gives approved candidates a study runway of several months between invitation and test day, which is the window most candidates use for focused, domain-by-domain review rather than broad content coverage.

Candidates who want a fuller picture of what those months of preparation should contain - not just when to start - can cross-reference the ABR-NMP-P2 Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt alongside this scheduling timeline.

Exam Day Format and Timing Breakdown

Once your test date arrives, the exam itself runs as a single, remotely proctored, computer-based session administered by the ABR. There is no split into a morning and afternoon block - everything happens in one sitting through the remote-proctoring platform.

Question format is predominantly multiple-choice, though ABR preparation materials also describe image-location items presented as Drag and Drop - for example, identifying an anatomical site, an equipment component, or a specific region on a graph. This format detail matters for scheduling because image-based items on collimation, SPECT/CT hardware, or dose-response curves can take longer to work through than a straightforward multiple-choice question, so pacing practice should account for that variability rather than assuming a flat time-per-question average.

Technical requirements are non-negotiable parts of the date-planning process: a private, quiet testing space, one active monitor, and an external side-view webcam are required, and ABR staff monitor sessions live and review recordings. Before your scheduled date, you must complete the Exam Readiness Check using the exact computer and location you intend to test from - this should be finished well ahead of August 11, 2027, not the night before.

Permitted resources on exam day include an embedded calculator or ABR-approved handheld calculator, plus a compliant physical erasable whiteboard that must be clear at both the start and end of the session. Scratch paper and personal notes are prohibited. ABR also supplies a list of constants and physical values for calculations, though it does not guarantee the list contains every value you might need - reviewing its organization ahead of time, alongside decay and Mo-99/Tc-99m generator calculator familiarization exercises, is worth building into your pre-exam-date checklist.

Fees Tied to Registration Dates

Fee payment is directly tied to the registration timeline, not a separate transaction you can defer. The Part 2 examination fee of USD 640 is due at registration - meaning once you receive your May 2027 invitation and register through myABR, payment is part of securing your August test date. This is separate from the standard initial medical physics certification application fee of USD 250, which is a distinct pathway charge from the exam fee itself.

• Part 2 exam fee: USD 640, due at registration
• Initial certification application fee: USD 250, a separate pathway charge
• Re-examination fee (after a first-attempt failure): USD 250, one-time

All fees are nonrefundable. If you prepay and then cancel or fail to attend, ABR applies those prepaid funds to your next available exam rather than issuing a refund - another reason the application and registration deadlines above deserve a spot on your calendar well in advance. For a full breakdown of every charge across the certification pathway, see ABR-NMP-P2 Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Eligibility Deadlines You Cannot Miss

Exam dates only matter if your eligibility clock is aligned with them. Standard Part 2 eligibility requires having passed both the General and Clinical sections of Part 1, and completing - or being clearly on track to complete - a CAMPEP-accredited residency or Doctor of Medical Physics program by August 31 of the exam year. For the 2027 cycle, that means your training timeline needs to be locked in well before the August 11 test date, since the August 31 completion deadline sits just weeks after it.

Already board-certified medical physicists pursuing Nuclear Medical Physics as an additional specialty follow a different pathway involving ABR-approved prospective, supervised clinical training while maintaining their existing certification - their application-window planning may look different from a first-time candidate's. Either way, passing Part 2 alone does not confer board certification; it is one component of the broader initial-certification pathway that also requires Parts 1 and 3. A detailed walkthrough of every prerequisite lives in ABR-NMP-P2 Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

Results Timeline and Retake Planning

Results are normally posted in myABR, with email notification, approximately one month after the examination. For the August 11, 2027 date, that puts most candidates checking results around mid-September 2027. Because passing/failing is determined by a criterion-referenced standard - your performance measured against an established passing standard, not against other candidates - there is no curve to anticipate while you wait.

If the outcome is not what you hoped for, failing Part 2 requires retaking the entire examination; there is no partial retest of individual domains. That retake carries the one-time USD 250 re-examination fee after a first-attempt failure, and it also means re-entering the annual application cycle described above - another reason to treat the February-March application window and August exam date as fixed anchors you plan backward from, not forward toward. For context on how outcomes are typically distributed, see ABR-NMP-P2 Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows, and note that ABR's published Part 2 pass-rate figures are all-specialty aggregates, not numbers specific to the Nuclear Medical Physics pathway.

Building a Study Calendar Around the Test Date

With a known invitation month (May 2027) and a known test date (August 11, 2027), most candidates have roughly three months to structure focused review. Rather than a generic weekly template, the calendar should follow the five official content areas in the order the ABR content guide presents them, since later domains build on calculation habits established earlier.

Notice that generic study techniques - spaced repetition, timed drills, error logs - only earn their place here because they are anchored to specific domains and the exact 130-question, 4h1m format you will face on August 11, 2027. For a domain-by-domain breakdown of what each content area actually tests, read ABR-NMP-P2 Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas, and pair it with realistic timed sets on our practice test platform to build pacing instincts before test day.

Frequently Asked Questions