# USMLE Step 1 pass rate: 2023 to 2025 by school type _Updated 2026-09-05. Every figure is cited to the numbered sources at the end._ ## What is the USMLE Step 1 pass rate? In 2025, 93 percent of first-time examinees from US MD schools passed Step 1 (23,028 tested), along with 89 percent from US DO schools (4,623) and 75 percent from non-US schools (22,066). Repeat examinees passed far less often: 71, 79 and 54 percent respectively.[1] The figures are USMLE's own, and repeaters are counted by examination, not by person. ## First-attempt pass rate by year **USMLE Step 1 first-attempt pass rate, with number tested** | Year | US MD schools | US DO schools | Non-US schools | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 2023 | 92% (23,100) | 87% (4,798) | 72% (22,611) | | 2024 | 91% (23,280) | 86% (4,873) | 73% (22,713) | | 2025 | 93% (23,028) | 89% (4,623) | 75% (22,066) | _USMLE Performance Data, first-time examinees. Through 2024 Canadian schools are counted with US schools; from 2025 they are grouped with non-US schools.[1]_ ## All examinees and repeat examinees **USMLE Step 1 number tested and percent passing, all examinees and repeaters** | Year | Group | Number tested | Percent passing | | --- | --- | ---: | ---: | | 2023 | US MD, all examinees | 25,146 | 90% | | 2023 | US MD, repeat examinees | 2,046 | 70% | | 2023 | US DO, all examinees | 4,913 | 86% | | 2023 | US DO, repeat examinees | 115 | 60% | | 2023 | Non-US, all examinees | 26,141 | 68% | | 2023 | Non-US, repeat examinees | 3,530 | 47% | | 2024 | US MD, all examinees | 25,702 | 89% | | 2024 | US MD, repeat examinees | 2,422 | 70% | | 2024 | US DO, all examinees | 4,988 | 86% | | 2024 | US DO, repeat examinees | 115 | 86% | | 2024 | Non-US, all examinees | 26,634 | 70% | | 2024 | Non-US, repeat examinees | 3,921 | 52% | | 2024 | US MD and DO combined | 30,690 | 88% | | 2025 | US MD, all examinees | 25,126 | 91% | | 2025 | US MD, repeat examinees | 2,098 | 71% | | 2025 | US DO, all examinees | 4,744 | 89% | | 2025 | US DO, repeat examinees | 121 | 79% | | 2025 | Non-US, all examinees | 25,660 | 72% | | 2025 | Non-US, repeat examinees | 3,594 | 54% | | 2025 | US MD and DO combined | 29,870 | 91% | _All examinees means first-time plus repeat. Repeater rows count examinations, so one person who tested twice in a year appears twice. The 2023 table is as reported through March 13, 2024 and the 2024 table through January 24, 2025; USMLE stated no cutoff for 2025, so those rows may still be revised.[1]_ ## How to read these numbers - **Prep-company blogs usually quote the all-examinee MD row** (90, 89 and 91 percent for 2023 to 2025). The first-attempt rows are 92, 91 and 93 percent. Say which one you mean.[1] - **The 2025 grouping changed.** USMLE now counts Canadian schools with non-US schools rather than US schools, so the 2025 US and non-US columns are not strictly comparable with 2024.[1] - **Rates were higher before pass/fail.** Step 1 went pass/fail-only on January 26, 2022.[2] A Blueprint Prep summary gives a US MD pass rate of 95 percent for 2021 and 91 percent for 2022 (all examinees); those two figures come from a secondary source and have not been re-verified on usmle.org.[3] - **A pass rate says nothing about your own odds.** The passing standard is 196 on a scale you never see, and what predicts your result is your NBME self-assessment, whose report prints a probability of passing within the week.[4] The [Step 1 passing score page](https://www.stepgenie.app/usmle/step-1-passing-score) covers what the score report shows and what to do after a fail. ## What predicts whether you pass NBME's CBSSA report gives an equated percent correct with a likely range of about plus or minus 4 points and reads it against a low-pass band: fully below means at risk, partly below means borderline, fully above means likely ready.[4] Anchor points quoted from NBME's July 2024 recalibration put an EPC of 64 at a 92 percent chance of passing and 68 at 97 percent.[5] A single form is one estimate with a range around it, so read two forms before you commit to a date, and use the free [StepGenie self-assessment](https://www.stepgenie.app/self-assessment) in between to see which systems are dragging the number down. ## Frequently asked questions ### What percentage of people fail Step 1? In 2025, 7 percent of first-time examinees from US MD schools failed, 11 percent from US DO schools and 25 percent from non-US schools, according to USMLE performance data. Counting repeat examinations as well, 9 percent of all US MD examinations, 11 percent of US DO and 28 percent of non-US were failures. ### Has the Step 1 pass rate dropped since it went pass/fail? For US MD examinees it dipped and then recovered: 90 percent of all examinees passed in 2023, 89 percent in 2024 and 91 percent in 2025, against a secondary-source figure of 95 percent for 2021, the last full year with numeric scores. First-attempt rates were 92, 91 and 93 percent. ### What is the Step 1 pass rate for international medical graduates? 75 percent of first-time examinees from non-US schools passed in 2025 (22,066 tested), up from 73 percent in 2024 and 72 percent in 2023. From 2025 that group also includes Canadian schools. Repeat examinees from non-US schools passed at 54 percent in 2025. ### What is the Step 1 pass rate for DO students? 89 percent of first-time examinees from US DO schools passed in 2025 (4,623 tested), after 86 percent in 2024 and 87 percent in 2023. Repeat examinees from DO schools passed at 79 percent in 2025, from a small group of 121 examinations. ### Which years does USMLE publish Step 1 pass rates for? USMLE's performance-data page currently shows 2023, 2024 and 2025 for Step 1, by examinee group, with the number tested and the percent passing. It updates the tables as late results arrive: the 2023 table is stated as reported through March 13, 2024 and the 2024 table through January 24, 2025. ## Related - [USMLE Step 1 passing score](https://www.stepgenie.app/usmle/step-1-passing-score) -- 196 on a scale you never see, what the pass/fail report shows, and what to do after a fail. - [Step 2 CK score percentiles](https://www.stepgenie.app/usmle/step-2-ck-score-percentiles) -- The August 2026 percentile table, the 218 passing score, the mean and SD, and the pass rates. - [USMLE Step 3 passing score](https://www.stepgenie.app/usmle/step-3-passing-score) -- 200 since January 2024, the 227 mean, percentiles and pass rates. - [Free Step 1 self-assessment](https://www.stepgenie.app/self-assessment) -- A system-by-system readout of where you stand, in one sitting. ## Sources 1. USMLE Performance Data (accessed September 5, 2026): https://www.usmle.org/performance-data 2. USMLE, Step 1 transition to pass/fail-only score reporting (2022): https://www.usmle.org/usmle-step-1-transition-passfail-only-score-reporting 3. Blueprint Prep, Step 1 pass rates are decreasing (cited for the 2021-2022 figures; not re-verified on usmle.org) -- secondary source: https://blog.blueprintprep.com/medical/step-1-pass-rates-are-decreasing-how-to-make-sure-youll-pass/ 4. NBME, CBSSA and CBSE Score Interpretation Guidance (PDF) (2026 edition): https://www.nbme.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/CBSSA_CBSE_Guidance.pdf 5. Elite Medical Prep, quoting NBME's July 2024 CBSSA probability update (September 2025) -- secondary source: https://elitemedicalprep.com/nbme-25-nbme-30-best-predictor-for-passing-step-1/ --- Pass rates describe cohorts. Your result depends on the systems you keep missing, and StepGenie's question bank tracks them for you, with an image explanation for every answer. Start on the free plan. 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