# USMLE Step 1 pass rate, 2019 to 2025, with the latest Step 2 CK and Step 3 rates

_Updated 2026-10-15. 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, 2019 to 2025**

| Year | US MD schools | US DO schools | Non-US schools |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 2019 | 97% (21,308) | 96% (4,794) | 82% (14,046) |
| 2020 | 98% (19,772) | 96% (5,235) | 87% (11,742) |
| 2021 | 96% (22,280) | 94% (5,309) | 82% (16,952) |
| 2022 | 93% (22,828) | 89% (4,659) | 74% (22,030) |
| 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] On January 26, 2022 Step 1 moved to pass/fail-only reporting and its passing standard rose from 194 to 196, so 2022 straddles both.[3]_

> **Find out which side of the line you are on** A pass rate describes a cohort, not you. Try practice questions without an account, or read a CBSSA, UWSA or Free 120 result against the passing line with the [NBME and UWSA score converter](https://www.stepgenie.app/tools/nbme-score-converter). A free account includes 5 Visual QBank questions a day in practice blocks you build by subject and organ system, plus 10 Pattern Mastery questions a day. [Try 3 questions without an account](https://dashboard.stepgenie.app/try?utm_source=stepgenie_site&utm_medium=site&utm_campaign=step-1-pass-rate&utm_content=score-page-step) - [Create a free account](https://dashboard.stepgenie.app/sign-up?utm_source=stepgenie_site&utm_medium=site&utm_campaign=step-1-pass-rate&utm_content=score-page-step)

## 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]_

## Step 2 CK and Step 3 pass rates

**USMLE first-attempt pass rate by exam, latest published year, with number tested**

| Exam (year) | US MD schools | US DO schools | Non-US schools |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Step 1 (2025) | 93% (23,028) | 89% (4,623) | 75% (22,066) |
| Step 2 CK (July 2024 to June 2025) | 98% (22,249) | 96% (5,025) | 90% (16,186) |
| Step 3 (2025) | 96% (21,589) | 97% (129) | 88% (12,480) |

_USMLE Performance Data. Step 2 CK is reported by academic year (July to June), Step 1 and Step 3 by calendar year, and all three rows count Canadian schools with non-US schools. The Step 3 DO figure rests on 129 examinees.[1]_

**Step 2 CK and Step 3 pass rate for repeat examinees and all examinees, latest published year, with number tested**

| Exam and group | US MD schools | US DO schools | Non-US schools |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Step 2 CK, repeat examinees (July 2024 to June 2025) | 70% (440) | 69% (32) | 64% (1,762) |
| Step 2 CK, all examinees (July 2024 to June 2025) | 98% (22,689) | 96% (5,057) | 87% (17,948) |
| Step 3, repeat examinees (2025) | 77% (910) | not reported | 63% (1,824) |
| Step 3, all examinees (2025) | 96% (22,499) | 97% (131) | 85% (14,304) |

_USMLE Performance Data. All examinees means first-time takers plus repeaters, and repeaters are counted by examination. USMLE does not report a category with fewer than 5 examinees, which is why the 2025 US DO Step 3 repeater rate is missing.[1] Step 1 repeat and all-examinee rates are in the previous section._

First-attempt pass rates on Step 2 CK and Step 3 run higher than on Step 1 in every examinee group. Their passing scores are 218 for Step 2 CK exams taken on or after July 1, 2025 and 200 for Step 3 exams on or after January 1, 2024.[6] The Step 2 CK rates above cover July 2024 to June 2025, when the passing score was still 214; USMLE has not yet published a full year on 218.[8][1] Percentiles, means and earlier years are on the [Step 2 CK percentiles page](https://www.stepgenie.app/usmle/step-2-ck-score-percentiles) and the [Step 3 page](https://www.stepgenie.app/usmle/step-3-passing-score).

## How to read these numbers

- **Two different US MD numbers circulate.** The all-examinee rate, first attempts plus repeats, was 90, 89 and 91 percent for 2023 to 2025; the first-attempt rate was 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] US MD first-attempt pass rates were 96 to 98 percent in 2019 to 2021 and 91 to 93 percent in 2022 to 2025; counting repeat attempts, the US MD rate was 95 percent in 2021 and 91 percent in 2022.[1] USMLE says the passing standard's rise from 194 to 196 on the same date accounts for some of the increase in failures, and that test timing shifted around the transition, which complicates comparisons with earlier years.[3]
- **There is no quota.** USMLE's bulletin says its passing standards are based on a specified level of proficiency, so no predetermined percentage of examinees passes or fails; a pass rate moves with how each year's examinees perform against that standard.[7]
- **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] The report also prints a probability of passing, but NBME publishes no table or curve behind it: Elite Medical Prep reports that NBME's July 2024 update put an EPC of 64 at a 92 percent chance of passing and 68 at 97 percent.[5] The probability printed on your own report is NBME's. The [NBME and UWSA score converter](https://www.stepgenie.app/tools/nbme-score-converter) reads a CBSSA, UWSA or Free 120 result against the passing line and labels which figures are NBME's and which are estimates. 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 is the USMLE pass rate?

It depends on the Step and on where you trained. In the latest published year, first-time takers from US MD schools passed Step 1 at 93 percent (2025), Step 2 CK at 98 percent (July 2024 to June 2025, when its passing score was still 214; it has been 218 since July 1, 2025) and Step 3 at 96 percent (2025). First-time takers from non-US schools passed at 75, 90 and 88 percent, and repeat examinees passed less often in every group USMLE reports. There is no quota: USMLE says no predetermined percentage of examinees will pass or fail.

### 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?

Yes, and it has partly recovered. Among US MD first-time takers, 96 percent passed in 2021, the last full year with numeric scores, then 93 percent in 2022, 92 in 2023, 91 in 2024 and 93 in 2025. USMLE notes that the January 2022 switch to pass/fail coincided with a rise in the passing standard from 194 to 196, which accounts for some of the increase in failures.

### 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.

### How many people take Step 1 each year?

USMLE's 2025 performance data list 25,126 Step 1 examinations from US MD schools, 4,744 from US DO schools and 25,660 from non-US schools, a group that includes Canadian schools from 2025: 55,530 in all, 49,717 of them first attempts. Repeat attempts are counted by examination, not by person, so 55,530 is a count of examinations rather than of people.

### Which years does USMLE publish Step 1 pass rates for?

USMLE's performance-data page has a section for each year from 2014 to 2025, each with Step 1 tables by examinee group giving the number tested and the percent passing, so first-attempt rates can be traced back more than a decade. Most years' tables state when their data were cut: the 2023 table is as reported through March 13, 2024 and the 2024 table through January 24, 2025, while the 2025 table gives no cut-off date.

### What are the Step 2 CK and Step 3 pass rates?

In the latest published year, 98 percent of US MD first-time takers passed Step 2 CK (July 2024 to June 2025), as did 96 percent from US DO schools and 90 percent from non-US schools. On Step 3 in 2025, 96 percent of US MD, 97 percent of US DO (129 examinees) and 88 percent of non-US first-time takers passed.

## 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, the last Step 1 percentile table 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 251 average, the 218 passing score, earlier editions, and Step 1 and Step 3 percentiles.
- [USMLE Step 3 passing score](https://www.stepgenie.app/usmle/step-3-passing-score) -- 200 since January 2024, the current percentile table, the 227 mean 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 October 14, 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. USMLE, Early release of USMLE Step 1 2022 summary performance (accessed October 14, 2026): https://www.usmle.org/early-release-usmle-step-1-2022-summary-performance
4. NBME, Gauging Readiness for USMLE Step 1: CBSSA and CBSE Guidance (PDF) (September 2026 edition): https://www.nbme.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/CBSSA_CBSE_Guidance-f43.pdf
5. Elite Medical Prep, NBME 25 to NBME 30: best predictor for passing Step 1 (second-hand account of NBME's July 2024 CBSSA probability update) (September 2025) -- secondary source: https://elitemedicalprep.com/nbme-25-nbme-30-best-predictor-for-passing-step-1/
6. USMLE, Examination Results and Scoring (accessed October 14, 2026): https://www.usmle.org/scores-transcripts/examination-results-and-scoring
7. USMLE Bulletin of Information, Scoring and Score Reporting (accessed October 14, 2026): https://www.usmle.org/bulletin-information/scoring-and-score-reporting
8. USMLE, Change to the Step 2 CK passing standard begins July 1, 2025 (announced June 16, 2025): https://www.usmle.org/change-step-2-ck-passing-standard-begins-july-1-2025

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