Maintenance of Certification (MOC) for Sleep Medicine Physicians
Maintenance of certification (MOC), or “continuing certification,” which emphasizes ongoing professional development and assessment, is required by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Sleep medicine MOC is administered by the six boards that offer sleep medicine certification. The ABMS Standards for Continuing Certification provide a framework for the boards to use in developing their own programs for MOC. Specific MOC activities may vary by board.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) provides resources to equip board-certified sleep medicine physicians to meet their ABMS MOC requirements.
2026 Sleep Medicine MOC Exam
The 2026 sleep medicine MOC exam is Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. To help you prepare for the exam, important information is provided below, including an exam overview and links to exam study tools. The 2027 sleep medicine MOC exam is scheduled for Nov. 17, 2027.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) on-demand maintenance of certification (MOC) program is a recertification solution that meets the requirements of leading medical boards and is tailored to the needs of sleep medicine physicians. Earn continuing medical education (CME) credits while working toward your MOC requirements. Earn free MOC points with these Self-Assessment Exams, which give you the freedom to learn where and when you choose. Each exam contains multiple-choice, case-based questions written by board-certified sleep medicine physicians.
Approved by Leading Boards
The AASM MOC Self-Assessment Exams have been approved by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) to meet Part II requirements, by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) for self-assessment CME, and by the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (ABOHNS) for continuing certification. Currently, the AASM on-demand MOC program is only for physicians boarded under the ABIM, ABPN, ABOHNS, and the ABP.
Upon completion of each MOC program activity, the AASM will automatically submit a notification to the appropriate board for your convenience.
Please visit your primary specialty board for specific sleep medicine MOC requirements:
Exam Date
The 2026 sleep medicine MOC exam is Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026.
Exam Blueprint
The detailed sleep medicine MOC exam blueprint, which is reviewed annually and updated as needed, describes the primary medical content categories of the exam, with the percentage assigned to each category for a typical exam.
Question Format
Assessments feature multiple-choice questions (MCQs) with a single best answer. Research has shown that scores obtained with MCQs are correlated with superior clinical performance. Moreover, MCQs are particularly suitable for simulating clinical decision-making. The overwhelming majority of ABIM assessment questions use a clinical stem (patient-based case scenario) format that assesses the higher-order cognitive abilities required for clinical decision-making. A small number of questions address specific knowledge points without the use of a clinical stem. ABIM assessment questions include both Système International (SI) and imperial units for height (cm/in), weight (kg/lb) and temperature (C/F). Unanswered questions are scored as incorrect, so you should answer every question.
Exam Day
Arrive 30 minutes prior to the appointment time specified on your confirmation e-mail. If you arrive after your appointment time, you may not be admitted to the exam. When you arrive at the test center, you will need to present primary (e.g., driver’s license, passport) and secondary identification (e.g., Social Security card, valid credit card or ATM card).
The Sleep Medicine Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam lasts approximately 10 hours, divided into four sessions. Each of the four sessions contains up to 60 multiple-choice questions. You have 100 total minutes of break time that can be divided between three breaks during the exam. Any break time taken after a test session will be deducted from this total. During each session, you’ll have access to UpToDate® for reference. You can take the exam tutorial to practice using the open-book feature. Certain UpToDate features, including external website access like Society Guidelines, will be restricted during the exam for security reasons.
Learn more about what to expect on exam day.
Exam Results
After the exam is administered, it will be analyzed and evaluated to ensure the reliability of individual results. Your final results will be released within three months of the last date of the exam in that area. When your results are released, you will receive an email notification with instructions on how to access your score report from your Physician Portal. The pass rate for the 2023 sleep medicine MOC exam, taken by 102 physicians, was 81%.
Free Tutorial
Becoming familiar with the exam will greatly improve your efficiency on exam day. The online tutorial takes about 30 minutes to complete. Access the ABIM exam tutorial.
AASM Board Review Resources
The AASM offers a variety of resources to help you prepare for the MOC exam, including Sleep Medicine Essentials On-Demand and Sleep Qs: Board Review 3.0, an online resource that allows you to create customizable practice exams. Visit the AASM Shop for exam resources.
In the fall, the AASM also hosts a weekly Board Prep Study Club and a one-day Final Board Prep Course. These live, virtual events will help you get ready for the exam. Visit the AASM events page for more details.
“I’m board certified by the American Board of Sleep Medicine (ABSM); what are the requirements for MOC?”
The American Board of Sleep Medicine (ABSM) offered a subspecialty certification examination for sleep medicine through 2006. ABSM sleep medicine certification is a lifetime certification and does not require any maintenance of certification. If you are certified under the ABSM along with another board(s), please confirm with your board whether it has additional MOC requirements.
“If I’m board certified in sleep medicine, do I have to maintain my primary specialty, to maintain my sleep certification?”
Only those physicians certified by ABFM or ABP need to maintain their primary certification in order to maintain their secondary sleep certification. All other boards allow maintenance of only your secondary sleep certification.
“What are the different components of MOC?”
MOC involves ongoing measurement of six core competencies defined by ABMS and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME):
- Practice-based Learning and Improvement
- Patient Care and Procedural Skills
- Systems-based Practice
- Medical Knowledge
- Interpersonal and Communication Skills
- Professionalism
These competencies are measured in the ABMS Program for MOC within a four-part framework:
- Part I: Professionalism and Professional Standing
Physicians must hold a valid, unrestricted medical license in at least one state or jurisdiction in the United States, its territories or Canada. - Part II: Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment
Physicians participate in educational and self-assessment programs that meet specialty-specific standards that are set by their member board. - Part III: Assessment of Knowledge, Judgment, and Skills
Physicians demonstrate, through formalized assessments, that they have the fundamental, practice-related and practice environment-related knowledge to provide quality care in their specialty. - Part IV: Improvement in Medical Practice
Physicians are evaluated in their clinical practice according to specialty-specific standards for patient care. They are asked to demonstrate that they can assess the quality of care they provide compared to peers and national benchmarks and then apply the best evidence or consensus recommendations to improve that care using follow-up assessments.
The specific deadlines and activities required to meet these components may vary by board. Please visit the website of your primary specialty board for specific details.
“What is the AASM doing to advocate for sleep physicians who are frustrated with MOC requirements?”
Learn more about how the AASM is involved in MOC Advocacy.
For more information about sleep medicine MOC, contact education@aasm.org.
Updated April 23, 2026