ABPMR - Pain Medicine

Next Pain Exam

September 27, 2025

Pain Medicine

Pain medicine is the medical discipline concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of the entire range of painful disorders. The ABPMR offers subspecialty certification in pain medicine in order to improve clinical care and assessment of individuals with such disorders. Subspecialty certification in pain medicine has been offered by the ABPMR since 2000. Examinations are administered annually at Pearson Professional Centers nationwide.

Because pain medicine is recognized as an interdisciplinary specialty, the ABPMR cosponsors subspecialty certification in pain medicine along with the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). This means that the ABPMR credentials and issues pain medicine subspecialty certificates for ABPMR diplomates, but the ABA is responsible for examination development, administration, scoring, and analysis.

The Exam

200 questions
Two 2-hour sections
20-minute break between sections
4 hours active testing + tutorial and break

Exam Resources

Practice and Training Requirements

Getting Prepared

Candidates who apply for subspecialty certification in pain medicine through the ABPMR must be ABPMR diplomates in good standing and must have a current, valid, and unrestricted license to practice medicine in at least one jurisdiction in the United States, its territories, or Canada.

In addition, applicants for the Pain Medicine Examination must satisfactorily complete 12 months of an ACGME-accredited fellowship in pain medicine that meets the following criteria:

Training program occurred after completing residency and must be completed by the August 31 that precedes the examination date
Applicant is recommended for admissibility to the Pain Medicine Examination by the fellowship program director upon successful completion of the training program