How to register for the AMC exam: step-by-step
TL;DR
AMC registration is six steps in a fixed order: check eligibility, create a MyIntealth/EPIC account with ECFMG, create an AMC account, pay for an AMC portfolio (AUD 642), wait for degree verification, then apply for CAT MCQ authorisation (AUD 2,920) and book with Pearson VUE.
The most common delay is doing the AMC step before the ECFMG step. The AMC won’t open a portfolio until your EPIC portfolio is active.
Portfolio review takes five business days. Degree verification takes as long as your medical school takes to reply.
“AMC registration” is not medical registration. That’s Ahpra, later.
Use the waiting time to start AMC Part 1 preparation with AMC Academic, the go-to and trusted AMC exam preparation platform for IMGs, built by IMGs who passed. 20 free questions, no account.
Registering for the AMC exam is a six-step process, and the single most common mistake is starting with the AMC when you should have started with ECFMG. The AMC won’t let you establish a portfolio until ECFMG has an active EPIC portfolio for you, and it won’t authorise an exam until your medical degree is verified. Here’s each step, what it costs, what documents you’ll need, and how long it takes when things go right.
First, which “AMC registration” do you mean?
Three different things get called this.
Registering with the AMC: creating an AMC account and paying for an initial portfolio. That’s this article.
Registering for the AMC exam: applying for CAT MCQ authorisation and scheduling a sitting. Steps 5 and 6 below.
Medical registration: being licensed to practise. The AMC doesn’t do this. The Medical Board of Australia, through Ahpra, does, and only after you hold an AMC Certificate. If that’s news, read AHPRA vs AMC first.
Key facts
Steps | 6, in order |
AMC registration fee (portfolio) | AUD 642, includes one qualification |
Each extra qualification | AUD 107 |
AMC Part 1 (CAT MCQ) authorisation | AUD 2,920, valid 12 months |
Portfolio review | Within 5 AMC business days |
ECFMG ID issued | Usually within 3 business days |
Degree verification | Weeks to months |
Portal |
Step 1: check your medical school, degree title and graduation year
The AMC accepts primary degrees in clinical medicine and surgery from institutions it recognises. Before you pay anything, run the eligibility check on amc.org.au and confirm three things: your school is listed, your exact degree title is listed for that school, and your graduation year is inside the accepted range.
Degree titles trip people up. If your certificate says MBBS and the list says “Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery”, that’s fine. If your school renamed the degree the year you graduated, check both.
And don’t add things the AMC doesn’t want. Medical registrations, PhDs, research degrees, internship or house job certificates, half-finished training, short courses: none of these are eligible qualifications. The AMC charges an admin fee if you add them, and they won’t show on your account anyway.
Step 2: create a MyIntealth account and EPIC portfolio with ECFMG
This is the step everyone does in the wrong order.
The AMC doesn’t verify your degree itself. It uses ECFMG’s primary source verification, which now runs through the MyIntealth platform. You create a MyIntealth account, establish an EPIC portfolio, and request verification of your medical degree. ECFMG writes to your medical school, and the school confirms the degree is real.
ECFMG normally issues your MyIntealth ID within three business days. The verification itself takes far longer, because it depends on your school. Weeks is normal. Months isn’t rare, especially if the school has merged, closed or renamed.
Two things from the AMC’s own guidance worth underlining:
Validation data flows from ECFMG to the AMC only after your MyIntealth account exists and your EPIC portfolio is established and active.
The verification can run before, during or after your AMC account and portfolio steps. You don’t have to wait for the school to reply before moving on. You do have to wait for the EPIC portfolio to be active.
If you had an EPIC portfolio before MyIntealth came in, your old verifications still count.
Step 3: create an AMC account
Go to portal.amc.org.au. Accounts created before 1 October 2015 are dead; make a new one. Anything after that date still works. Read the terms of use, because they cover what happens if your details turn out to be wrong later.
Step 4: establish your AMC initial portfolio
With your MyIntealth ID in hand and your EPIC portfolio active, log into the AMC account and apply for an initial portfolio. Every new candidate does this. It costs AUD 642 and covers one qualification; each extra one (a specialist degree for a college, say) is AUD 107.
Review takes up to five business days. Then your AMC candidate number appears, along with a tax invoice, an acknowledgement and a PDF of the application. You’ll use that candidate number on everything from now on.
The refund rules: full refund if you cancel before assessment, 50% if assessed but no ECFMG status processed yet, nothing after that.
Step 5: wait for verification, and decide your pathway
You can’t apply for the MCQ until your account shows a verified degree, and the AMC can only update that when ECFMG sends the report. The AMC’s application page currently asks candidates not to chase during busy periods. Chasing your medical school, though, is fair game and often works: ring the dean’s office and ask who handles ECFMG requests.
Meanwhile, be sure of your pathway. If you trained in a Competent Authority country you may not need the exam at all. Everyone else is on the Standard pathway. The decision tree is in The IMG pathways to practising medicine in Australia.
Step 6: apply for MCQ authorisation and book with Pearson VUE
Degree verified, you apply in your AMC account for a CAT MCQ authorisation and pay AUD 2,920. It’s valid for 12 months, covers one attempt, and can’t be extended or paused.
Pearson VUE then emails you and you schedule a specific event, date and venue through their site or contact centre. Seats at some venues are limited and go first come, first served, so don’t sit on that email. Once you’re booked the AMC issues a placement letter in your account, which is useful if you need a visa to travel to the exam.
You can change event or venue free of charge up to the event’s closing date, usually three weeks before the sitting. After that, nothing changes and a no-show forfeits the lot. The full calendar of AMC exam dates and closing dates is in AMC exam dates, booking and results.
Documents to have ready
Passport, current, in English or with a certified translation
Primary medical degree certificate
Name-change documents if any (marriage certificate, deed poll)
Transcript, if ECFMG asks for it
A Visa or Mastercard for AMC and ECFMG fees, ideally one with no foreign transaction fee
For exam day: a second ID with your signature (a bank card is fine)
The AMC’s exam-day ID rules are strict: two IDs, the primary with photo and signature, both in English, names matching your account exactly. Sort that out now rather than the night before. Details in AMC CAT MCQ exam day.
Five mistakes that add months
AMC account first. Harmless, but the portfolio will be blocked until EPIC is active, and people assume the site is broken.
Adding ineligible qualifications. Fee charged, nothing gained.
Name mismatches. Passport, degree and ECFMG record must match to the letter. A missing middle name will stall you.
Paying for MCQ authorisation too early. Twelve months starts the day you pay. Pay when you’re six to nine months from exam-ready, not when you’re excited.
Not chasing a slow medical school. ECFMG writes to them; you can phone them.
Verification can take months, and that’s study time if you let it be. AMC Academic was built by IMGs who went through this exact process; we know how much of it is waiting.
The 20 free AMC Part 1 questions on the landing page need no account and no card, and the six free clinical case studies don’t either. When you’re ready to go further, a free account gives you five days of the full platform: 2,800+ blueprint-scoped questions with every option explained, the first high-yield mock exam free, and Astra to explain anything that doesn’t land. Plans after that are USD 39 a month, or 29 a month for three months, or 19 a month for six, with a money-back guarantee. By the time your authorisation email arrives, you could have finished a bank.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an internship to register with the AMC?
No. Eligibility is your primary medical degree. Internship documents are on the AMC’s list of things not to upload.
How long does AMC registration take?
Three to six weeks from first login to MCQ authorisation if your school answers ECFMG quickly. Several months if it doesn’t.
Can I register from outside Australia?
Yes. It’s all online, and AMC Part 1 is delivered at Pearson VUE centres worldwide.
Do I need IELTS to register with the AMC?
No. English proficiency is an Ahpra registration standard, needed later. You can sit both AMC exams without it.
What’s the AMC registration fee?
AUD 642 for the initial portfolio. The MCQ authorisation is separate, AUD 2,920. All AMC exam fees are in AMC exam fees in 2026.
What to do this week
Run the eligibility check on your school, degree title and graduation year.
Create your MyIntealth account and open the EPIC portfolio.
Phone your medical school and find out who handles ECFMG requests.
Don’t pay for MCQ authorisation yet. Sit 20 free questions instead.
Do you want to pass the AMC? AMC Academic makes it happen.
Next: AMC exam fees in 2026: the full cost breakdown.
Sources checked September 2026
AMC, “How to apply – AMC account and portfolio”; “Fees and charges”; “MCQ Examination Events” — amc.org.au
ECFMG, “Physicians: MyIntealth and EPIC” — ecfmg.org/psv/physicians-use.html