The Key Numbers
For the class of 2025, here are the pass rates:
- Foot Surgery Didactic: 68% (cumulative as of the Spring 2025 exams)
- Foot Surgery CBPS: 93%
- RRA Surgery Didactic: 54% (lowest of the four Part I exams)
- RRA Surgery CBPS: 89%
Under the current exam format, the didactic exams have the lowest pass rate. The CBPS exams, once considered the harder half, now pass 75% to 95% of each class, while only half the class passes the RRA Didactic Exam on their first try.
How ABFAS Reports Pass Rates
Since 2022, ABFAS has published pass rates as a cumulative pass rate by residency class year, snapshotted after each spring exam. Three things to note from that:
- Each figure counts every attempt a class has made to date, so a class's pass rate rises over time as retakes succeed.
- The newest class's pass rate can include final-year In-Training Exam results credited toward qualification. For example, ABFAS noted that 78% of the 2022 residency class counted their Fall 2021 in-training exams toward Board Qualification.
- ABFAS has not published first-time versus overall pass rates per administration since its Fall 2018 newsletter.
Part I Board Qualification Pass Rates (as of August 2025)
These are the newest official figures, published by ABFAS as cumulative pass rates through the Spring 2025 exams, broken out by residency class year.
The Trend: Didactic Pass Rates Have Been Falling
Comparing each graduating class in the August snapshot of its own graduation year shows a clear slide in the didactic exams.
Retake Recovery: The Same Class, One and Two Years Later
We can cross reference the same class across ABFAS's annual report through the years to show how retakes boost the cumulative pass rate. In these tables, each row follows one residency class: its cumulative rate in the August report of its graduation year, then one and two year.
Foot Surgery Didactic Exam
Foot Surgery CBPS Exam
RRA Surgery Didactic Exam
RRA Surgery CBPS Exam
Assembled from the ABFAS 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 newsletters (Examination Pass Rates as of August of each year). "Pending" cells will be filled when ABFAS publishes its next annual snapshot. ABFAS did not publish comparable graduation-year snapshots for classes before 2022.
Key Takeaways About Retakes
- Most successful retakes happens in the first year out. On the didactic exams, classes gain 6 to 13 points in the year after graduation, then 2 to 5 more the year after.
- The RRA Didactic retakes result in the biggest jump. The class of 2024 jumped from 55% to 68% in one year, the largest one-year didactic cumulative increase in the published data, and the class of 2023 climbed 12 points over two years, from 58% to 70%. A failed first attempt is common on this exam, but you can pass on a retake.
- Retakes minimize the decline but do not erase it. Compared at the same point after graduation, each newer class still sits below the last: two years out, the class of 2022 reached 88% on Foot Didactic while the class of 2023 reached 85%.
A word of caution when reading these movements: cumulative rates do not change through retakes alone. The candidate pool also grows between snapshots as more members of a class make a first attempt (the Foot Didactic count for the class of 2024 rose from 456 to 494 candidates), which is why a rate can occasionally tick down, as Foot CBPS did for the class of 2024, from 94% to 93%.
First-Time vs Overall: What ABFAS Has Actually Published
ABFAS last broke out first-time, retake, and overall pass rates per exam cycle in its Fall 2018 newsletter. Nothing newer exists from ABFAS itself, so these remain the only official first-time figures.
What These Pass Rates Mean for You
The pattern in the current data is clear: passing the didactic exams are the biggest hurdle to getting Board Qualified. Focusing your board prep on the RRA Surgery and Foot Surgery didactic exams will result in the biggest gains given they have the lowest pass rates. Step Up Boards can be a helpful resource for you to pass these didactic exams with a board-style question bank that offers explanations for both the wrong and right answer choices along with supporting citations.
For exam strategy, see Strategies for the ABFAS Didactic Exam for how the adaptive format and scoring work, and Beyond the ABFAS Didactic Practice Exam for how to prepare past the official practice exam.
The CBPS exams still deserve your attention, but they are no longer where most candidates fall short. Gaining familiarly with the format and doing practice cases should be sufficient.
It's important to remember that published pass rates describe cohorts, not necessarily you. They do not determine an individual resident's ability or predict an individual result. What they do tell you is where the bar is and how many attempts a typical class needs to clear it.
For exam strategy, see Strategies for the ABFAS Didactic Exam for how the adaptive format and scoring work, and Beyond the ABFAS Didactic Practice Exam for how to prepare past the official practice exam.
The CBPS exams still deserve your attention, but they are no longer where most candidates fall short. Gaining familiarly with the format and doing practice cases should be sufficient.
It's important to remember that published pass rates describe cohorts, not necessarily you. They do not determine an individual resident's ability or predict an individual result. What they do tell you is where the bar is and how many attempts a typical class needs to clear it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current ABFAS pass rate?
The newest published data covers the Spring 2025 exams. Cumulative pass rates for the residency class of 2025 were 68% for the Foot Surgery Didactic Exam, 93% for the Foot Surgery CBPS Exam, 54% for the RRA Surgery Didactic Exam, and 89% for the RRA Surgery CBPS Exam. These figures include retakes and typically rise in later snapshots.
What is the ABFAS first-time pass rate?
ABFAS last published first-time pass rates for the 2018 Spring administration: 71% for Foot Didactic, 77% for Foot CBPS, 57% for RRA Didactic, and 59% for RRA CBPS. Since 2022, ABFAS has published only cumulative pass rates by residency class, so no official first-time rates exist for recent years.
Why is the RRA Didactic pass rate so low?
The RRA Surgery Didactic Exam is consistently the hardest ABFAS exam. The class of 2025 stood at 54% as of the Spring 2025 exams, and recent graduating classes have started between 54% and 65%. Cumulative rates climb as candidates retake the exam; the class of 2023 rose from 58% to 70% over two years. ABFAS also notes that classes trained during COVID-19 have seen lower rates.
What percentage of podiatrists become ABFAS board certified?
ABFAS reports that 88% of podiatrists who attempt Board Certification in Foot Surgery succeed. Case Review pass rates by residency class generally run between 74% and 91%, but those figures count only candidates who have enrolled for Case Review, which takes about four years of case accumulation on average.
What score do you need to pass the ABFAS didactic exams?
ABFAS reports didactic scores on a scaled range of 200 to 800, with 500 required to pass. The exams are computer adaptive, so the passing standard reflects demonstrated ability rather than a fixed percentage of correct answers.
When will ABFAS publish 2026 pass rates?
ABFAS publishes pass rate data once a year, as of August, in its annual newsletter and at the ABFAS Annual Meeting. The tables covering the Spring 2026 exams are expected in late 2026, and this page will be updated when they appear. The next exam administrations are Fall 2026 (October 19 to 23, 2026) and Spring 2027 (March 2 to 4, 2027).
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Disclaimer
This page provides independent educational information and is not an official ABFAS resource. It does not replace current ABFAS policies, eligibility criteria, exam instructions, or candidate materials. Confirm requirements directly with ABFAS before you register or take an exam. ABFAS® is a registered trademark of the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery®; Step Up Boards is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or approved by ABFAS or any podiatric board or certifying organization.
Sources
- American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery. (2025). Examination pass rates. https://www.abfas.org/about-us/exam-pass-rates. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
- American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery. (2025). ABFAS 2025 newsletter, examination pass rates as of August 2025. https://issuu.com/abfas1/docs/abfas_2025_newsletter. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
- American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery. (2024). ABFAS 2024 newsletter, examination pass rates as of August 2024. https://issuu.com/abfas1/docs/abfas_2024_newsletter. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
- American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery. (2023). ABFAS 2023 newsletter, examination pass rates as of August 2023. https://issuu.com/abfas1/docs/abfas-2023-newsletter. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
- American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery. (2022). ABFAS 2022 newsletter, pass rate data as of August 2022. https://issuu.com/abfas1/docs/2022-09-30_final_abfas-2022-newsletter_printready. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
- American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery. (2018). ABFAS Fall 2018 newsletter, exam results and passing rates. https://issuu.com/abfas1/docs/abfas_fall_2018_newsletter. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
- American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery. (2026). Part I exam dates and registration. https://www.abfas.org/become-board-qualified/part-i-qualification-exam-overview/part-i-exam-dates-and-registration. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
Dr. Ersta Ferryanto, DPM
Dr. Ersta Ferryanto is a board certified podiatric physician and surgeon practicing in the Chicago area. He completed his Doctorate at Des Moines University College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery in Des Moines, IA, and completed his surgical residency at Ascension Saint Joseph Chicago, where he served as Chief Resident in his final year. After passing his boards on the first try, he co-founded Step Up Boards to help other DPMs do the same.
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