Grandfathering is the pathway to acquire ABMS certification in a new specialty or subspecialty, without having to complete all of the training requirements that will eventually be established, such as completion of an ACGME-accredited residency program. It is expected that the ABMS grandfathering criteria for certification eligibility would include clinical experience, certification by the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM), and Diplomate status with an established ABMS member board.  The customary grandfathering period is usually about 5 years or 3 exam cycles, after the formal recognition of a new field.  For ASAM and ABAM certified physicians who are not already Diplomates of an ABMS member board, ABAM will facilitate and advocate for the establishment of non-onerous pathways for eligibility for an ABMS-recognized Addiction Medicine examination.  

Grandfathering creates a limited opportunity for physicians working in Addiction Medicine to gain ABAM certification, and to eventually sit for a new ABMS certifying examination in Addiction Medicine on the basis of experience.  After this period is over, only those completing an ACGME approved residency would be eligible to be ABMS Diplomates in Addiction Medicine.

By becoming an ABAM-certified physician now, a physician enters the pool of physicians potentially eligible to be “grandfathered” into the envisioned ABMS specialty or sub-specialty certification program that ABAM and The ABAM Foundation were created to achieve.