Certificate of Added Qualification Examination
Eligibility
To be eligible to earn a Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in Occupational Medicine, candidates must meet the criteria below:
- Maintain AOA board certification through any AOA-approved primary specialty board.
- Be a graduate of a COCA-accredited college of osteopathic medicine or an LCME-accredited medical school in the U.S. or Canada.
- Satisfactorily complete a one-year internship/residency in an AOA-approved training program.
- Satisfactorily complete at least 100 hours of AOA-approved CME within the last five years. Minimum of 50 hours must be AOA Category 1-A in Occupational or Environmental Medicine.
- Successful completion of the American Osteopathic College of Occupational and Preventive Medicine’s Occupational Medicine Basic Course.
- Additional accepted specialty training courses include occupational or environmental review courses through the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM), an MRO (medical review officer) or the DOT (Department of Transportation).
- Hold an unrestricted license to practice in a U.S. state or territory.
- Adhere to the AOA Code of Ethics.
Examination Fees
- Exam fee: $1,200
- Late fee: $360
Exam Dates and Deadlines
The CAQ in Occupational Medicine Examination is offered remotely in the fall. This year’s exam date is scheduled for Oct. 15, 2025. Applications are now open for this examination; late application fees will apply after Aug. 30, 2025.
Exam Content Outline
The 120-minute (2 hours) examination consists of approximately 100 multiple-choice items.
| CAQ in Occupational Medicine | |
|---|---|
| CATEGORY | CATEGORY PERCENT |
| Epidemiology and Statistics | 3% |
| Acute Disease Prevention | 12% |
| Chronic Disease Prevention | 5% |
| Impairment and Disability Evalutation | 5% |
| Toxicology | 15% |
| Injury Prevention | 7% |
| Mental Health and Retardation | 2% |
| Industrial Hygiene and Safety | 16% |
| Substance Abuse | 2% |
| Clinical Occupational and Environmental Medicine | 13% |
| Legal and Regulatory Requirements | 10% |
| Physical Hazards | 5% |
| Biological Hazards | 3% |
| Reproductive Hazards | 2% |
Exam Scoring
Scoring criteria
AOA reports candidates’ certification results using standardized scaled scores. Scaled scores are more valid and reliable compared to raw scores and make scores comparable across different forms of the exam. The AOA reports scores on a 200 to 800-point scale with a scaled score of 500 or higher required to pass.
- A scaled score of 500 represents the minimum level of knowledge and skill necessary to pass the exam as established by AOA Certifying Boards.
- The highest possible scaled score is 800.
- The lowest possible scaled score is 200.
- Overall scores are based on the total number of items answered correctly, regardless of content area.
Results by content area
- When possible, a breakdown of exam scores by content area is provided to help you identify your areas of strength and areas that may need more development.
- The number of items for each content area indicates the relative amount of test questions on the exam for that content area.
- Content area scores are not weighted to calculate your overall score; each content area is scored separately after the overall analysis is complete.
Exam Failure
If a candidate fails any part of the exam, they may apply to re-take the exam components. Board-eligible candidate may sit for re-examination three times in a six-year period. This Board may require evidence of further training prior to re-examination.