The American Board of Electrodiagnostic Specialties

The American Board of Electrodiagnostic Specialties® (or ABES)  is a neurological specialty certification board in the subspecialty of Electrodiagnostic Specialties. The ABES is a sub-agency of the American College of Electrodiagnostic Specialties® (ACFN), a non-profit certification organization dedicated to serving and protecting its members,  by certifying excellence in practice. The ABES administers certification examinations and maintains certification renewal processes. The ABES issues a Certificate of Qualification and a Fellowship of Electrodiagnostic Specialties, indicated by the credentials FABES® and CABES® respectively.

Fellowship Credentials – FABES®:

Both FABES® and the term Fellow of the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Specialties® are federally protected and trademarked terms to describe the highest level of certification by the ABES.

Fellows must be a licensed health care primary care provider or profession in a healthcare professional field (MD, DO, DC, DPT, ND, PhD, etc),that has completed a minimum of 450 credit hours of training in Electrodiagnostic Specialties in an ACFN approved educational program. 

The ABES requires that throughout the initial certification and maintenance of certification processes, fellows must have a valid, unexpired, and unencumbered license to practice a primary care discipline in their jurisdiction. Should the provider have a lapse of their license to practice, or have it encumbered for any reason, it is the provider’s responsibility to report that information to the ACFN. Failure to report license expiration or encumbrance may result in removal from the registry and/or denial for renewal of credentials. 

Certificate of Qualification – CABES®

CABES®: Certificate-Holder of the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Specialties® are federally protected and trademarked terms to describe an individual that has met the criteria set forth by the ACFN and the ABES to hold a certificate of qualification.

Certificate of Qualification holders must have completed a minimum of 450 credit hours of training in Electrodiagnostic Specialties, have successfully passed an ACFN administered, approved, and psychometrically-validated board examination, but do not meet all of the criteria set forth by the ACFN to be a CABES. Often these individuals are assistants to health care providers, or practice in a discipline that is not eligible for a Fellowship per the ACFN bylaws, such as Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Social Workers, Case Managers, etc.

Recertification Process:

The ACFN and ABES demand a recertification process that is necessary to maintain the Certificate of Qualification and Fellowship Status with the registry. Registry members must submit a registration fee of $185.00 annually by July 1st with a demonstration of competency including a minimum of 25 hours of continuing education in a board-approved educational program; A bibliography listing of at least 24 neurology related journal articles from peer-reviewed publications. Fellows must also recertify by examination every 10 years.

Notice of Trademark:

The American College of Functional Neurology®, American Board of Electrodiagnostic Specialties®, FABES®, CABES® are actively used and registered trademarks of the American College of Functional Neurology, Inc.