Free Practice Questions for ABMDI Registry

The ABMDI Registry Certification is the entry-level board credential issued by the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators for working medicolegal death investigators. It has two tracks, Associate (no or limited scene experience) and Diplomate (at least 100 documented from death investigations with scene response), and documents that an investigator meets ABMDI's experience, training, and examination standards.

The ABMDI Registry exam is 240 multiple-choice questions: 230 graded questions distributed across 7 sections plus 10 ungraded pilot questions. Candidates have up to 4 hours (240 minutes) to complete it, and the exam is computer-based with a live remote proctor.

ABMDI requires a passing score in each of the 7 graded sections. The passing score for each section is set using standard cut-score methods, and ABMDI publishes no single combined cutoff. The testing agency reports pass/fail rather than numerical scores.

You must be at least 18 with a high school diploma or equivalent, be currently employed by a medical examiner/coroner jurisdiction or equivalent federal authority with responsibility to independently conduct or supervise medicolegal death investigations, hold 640 experience points (minimum 384 from employment), and complete the Fundamental Tasks of Medicolegal Death Investigation task list with a competent trainer. A professional reference and an employment verification form are also required.

Both tracks fall under the Registry Certification and sit the same examination. Associate is for investigators with no or limited death-scene experience. Diplomate requires at least 100 from investigations conducted with scene response, meaning in-person scene work including body examination, scene photography, and investigative reporting, in addition to the overall 640-point requirement.

The examination fee is $400 and is non-refundable, in addition to a $50 non-refundable application fee. Registry retests with proctoring are $150 for one section, $250 for two sections, and $350 for three or more sections. After certification, ABMDI charges a $50 annual maintenance fee.

You may retest twice, for a total of three attempts within the 12-month application cycle. At least 30 days must pass between testing dates, and you retake only the section or sections you failed. The retest length and time limit match the questions allotted to those sections, so failing Section 1 alone produces a 23-question, 23-minute retest.

Certification runs in a 5-year cycle. Recertification requires 45 hours of ABMDI-approved continuing education accumulated after the certificant's current certification date, plus the administrative fee and current maintenance fees. ABMDI accepts continuing education approved by bodies including the AMA, ANA, ASCP, CAP, EMS agencies, FEMA, IACET, POST or state equivalents, and recognized post-secondary institutions.

ABMDI states that the scope of knowledge for the Registry exam is defined in the National Institute of Justice publication Death Investigation: A Guide for the Scene Investigator and is further defined in the Fundamental Tasks of Medicolegal Death Investigation task list. ABMDI also publishes a suggested reading list and does not endorse any commercial program that claims to prepare candidates for the exam.