Don't Wait for Verification: Build Your AMC Portfolio Now

MyIntealth, EPIC and the AMC initial portfolio — the exact sequence, the real costs, and the ordering mistake that costs IMGs months

Article 2 of the IMG-to-Australia series · Updated August 2026

---

The waiting mistake

Ask ten IMGs how the AMC portfolio works and most will tell you the same thing: get your degree verified, then apply to the AMC.

That is the wrong order, and it costs people months.

You do not wait for verification to finish. You wait for your EPIC Portfolio to become active — which happens within days of paying the fee — and then you immediately create your AMC account and lodge your initial portfolio. Primary source verification of the actual diploma runs in the background afterwards, on a timeline nobody can predict, because it depends on how fast your medical school replies to a letter from Philadelphia.

The AMC states it plainly: qualification verification can happen before, during or after the AMC account and portfolio process [1]. Two processes, running in parallel, joined by one number — your MyIntealth ID.

Candidates who understand that finish the administrative pathway while they study. Candidates who don't spend three months watching an inbox.

This article covers the whole sequence: what to do, in what order, what each step costs, and the specific errors that trigger extra fees or silent delays.

---

The two organisations, and who does what

Everything here runs between two bodies that will not answer the same questions.

ECFMG (a division of Intealth) operates MyIntealth and EPIC. ECFMG confirms your identity, holds your credentials, writes to your medical school, and issues the verification report [2][3]. Every question about documents, uploads, verification status or EPIC fees goes to ECFMG. The AMC cannot advise you on document requirements.

The AMC holds your Australian record. It issues your AMC number, records your verification status, and maintains the portal that the Medical Board of Australia and the specialist colleges read from [1]. Questions about pathways, exams, assessment and AMC fees go to the AMC.

The link between them is one-directional and mechanical: ECFMG pushes validation data and EPIC Reports to the AMC [2]. The AMC cannot flip your verification status to "yes" until that report lands. No amount of emailing the AMC will speed it up.

---

The six steps, in order

The AMC publishes six steps and insists they be completed in order [1]. Here is what actually happens at each one.

Step 1 — Check that you are eligible before you spend anything

Run your medical school, your degree title and your graduation year through the AMC's Self-check of Eligible Schools tool [4]. All three have to match. A school can be listed while your specific degree title or your graduation year is not.

Requirements: a final medical diploma or degree in clinical medicine and surgery, all examination and training requirements completed, and the degree actually awarded — not "expected to be awarded."

This step is free. Skipping it is the most expensive shortcut in the process, because ECFMG and AMC fees are largely non-refundable once assessment begins.

One exception worth knowing: if you hold a New Zealand medical degree from an eligible school, you do not need ECFMG verification of that degree [3].

Step 2 — Create a MyIntealth account, then establish an EPIC Portfolio

These are two distinct things, and conflating them is where people stall.

First, the MyIntealth account. Register at the MyIntealth Applicant Portal, then confirm your identity. Identity confirmation is done through an Intealth Identification Form (IIF), certified by NotaryCam in an online notarisation session — you need a valid, unexpired passport and a working camera [5]. Once accepted, ECFMG issues your MyIntealth ID, usually within about three business days.

Second, the EPIC Portfolio. Log back in, go to Services → EPIC → Credential Verification → Establish EPIC Portfolio. When asked which organisation you are applying to, select Australian Medical Council.

That selection matters more than it looks. It is what tells ECFMG to start pushing validation data to the AMC [2]. Nothing flows to Australia until your MyIntealth account exists and your EPIC Portfolio is established and active.

If ECFMG has previously verified credentials for you — for ECFMG Certification, or through the old EICS service for another regulator — do not upload them again. Establish the portfolio and ECFMG will review your file within about 10 business days and add those verified credentials at no cost [6]. (Note the catch in the fees section: the credential is free, the report about it is not.)

Step 3 — Create your AMC account

Once your EPIC Portfolio is active and you have your MyIntealth ID in hand, create your AMC account at the AMC portal.

Two rules catch people:

• If you created an AMC account before 1 October 2015, it is dead. Create a new one.
• If you created one after 1 October 2015, sign in — do not create a second. Duplicate accounts create record-matching problems that take weeks to unpick.

Read the AMC account Terms of Use before you accept them. You cannot establish a portfolio without an account.

Step 4 — Establish your AMC initial portfolio

This is the paid application. Every new applicant without an AMC number must lodge one.

You enter your MyIntealth ID (and your legacy EPIC ID, if one was issued to you previously). The AMC validates this against ECFMG live, in real time. Enter it exactly as issued — a transposed digit stops the application dead at the validation screen.

You then add your qualification details. The single most important field: enter your name exactly as it appears on the degree document — not as it appears on your passport, not as you normally write it [7]. Every other field should likewise mirror the document.

The AMC reviews initial portfolio applications within 5 AMC business days [1]. Your AMC number then appears in your account, along with your tax invoice, acknowledgement confirmation and application PDF, all downloadable.

Step 5 — Proceed on your pathway

A verification status against an eligible medical degree is what unlocks the AMC examination and assessment process. Until the EPIC Report arrives and the AMC records it, you have a portfolio but not a green light.

For specialist assessment, colleges require verification of both the medical degree (non-Australian/New Zealand) and the relevant specialist or postgraduate credentials [2].

Step 6 — Get the right qualifications verified, *and sent*

Back in EPIC: upload each credential and — this is the step people miss — nominate the AMC to receive an EPIC Report for that credential as you upload it [2].

Nominate at upload time and two useful things happen automatically: the AMC is notified when the credential is sent for verification, and the EPIC Report is transmitted the moment verification completes.

Forget, and nothing is sent. You will have to go back into MyIntealth later, open the EPIC Reports tab, click Request an EPIC Report, pick the credential, and select Australian Medical Council as recipient. It works — it just adds another cycle of waiting to a process that is already slow.

Nomination is per credential. Doing it once does not cover the rest.

Finally: every qualification verified by ECFMG must also be added to your AMC account, via the initial portfolio or a later additional-qualification application. The AMC cannot update a verification status for a qualification that isn't on your AMC record.

---

What to submit — by pathway

Submit only what your pathway requires. Extra credentials are extra fees at both ends.

(Source: ECFMG special instructions for Australia [2]; Medical Board of Australia expedited pathway list [8])

For any specialist route, contact the relevant Australian or Australasian college before you upload anything. Colleges differ on which postgraduate credentials they want verified, and a wrongly chosen credential is a wasted US$110 at ECFMG plus AUD $107 at the AMC.

---

The three acceptable degree documents — and the trap in two of them

The AMC accepts exactly three credential categories as proof of your medical degree [3]:

1. Final Medical Diploma
2. Final Medical Transcript
3. Alternate Graduation Document

They are not equivalent in practice. If you verify a transcript or an alternate graduation document instead of the diploma itself, the Medical Board of Australia may still require the final medical diploma to be verified when you apply for registration — and you will pay both ECFMG and AMC fees a second time.

If you have the diploma, verify the diploma. Use the alternatives only if the diploma genuinely does not exist or cannot be obtained.

---

What you must not add to your AMC account

The AMC charges an administration processing fee for adding ineligible documents — and the documents don't appear on your account anyway [1]. You pay for nothing.

Do not add:

• Medical registration certificates or licences to practise
• PhDs or research-based qualifications
• Bachelor of Science or other scientific degrees
• Internship, housemanship or foundation-year documents
• Partially completed training or qualifications
• Short courses
• Australian or Australasian qualifications

Two deserve emphasis, because they seem obviously relevant and are not.

Medical registration certificates. ECFMG will happily verify your licence to practise, and it does you no good. The AMC will not accept it in place of your medical degree, and the Board does not require it verified through EPIC. US$110 spent for nothing.

Certificates of Good Standing. These must be sent directly to the Medical Board of Australia by the issuing registration authority [2]. An EPIC verification of a licence or good-standing certificate does not substitute. Separate process, separate track — check the Board's requirements.

One more, for UK-trained specialists: if your specialist qualification comes from the GMC, the only documents the college and the Board will accept are the Certificate of Completion of Training or the Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration, verified as a Specialist Qualification. It must be a copy of the actual certificate [2].

---

What it costs

Two sets of fees, two currencies, and a third category that catches everyone.

ECFMG (USD, current as at 1 April 2026 [6])

Note that second-last row. If ECFMG already holds a verified credential from your ECFMG Certification or EICS days, adding it to your portfolio is free — but every report sent from it, including the first one to the AMC, costs US$60 [6]. Free credential, paid report.

AMC (AUD, GST-free [9])

The third category: institution fees

Some medical schools charge to verify credentials, and you are usually responsible for paying them directly. Sometimes the institution demands payment up front from ECFMG, in which case ECFMG pays and bills it to your MyIntealth account [6]. Ask your medical school in advance — these range from nothing to several hundred dollars and sit entirely outside both ECFMG's and the AMC's control.

Realistic minimum for a standard-pathway candidate with one degree: about US$255 to ECFMG plus AUD $642 to the AMC, before any institution fee or courier. Call it AUD $1,050–1,100 all in — before your exam authorisation fee of AUD $2,920 [9].

---

Refunds: the window closes fast

The AMC's refund structure is tied to processing stage, not elapsed time [9]:

The same structure applies to added qualifications. Once an EPIC Report lands against your record, the money is gone. Another argument for doing Step 1 properly.

---

Timelines: what to actually expect

Nothing here is guaranteed, but these are the working numbers:

That last row is the whole story. ECFMG writes to the issuing institution and makes up to four verification attempts [6]. How long it takes is a function of how responsive your medical school's registry is, and nothing else. Some schools reply in three weeks. Some take a year.

Two things follow. First, start verification the moment you decide to apply. Second, do not let it block you: create your AMC account and lodge your portfolio as soon as your EPIC Portfolio is active.

Regional disruption also matters. The AMC issued an update in April 2026 on primary source verification delays affecting Iran and the surrounding region [3]. If your medical school sits in a jurisdiction with sanctions, conflict or postal disruption, build a much longer runway and check the AMC's news page before you plan around a date.

---

Identity: the boring step that stops applications

Your identity has to be confirmed at both ends, and the two records have to be reconcilable.

At ECFMG, identity confirmation is the Intealth Identification Form certified by NotaryCam. You need a valid, unexpired passport and a working camera and connection. Sessions run around the clock, by appointment or on demand [5].

At the AMC, passport is the primary document. If your passport does not carry your signature, you need secondary identification [7] — a surprisingly common issue with passports from several countries, and much easier to solve before you start than mid-application.

Where names differ across documents, the rule is simple: the degree field mirrors the degree, the identity documents mirror the passport, and any variance is explained with supporting documents (marriage certificate, deed poll, official name-change affidavit) rather than quietly smoothed over. Undeclared mismatches are what turn a five-day review into a five-week one.

---

Ten mistakes that cost time or money

1. Waiting for verification to complete before creating the AMC portfolio. The processes run in parallel. Start the AMC side the moment your EPIC Portfolio is active.
2. Not selecting the AMC when establishing the EPIC Portfolio. No AMC selection, no data flow to Australia.
3. Forgetting to nominate the AMC as an EPIC Report recipient for each credential. Per credential, every time. The single most common silent failure.
4. Verifying a medical registration certificate. ECFMG will do it. The AMC will not accept it. US$110 gone.
5. Verifying a transcript when the diploma exists. The Board may demand the diploma later, at full cost from both bodies.
6. Adding ineligible qualifications to the AMC account. Administration fee charged, document never appears.
7. Adding postgraduate qualifications before asking the college. Ask first. Colleges differ.
8. Entering the MyIntealth ID incorrectly. Live validation fails and the application cannot proceed.
9. Entering your name as it appears on your passport rather than on your degree. The qualification field mirrors the qualification document.
10. Creating a second AMC account when a post-2015 account already exists.

---

Your checklist

Before you pay anything:

• Medical school, degree title and graduation year all confirmed on the AMC Self-check tool
• Degree fully awarded, not pending
• Passport valid and carrying your signature (or secondary ID ready)
• Pathway decided; if specialist, the relevant college contacted about which credentials to verify
• Medical school registry contacted about verification fees and turnaround

Then, in order:

• MyIntealth account created, IIF certified through NotaryCam, MyIntealth ID received
• EPIC Portfolio established, Australian Medical Council selected as the organisation
• Portfolio confirmed active
• Credentials uploaded, AMC nominated as EPIC Report recipient for each one
• MyIntealth ID (and legacy EPIC ID) noted from the Identity Information tab in My Profile
• AMC account created (or existing post-2015 account signed into)
• AMC initial portfolio lodged, name entered exactly as on the degree
• AMC number received; tax invoice and application PDF downloaded
• Verification status monitored in the AMC account, not chased by email

Then go back to studying. The verification will arrive when it arrives.

---

Use the waiting time, don't watch it

This is the part most candidates get wrong twice. Having lodged the portfolio late, they then treat the verification wait as dead time.

It isn't. It is the single best window you will get for the 90-day study plan in Article 1 — an uninterrupted block with no exam date breathing down your neck, which is exactly when the slow work pays off: domain sweeps, an error log, learning how Australian guidelines differ from what you trained on. Candidates who start question practice only after their AMC number lands have thrown away two to six months of the least pressured study time in the whole pathway.

Practically: get a bank on your phone and put the waiting weeks to work. Something like AMC Prep Pro will run daily practice sets and track your category-level accuracy from day one, so that when authorisation comes through you already know which domains need the last six weeks — rather than starting a diagnostic from zero with an exam date booked. It is also the point at which English language testing, if you have not done it, is cheapest in opportunity cost.

---

What comes next

With your AMC number issued and verification in motion, the next move is booking the exam itself — authorisation, Pearson VUE scheduling, the 12-month validity window and what it costs. That is Article 3.

If your medical school is in a region with known verification delays, plan for the long version and start studying now. Article 1 has the 90-day plan; the app is free to start on.

---

Sources

1. Australian Medical Council. How to apply – AMC account and portfolio. The six steps, 5-business-day portfolio review, ineligible document list, parallel verification timing.
2. ECFMG / Intealth. EPIC: Special Instructions for Physicians Applying to Practice in Australia. EPIC process for AMC applicants, credentials by pathway, EPIC Report nomination, GMC and Certificate of Good Standing rules.
3. Australian Medical Council. Primary source verification. The three acceptable degree categories, AMC/Board division of responsibility, EICS validity, New Zealand degree exemption, April 2026 regional delay notice.
4. Australian Medical Council. Check eligible medical school, medical degrees and graduation years.
5. ECFMG / Intealth. Online Services — account establishment and identity confirmation. IIF certification via NotaryCam; passport requirement.
6. ECFMG / Intealth. EPIC Fees and Payment (last updated 1 April 2026). US$110 account, US$35 portfolio, US$110 per credential, US$60 report fees, courier fees, up-to-four verification attempts, 10-business-day review of previously verified credentials, institution fee policy.
7. Australian Medical Council. AMC Candidate Account Guide. Name-on-document rule, EPIC ID entry, identification and signature requirements.
8. Medical Board of Australia. Expedited specialist pathway. Accepted qualification list.
9. Australian Medical Council. Fees and charges. AUD $642 initial portfolio, AUD $107 additional qualification, AUD $2,920 MCQ authorisation, refund structure, 0.96% card surcharge.

Fees and processing times change without notice, and both bodies have flagged delays from high application volumes. Confirm every figure against amc.org.au and ecfmg.org before you pay.

---

Disclosure: this series is published by the team behind AMC Prep Pro, an AMC MCQ study app.