What is this article?
This is a step by step guide to completing your EPIC verification in 2021 for the purpose of GMC registration for graduates of COMUI (College of Medicine, University of Ibadan).
What is EPIC verification?
EPIC means electronic portfolio of international credentials. It is hosted by ECFMG (Educational commission for foreign medical graduates) and is used to verify the certificates of international medical graduates for the purpose of proving to licencing bodies that one’s medical degree is from an accredited/recognised university.
What do you need?
The first step to getting your EPIC verification is graduating from medical school and having an MBBS certificate.
Financial Implication
The next is to have the money. As at the time of writing this article (Februrary 2021) the cost implication is as follows:
130 USD is required to create an account.
100 USD is required to upload a credential
40,000 NGN is paid into a REMITA account of the college of medicine for verification of your medical certificate
Documents required
A clear scanned image of your International Passport
A clear scanned image of your passport photograph (white background preferably.)
MBBS degree certificate
Create EPIC Account
Have a dollar card ready with 130 USD in it (a Barter dollar card works perfectly for this process).
Go to https://www.ecfmgepic.org/index.html.
Click on ‘Establish an account’
Fill in all the necessary details including; biodata, details of medical school (including start and finish date) and medical licensure (search for ‘medical and dental council of nigeria’ and add it ).
Upload your passport and photograph.
Make a payment of 130 USD.
Identity Verification Emails
You will receive a mail confirming your account creation request and that they will revert in 3 working days.
Congratulations!
In about 3 working days, you will get 3 different email sent in quick succession.
Two different emails will each contain a system-generated username and password respectively.
The third email will contain directions for you to log in and get your identity confirmed using the EPIC identity form (EIF) signed by a notary official via NotaryCam.
Identity Verification
Log into the EPIC website with your system generated username and password.
Change your username and password to a preferred one.
Choose a security image and write a caption under it and some security questions and answers to give more security (I still don’t understand the need for this multiple protection layers)
Download the EPIC identification form (EIF).
Follow the link in the email to register for a NotaryCam account.
After registering for a Notary Cam account, start a request to get your document notarized by entering the relevant details and uploading your international passport and EIF (downloaded from EPIC)
Enter your address, after typing in your Nigerian address, in the ‘state’ section (choose ‘other’ as only US states are available there)
Click proceed or enter, then you will receive an email that your request has been accepted and a notary official will contact you shortly.
NotaryCam Signing
In about 40 minutes, you will get another email prompting you to reply if you are available at the moment to notarise the document.
If you reply in the affirmative to the email, you will get a link in the email prompting you to join a zoom meeting to meet a notary official.
The Zoom Meeting
You will need a device with a camera (a phone works as well), good internet connectivity, your face in real life and your international passport in hand.
The notary official will ask some questions to confirm your identity and ask you to swear that you are not lying raising your right hand.
After this, the notary official asks you to choose a font type for your full name in your EIF on her shared screen.
When you select one, she appends this name in your preferred typefont to your EIF as your signature and bids you farewell.
She then sends the document to EPIC and within a day, your identity is confirmed on the EPIC site and now you can upload your credential.
You usually have 6 months to get your EIF signed after you get the EIF.
Uploading Credential
Upload your MBBS degree certificate and it will be verified by EPIC. They will contact the college of medicine to verify it. This is the point where you pay 40,000 naira to the college’s account after which the verification is done.
In about a week, your MBBS certificate is verified and you are done with the process.
Don’t forget to save your login details and memory devices to the EPIC site.
Thank you. This was very useful.
You are welcome, Maryam.
How will your college contact you to pay 40000 naira. Will your college send you an email?
You will send them an email
Good day sir. This verification does it apply to all schools. For now comui graduate how do we go about it.
I don’t quite understand the question. But every body who needs to register with GMC must do the epic verification. The process is similar for most schools, I have only described the process as it relates to my alma mater
Thank you for this excellent article.
Pls how can one get the college’s account details to pay the N40,000? Is it compulsory to go to Ibadan to achieve this?
No, on the epic site you will see the email of the college. You will send the college an email and they will reply with the payment details
Hello. Thank you for this post. Do we have to do it after plab 1 or it can be delayed till after plab 2
It can be done at anytime, but I would get it done after Plab 1
Thanks! This is very informative, and helpful!!
Hi IK. Did you have to pay another $100 to upload your MBBS certificate?
If so, then the whole thing sums up to $230 + 40,000 naira right?
That’s correct Chinenye.
Hi Ik
Sorry I might sound silly but do we have to fill the EIF before uploading it and the international passport to the notary cam account or do we leave it blank?
Must it be dollar card/account?
Can it work if like you ‘re having any card/account with the equivalent of the amount inside? If No, then can you use someone’s dollar card to make the payments?
Hi Ik.
Sorry, I might sound silly but are we going to fill the EIF before uploading it and our international passport to the notary cam account or we leave it blank?
I uploaded my primary medical diploma but didn’t see anywhere to pay the $100. Please clarify. Thanks