How Our Recalls Are Made

RecallMastery files are built from what recent test-takers report. This page explains how, who checks the files, what is not in them, and what USMLE’s own rules say.

What “recalls” means here

In our name and on our product pages, “recalls” describes what recent test-takers report: which systems, concepts and case types they met. It does not describe a copied exam paper. How a file is built from those reports differs between our Step packs and our shelf packs, and this page covers both.

Where reports come from

After an exam window, recent test-takers send us what they met: systems, concepts, case types and question style. That is the input for every file.

From report to question

Step 1, Step 2 CK and Step 3 packs go through all five steps below. Shelf packs are compiled from student reports instead of being rewritten, so they use steps 4 and 5 only.

1. After an exam window, recent test-takers send us what they met — systems, concepts, case types, question style.
2. We keep the pattern and discard the raw report. The report is never resold.
3. Our writers build new questions and explanations around that pattern.
4. Our student team, led by Derek Nicolas, checks accuracy, the answer key and distractor logic.
5. The file is versioned and dated. Every change goes in the changelog.

Illustrative example (invented for this page; it is not an exam item). A reported concept: a drug interaction that raises lithium levels. It becomes a new stem: “A 45-year-old man stable on lithium for bipolar disorder starts hydrochlorothiazide for hypertension. Two weeks later he has a coarse tremor, vomiting and an unsteady gait. What is the most likely explanation?” The answer is reduced renal lithium clearance caused by the thiazide, leading to lithium toxicity, and the explanation says why each wrong option is wrong.

Shelf packs are the exception: the report is cleaned up, answered and checked rather than rewritten. They are closer to a recall file than to a written-from-scratch bank.

The review step

Our student team, led by Derek Nicolas (medical student), checks clinical accuracy, the answer key and distractor logic before a file is released. See the team page.

Updates

Every file is versioned and dated, and every change goes in the changelog below.

What is not in the file

Step packs contain no verbatim exam items. Shelf packs are compiled from student reports and are closer to a recall file, as described above. In neither case do we resell reports as received or publish scans or photographs of exam material.

What USMLE says

USMLE’s published rules say it is unlawful for a test preparation service “to use, disclose, distribute, or solicit content from recent test takers”, or to otherwise provide access to questions or answers from actual exams. They add that if there is evidence a candidate used a program or service that distributes, provides access to, or uses USMLE content (questions or answers), the candidate’s registration and testing may be canceled, scores may be withheld or canceled, and further sanctions may apply. Because our reports come from recent test-takers, our Step and shelf packs both sit inside that space, whatever the file contains. USMLE decides what counts, not us.

Source: USMLE, Examples of Security Violations, accessed 4 November 2026.

What we cannot promise

We cannot promise how USMLE will treat any resource or candidate, and we do not promise a score improvement. Our view that the Step packs carry lower exposure than a raw dump is our own reasoning, not a ruling by USMLE. Nothing on this site is legal advice.

Report an error

If a fact on this page is wrong, email [email protected] with the page and what is wrong. We fix it and note the change in the changelog.

RecallMastery is an independent prep publisher. USMLE, NBME and FSMB do not review, approve or endorse our files. USMLE® is a trademark of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB).