Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (MRCP)

MRCP(UK) offers the following postgraduate medical qualifications for doctors who are preparing for higher specialist training on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the Royal College of Physicians of London.

• MRCP(UK) Diploma
• 12 Specialty Certificate Examinations (SCEs)

The MRCP(UK) examinations play an essential role in the overall educational experience and continuing professional development of physicians in the UK and internationally.

The Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (UK) Diploma is required for physicians wishing to undergo training in a medically-related specialty in the UK.

The Specialty Certificate Examinations (SCEs) are an opportunity to measure your knowledge against an internationally recognised benchmark, which represents the breadth and depth of knowledge required of a newly qualified specialist in your chosen discipline. These are a requirement in the UK for specialist physicians.

MRCP(UK) EXAMINATION INVOLVE:

The MRCP(UK) Diploma tests the skills, knowledge and behaviour of doctors in training. It involves three examinations:

• Part 1 consists of two three-hour multiple-choice question papers covering knowledge and understanding of the clinical sciences.
• Part 2 Written consists of three three-hour multiple-choice question papers covering diagnosis, investigation, management and prognosis of patients.
• Part 2 Clinical Examination (PACES) involves a series of five clinical stations, each assessed by two independent examiners. In the UK, the MRCP(UK) Diploma is usually taken during the two-year period of general professional training (GPT) in medicine after you have registered with the UK General Medical Council. 
• The SCEs consists of 2 three-hour multiple-choice question papers delivered through computer-based testing throughout the world.

You need to apply online at the MRCP(UK) website. To find out how, visit MRCP(UK)’s Online Examination Services web page.

Part 1 and Part 2 written examinations

The MRCP(UK) Diploma and Specialty Certificate Examinations are designed to test the skills, knowledge and behaviour of doctors in training.

MRCP(UK) Diploma has three parts: 

• MRCP(UK) Part 1
• MRCP(UK) Part 2 Written
• MRCP(UK) Part 2 Clinical (PACES)

Successful completion of the entire three-part examination is required before you can start specialist internal medicine training in the UK. All the MRCP(UK) and Specialty Certificate Examinations are approved by the General Medical Council (GMC) as part of the UK postgraduate medical training programme and follow the UK curricula and guidelines.

MRCP(UK) Part 1

The MRCP(UK) Part 1 is the entry-level exam accessible to doctors with a minimum of 12 months' postgraduate experience in medical employment. It covers a broad range of topics to ensure the level of knowledge is appropriate to physicians at the beginning of postgraduate training.

Knowledge as an essential base for the practice of clinical reasoning

Knowledge is vital as a basis for learning during postgraduate training, to develop understanding of disease processes and their treatment. Building on knowledge of basic medical science gained in undergraduate education, the purpose of Part 1 is to test knowledge and understanding of common and important disorders, as outlined in the UK curriculum, as well as clinical science. Knowledge and understanding of UK national guidelines is also required.

Success in the Part 1 indicates you not only retained the knowledge acquired during undergraduate training, but that your knowledge of medicine has expanded and kept pace with developments that have occurred since graduation, and continues to provide an appropriate basis for clinical decision making. Part 1 is a valuable milestone during training, and helps to prepare you for the more challenging Part 2 Written and Clinical Examinations.

Clinical science forms the basis of all medical practice, and so it is an important component of the Part 1 exam. Wherever appropriate, clinical science questions will include a clinical stem, although this will not invariably be the case if such a stem would not be justified due to the nature of the question.

Exam dates and fees

Applications made outside the opening and closing dates will not be accepted.

The home/office based online exam is available to UK-based candidates and in some International locations, please see https://www.thefederation.uk/examinations/part-1/international-centres for more information.

2025

2025/1

2025/2

2025/3

The application process/fee for Hong Kong centres are different.

2026

2026/1

2026/2

2026/3

MRCP(UK) CENTRES IN INDIA

Chennai

Hyderabad

Kerala

Kolkata

Mumbai

New Delhi

How to open a My MRCP(UK) online account

watch this video: https://youtu.be/6YOI9Sm0xPk

Main stages to applying

• Log into your My MRCP(UK) account
• Check that all your personal details are up-to-date, a correspondence address is mandatory when completing your application.
• Fill in details about whether you are training in the UK or not
• Choose a centre where you would like to take the examination
• Complete any special arrangements where applicable
• Pay for the examination
• Once your application is submitted, you will now be assigned an RCP code
• You will need to provide evidence of your primary medical qualification (PMQ) and send it to PMQ@thefederation.uk along with your RCP code.

No ID, No Entry

Candidates should bring the MRCP(UK) issued admission document to the examination along with their ID. The rules for ID verification also apply to candidates sitting online examinations – information on how the process is carried out is provided on the MRCP(UK) website. Candidates in the online examination who do not present their ID will be reported by their proctor to MRCP(UK) and will not be permitted to proceed with the examination until the ID has been verified. In accordance with paragraph 3.7, Candidates will not be permitted to sit the examination unless they produce suitable valid identification, which must be in date. This will normally be a passport. Where candidates do not possess a passport, some other form of identification may be acceptable, provided that it includes both the photograph and signature of the candidate (see list of Primary ID documents below). Electronic state identity cards or proof of residency documents issued by the government of the country in which the candidate is resident will also be accepted (photographs or scans of identity documents such as passports are not permitted).

Acceptable Primary ID Documents:

• Current valid passport (containing photograph and signature)
• Full or provisional photocard driving licence
• EEA Member State identity photocard
• National identity photocard for non-EEA foreign nationals
• Identity card issued by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland
• Electronic state ID card or residence document issued by the relevant authority
• Alternatively, two forms of identification, one with a photograph and the other with a signature, will be accepted (see list of Secondary ID documents). Acceptable Secondary ID Documents: Two forms of secondary ID will need to be shown together e.g., NHS/Hospital Identity card with a debit card; at least one of these MUST CONTAIN a photograph and a signature (this does not necessarily need to be in the same piece of ID):
• Valid credit or debit card
• Valid student card with photograph
• NHS/Hospital Identity card
• Paper driving licence
• Certified copy of passport or driving licence.

*These documents must be accompanied by an official stamp or letter from the issuing organisation in order to qualify as an acceptable form of ID. Self-made photocopies will not be accepted without such official corroboration. Additional forms of ID may be considered provided candidates contact their college’s administration office or MRCP(UK) well in advance of the examination. Candidates should ensure that the name on their ID exactly matches the name on their admission document. Where names do not match, candidates must contact the relevant college’s administration office or MRCP(UK) well in advance of the examination for advice.

Admission to the examination will be at the discretion of the invigilator(s), and invigilators have the right to question a candidate further if they are not satisfied with the identification that has been provided. The Royal Colleges of Physicians observe sensitivity in the visual identification of candidates, but advance notice should be given by candidates of any anticipated difficulties.

Format

The MRCP(UK) Part 1 exam is designed to assess a candidate's knowledge and understanding of the clinical sciences relevant to medical practice and of common or important disorders to a level appropriate for entry to specialist training. Knowledge is an essential base for the practice of clinical reasoning and vital as a basis for learning during postgraduate training to develop understanding of disease and their treatment.

The exam is computer-based and is administered by Surpass at a test centre internationally or online via a proctoring service in the UK. It has a two-paper format. Each paper is three hours in duration and contains 100 multiple choice questions in 'best of five' format. This format, in addition to testing core knowledge and comprehension, also assesses the ability to interpret information and to solve clinical problems. There are five options - one correct answer and four alternatives to the correct answer. The four distractors are closely related to the preferred option but less correct, therefore acting as plausible alternatives. The candidate chooses the best answer from the five possible answers. Each correct answer is awarded one mark; there is no negative marking

The content of the exam is based on a blueprint. This outlines the composition of the papers, including the likely number of questions under each broad clinical topic heading. This has been updated to reflect the new terminology used in the new UK Internal Medicine curriculum, and it will be used from the 2020/1 diet of the examination. Details of the new blueprint can be found here.

* This should be taken as an indication of the likely number of questions – the actual number may vary slightly.

** Clinical sciences comprise:

Equating and Scaled Scores

Instead of an overall percentage score, all candidates are given an ‘overall scaled score’. For most candidates, this score ranges between 200 and 800, although occasionally it can be negative or above 800. The score is calculated from the number of questions a candidate has answered correctly in the two examination papers and also takes into account the relative difficulty of the examination. Because no two examinations can contain exactly the same set of questions, some papers may be slightly harder (or easier) than others. Equating addresses this by calculating the exact difficulty of each question.

MRCP(UK) PART 1 PASSING SCORE :

The scaled ability score applied as the pass mark from 2023/1, agreed by the MRCP(UK) Part 1 Standard Setting Group, is 540. 

MRCP(UK) Part 2

The MRCP(UK) Part 2 written exam can be taken by physicians in training who have passed the MRCP(UK) Part 1 exam. It builds on the knowledge assessed in Part 1 and tests the acquisition of a representative sample of medical knowledge, skills and behaviour as specified in the UK Specialty Training Curriculum for Core Medical Training / Curriculum for Internal Medicine.

Since 2018, the exam now consists of two, three hour papers each with 100 questions. Click here for more information.

The exam will test your ability to apply clinical understanding, make clinical judgements and take responsibility for:

• prioritising diagnostic or problem lists
• planning investigation
• selecting a plan for immediate management
• selecting a plan for long-term management
• assessing prognosis.

Exam dates and fees

Applications made outside the opening and closing dates will not be accepted.

From 2025, the delivery of our Part 2 exams will move to remote online proctoring for both UK and international candidates.

The application process is the same as before and the exam content and format remains unchanged, so candidates should prepare in the same way as they normally would.

2026

2026/1

2026/2

2026/3

India (online only)

International online exam

From 2025, the delivery of our Part 2 exams will move to remote online proctoring for international candidates.

The application process is the same as before and the exam content and format remains unchanged, so candidates should prepare in the same way as they normally would. Delivery is the same as the centre based exam in terms of content and format, so you should prepare in the same way as you normally would. 

Online application

Apply online through My MRCP(UK). The main steps are:

• Log into your My MRCP(UK) account
• Check that all your personal details are up-to-date
• Fill in details about whether you are training in the UK or not
• Choose a centre where you would like to take the exam
• Complete any special arrangements where applicable as the details will not still be on the system from a previous exam (information about Reasonable Adjustments can be found here)
• Pay for the exam.

Format

The exam is computer-based and is administered by Surpass online via a proctoring service in the UK and internationally. It has a two-paper format. Each paper is 3 hours in duration and contains 100 multiple choice questions in 'best of five' format. This format, in addition to testing core knowledge and comprehension, also assesses the ability to interpret information and to solve clinical problems. There will be five options - one correct answer and four alternatives to the correct answer. The four distractors will be closely related to the preferred option but less correct, therefore acting as plausible alternatives. The candidate chooses the best answer from the five possible answers. Each correct answer is awarded one mark; there is no negative marking.

The composition of the papers is as follows:

*This should be taken as an indication of the likely number of questions – the actual number may vary by up to 2%.

A proportion of the questions will be on adolescent medicine.

Question content

The questions will usually have a clinical scenario, may include the results of investigations and may be illustrated with images such as clinical photographs, pathology slides, inheritance trees, ECGs, X-rays, CT and MR scans, and echocardiograms.

MRCP(UK) PART 2 PASSING SCORE :

The MRCP(UK) Part 2 written exam pass mark is a scaled score of 454. This score is derived from the number of correct answers and the difficulty of the specific exam paper.

While the pass mark is 454, aiming for a score between 475 and 575 is recommended for a more comfortable margin of success. The total score can range from 200 to 800 for the vast majority of candidates. 

PACES

The MRCP(UK) Part 2 Clinical Examination (Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills - PACES) is designed to test the clinical knowledge and skills of trainee doctors who hope to enter higher specialist training (ST3). You must have passed the Part 1 written exam before taking PACES. The exam sets rigorous standards to ensure your competence across a range of skills and you are ready to provide a high standard of care to patients.

Eligibility

MRCP(UK) has removed the previous regulation requiring candidates to pass the MRCP(UK) Part 2 Written and PACES examinations within 7 years of passing Part 1. This has now been superseded by the new limited attempts policy. Candidates will have a maximum of six attempts at any part of the MRCP(UK) examination and will not be able to continue if they reach this level without passing. Candidates who achieved a pass in Part 1 longer than 7 years ago can now continue to apply for Part 2 Written or PACES, provided they have had fewer than six attempts.

We would advise that you have at least 2 years’ clinical experience working in hospitals following receiving your primary medical qualification. 

Centre Locations

UK centres

Candidates may enter PACES through any one of the three Royal Colleges. The exam is run at clinical centres across the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland); these vary from diet to diet.

Prioritisation criteria for candidates sitting in the UK

If the number of applications for the exam exceeds the places available, candidates in UK training will be prioritised. Every effort will be made to provide as many places as possible. If the number of applicants in UK training exceeds the number of places available, those who expect to apply for ST3 posts within the next year will be prioritised.

International centres

We are working hard to increase the number of spaces for the exam, however, it is not always possible to meet demand and offer places to all candidates who apply. Since 2012 we have increased the number of international places by 23%, through providing more examination days in existing centres, and by opening new centres in India, Pakistan and Jordan. We are committed to continuing to increase opportunities for international candidates over the next few years.

We will try to prioritise candidates using factors including number of unsuccessful/successful applications and time since passing Part 1, however we cannot guarantee that every candidate will get a space on this basis

Some centres no longer offer provisional places; if you are awaiting results of your current PACES exam, please do not apply for those centres as your application will not be considered.

CENTRE FOR PACES IN INDIA

Bengaluru

Chennai

Hyderabad

Kochi

Kolkata

New Delhi

Puducherry

Pune

Thiruvananthapuram

Format

PACES Carousel

The new format of the exam, detailed below, will be introduced from the third Diet of 2023.

You will be marked at each of the five clinical stations, assessed by two independent examiners. You can start at any one of the stations and move to the next every 20 minutes until you have completed the cycle. There is a 5-minute period between each station.

Carousel of PACES stations

Skills

Different numbers and combinations of skills are assessed at each encounter, as per the table below:

Mark scheme

You will be assessed by ten examiners, two at each of the stations. For each of the eight encounters they will complete a marksheet assessing a combination of skills. Each is graded Satisfactory (2 marks), Borderline (1 mark) or Unsatisfactory (0 marks). Examiners will review the patients at all 5 stations to establish the criteria for a satisfactory grade. This is known as calibration.

Patient encounters

An encounter is an interaction with a patient or surrogate. Stations 2 and 5 involve one encounter, whereas stations 1, 3 and 4 have two encounters. There are therefore a total of eight encounters throughout the exam organised into stations:

Stations 1 and 4 Communication encounters:

The communication encounters aim to assess your ability to:

• Guide and organise the interview with the subject (who may be a patient, relative, or surrogate, such as a healthcare worker)
• explain clinical information
• apply clinical knowledge, including knowledge of ethics, to the management of the case or situation
• provide emotional support
• treat the patient with dignity and respect.

The station features:

• written instructions for the case are given to the candidate during the five-minute interval before this station
• 10 minutes are allowed for the patient interaction. There will be no examiner-candidate interaction. Marks will be based on examiner observation alone

Stations 2 & 5 Consultation:

These 2 stations aim to assess the way in which the candidate approaches a clinical problem in an integrated manner, using history-taking, examination, and communication with a patient or a surrogate. On some occasions the history will be delivered by a surrogate on behalf of the patient. Alternatively the patient may provide the history. One of these stations is likely to be a patient with an acute presentation whilst the other is likely to be less acute.

The station features:

• written instructions for the case, usually in the form of a short note or referral letter given to the candidate during the 5-minute interval before this station.
• for each case, 20 minutes are given with each patient to take a detailed history, carry out a relevant examination, and respond to the patient’s concerns. 15 minutes will be allowed for history taking, examination and discussion with the patient followed by a 5 minute question and answer with a lead examiner.