MRCGP

Overview

MRCGP is the membership exam of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) in the UK. It tests whether a doctor has the knowledge and skills for independent general practice within the NHS. The exam has two parts: the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) and the Simulated Consultation Assessment (SCA).

Who can apply

• You need active MRCGP membership. Resigned, lapsed or suspended membership stops you from booking.

• The AKT is open to trainees in ST2 or ST3. The SCA is open to ST3 trainees only.

• Your training record in the FourteenFish portfolio must show your current training year and post, and your personal details must not contain special characters such as commas or quotation marks.

• Trainees who are out of training, for example on maternity or sick leave or on an extension, may need the exams team to apply an override before they can book.

Exam pattern

Applied Knowledge Test (AKT)

The AKT is a computer-based knowledge test. It uses single best answer questions and is taken at Pearson test centres across the UK.

Simulated Consultation Assessment (SCA)

The SCA assesses how well you combine clinical, professional and communication skills. It is taken from the ST3 year.

Syllabus

The AKT draws about 80% of its questions from clinical knowledge, 10% from evidence-based practice and 10% from how primary care is organised and managed.

Marking and results

For the SCA, each consultation is graded in three domains: data gathering and diagnosis; clinical management and medical complexity; and relating to others. Each domain gets one of four grades: clear pass, pass, fail or clear fail. A pass means meeting the standard of a newly qualified GP.

Your result depends on your performance across the whole assessment. You do not have to pass a set number of consultations. The pass mark is set by borderline regression, so it varies with the cases used rather than being fixed. After the SCA you receive feedback on each consultation and suggested areas to develop. RCGP reports SCA pass rates of roughly 60% to 78% across recent sittings (59.75% in October 2025, 77.92% in May 2024, 65.02% in June 2026), with first-time candidates doing better than repeat candidates.

For the AKT, the RCGP says the pass standard and curriculum coverage stayed the same when the exam was shortened.

Important dates

The AKT runs in January, April, July and October. You can book up to 12 months ahead, and the final booking deadline falls roughly two to three months before the exam. SCA sittings run across nine months of the year. Check the RCGP site for the exact dates and deadlines of each sitting.

Fees

As listed on the RCGP site in 2026, the AKT fee is 481 pounds sterling and the SCA fee is 1,207 pounds sterling.

Staged payments are available for exam bookings: a 25% deposit, a second 25% payment and a final 50% balance. Payments are not taken automatically, so you must pay each stage by its deadline. All payments are refundable until the final booking deadline.

How to apply

From 2026 you book directly through the MyRCGP portal, with no FourteenFish reservation step. Log in, open the My Exams tab and book the exam. Google Chrome is the preferred browser. Questions go to the RCGP exams team by email.

After the exam

If you do not pass the SCA, you can re-sit after reading the feedback for each consultation. RCGP suggests talking to your trainer about timing before you rebook through your portfolio.

FAQs