PLAB

Overview

The Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test is run by the General Medical Council (GMC) in the United Kingdom. It checks that doctors who qualified overseas have the knowledge and skills to practise medicine in the UK. The standard is that of a doctor starting the second year of the UK Foundation Programme (F2). The test has two parts, and both must be passed before you can apply for registration with a licence to practise.

Who can apply

The GMC says you will probably need PLAB if you graduated from a medical school outside the UK, the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.

• You need an acceptable overseas primary medical qualification. If you have not yet graduated, the GMC needs confirmation that you passed your final exams and meet all other requirements for the qualification.

• You must show that your knowledge of English is acceptable. The GMC advises that candidates who hold IELTS or OET results are more likely to pass PLAB 1 at the first attempt, and recommends considering one of them even if other evidence is accepted.

• You need a GMC Online account. Once your English evidence is verified, you can book through the booking service in that account.

• For PLAB 2 you also need a valid PLAB 1 pass.

Exam pattern

PLAB 1

PLAB 2

Syllabus

PLAB 1. Questions test how you apply knowledge to patient care, not recall of facts. They cover common, important and acute conditions of the kind seen by an F2 doctor, including those common in emergency departments, and the management of long-term conditions in primary care. Advanced GP duties are excluded. Answers should follow published evidence and current UK best practice, not local arrangements, and assume equipment routinely available in UK hospitals.

PLAB 2. Scenarios can cover anything an F2 doctor might meet at work, such as mock consultations or an acute ward. Most stations use a simulated patient, and some use a telephone call, a model or manikin, or a simulator. Tasks can include history taking, physical examination, practical procedures such as venepuncture, cannulation, suturing and basic life support, interpreting ECGs and X-rays, explaining diagnoses, breaking bad news, obtaining consent and giving discharge advice. Drug names follow the British National Formulary.

Marking and results

PLAB 1. Each correct answer scores one mark and your score is the total of correct answers. The pass mark is set for each test using the Angoff method, plus one standard error of measurement. Your results show your total score, the pass mark and the average score of all candidates. You also get the percentage correct in ten clinical areas, alongside the candidate average for each. The areas are cardiorespiratory, child and adolescent health, endocrine, metabolic and clinical haematology, gastrointestinal, mental health, musculoskeletal, neurosciences and senses, renal and urology, reproductive health, and ethics and other.

PLAB 2. In each station the examiner marks you in three domains: data gathering, technical and assessment skills; clinical management skills; and interpersonal skills. The examiner also gives an overall judgement (unsatisfactory, borderline, satisfactory or good) that is used to calculate each station's pass score by borderline regression. To pass you must meet the overall pass mark, which is the sum of the station cut scores plus one standard error of measurement, and also pass a minimum number of stations. The GMC does not publish the required number of stations in advance. The pass mark varies by exam and by test centre. Results include marks per domain and per station, and examiners can tick feedback statements such as time management or rapport.

The GMC no longer offers manual re-checks of results, but you can appeal a result.

Important dates

PLAB 1 is held four times a year, in February, May, August and November, in the UK and at overseas locations. Published dates:

PLAB 1 results are published six weeks after the exam. PLAB 2 runs throughout the year, and results are published within a month of the exam. Booking availability varies by location, and registration may close between two and six weeks before a PLAB 1 date.

Fees

For 2026 (from 1 April 2026), the GMC lists these fees:

Cancelling PLAB 1 more than 42 days before the exam costs 10% of the fee (£28.30); later cancellation costs the full fee. For PLAB 2, cancelling more than 42 days before costs 10% (£103.60), 42 to 29 days before costs 50% (£518), and 28 days or fewer costs the full fee (£1,036).

Refugee doctors living in the UK pay nothing for PLAB 1 for their first two attempts, and get a 50% reduction on PLAB 2 for their first two attempts.

How to apply

1. Set up a GMC Online account and submit your qualification and English language evidence for verification.

2. Once verified, book a PLAB 1 place through the booking service under My Tests. Places can only be booked through GMC Online, and sharing your account with anyone else counts as misconduct.

3. After passing PLAB 1, book PLAB 2 in the same way once your results are issued.

PLAB 1 can be taken at UK centres (Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Manchester), in Dublin and Madrid, and at British Council venues in other countries. Places can be limited where demand is high.

After the exam

You must pass PLAB 2 within two years of passing PLAB 1, counting from the date you sat the test and not the results date. After passing both parts, you can apply for registration with a licence to practise, and the application must be approved within two years of passing PLAB 2. English language evidence is needed again at registration if earlier evidence has expired.

You can sit each part until you have failed it four times. After a fourth failure you can apply for one final attempt, but only after at least 12 months of further learning, shown through 12 months of clinical practice or a relevant postgraduate qualification. If you fail the fifth attempt, you cannot take the test again.

Preparation tips

• Answer PLAB 1 according to current UK guidance and published evidence, not what is done where you trained.

• For PLAB 2, practise the full range of basic examinations and procedures, and rehearse the consultation skills the three marking domains reward.

• Start each PLAB 2 station by stating your name and GMC number, as the examiner may be watching remotely.

• Do not touch the phone or monitor in telephone stations, as this disconnects the call.

• The GMC publishes sample questions, a sample OSCE station and an overview video for preparation.