This is the medical qualification you were awarded following a course of study providing a basic grounding in the core areas of medicine and physiology, required for doing a practical period of training to gain entry to the medical profession.

If your primary medical qualification is from outside the UK and is not a relevant European qualification, the GMC needs to make sure it’s acceptable in the UK for you to be eligible to take PLAB and/or apply for registration.

As part of your application, you’ll need to provide a copy of your qualification.  There are some qualifications the GMC already knows aren’t accepted in the UK, or are only accepted in some cases (listed in this guide).
You should check whether your qualification is acceptable before you start an application with us.

Your certificate must the exact date you passed your final exam or assessment. If it doesn’t, then send us a letter from your university confirming this date.

f you’re applying for full registration with a licence to practise, you need to demonstrate that you have gained the necessary experience needed to work as a fully registered doctor in the UK.

To do this, you need to show that you have either successfully completed Year 1 of the Foundation programme (F1) in the UK, or a period of pre-graduate or postgraduate clinical experience outside the UK. This is usually referred to as an internship.

Applicants must satisfy the Registrar that they have the necessary experience for full registration in one of two ways.

• You have completed a minimum of 12 months continuous medical practice undertaken immediately prior or immediately following graduation (this is usually referred to as an internship)
• You have completed a minimum of two years continuous postgraduate medical practice in at least one branch of medicine and one branch of surgery

• GMC will ask to see evidence of your experience in the form of a signed certificate or document detailing the dates and duration of all rotations and practice.

• The date of issue of the certificate or document confirming successful completion of the programme must match the date the programme ended.

• If you are relying on two years continuous postgraduate medical practice, we may ask for evidence from your supervising consultant(s) to cover this practice.

• GMC will not accept experience from posts that involved observation,

When you apply for registration with a licence to practise GMC needs to be satisfied you have the necessary knowledge of English to practise safely in the UK. They need to be confident you can communicate effectively in English, so you do not put the safety of your patients at risk.

GMC may be able to accept your Academic IELTS certificate as evidence of your knowledge of English. You need an overall score of at least 7.5 and at least 7.0 in each testing area (speaking, listening, reading and writing).

For GMC to Academic IELTS Certificate, you must demostrate:

• that you took the academic version of the test,
• that you achieved these scores in the same test (we do not accept one-skill retakes),
• that the test was taken in person, in an authorised test centre. GMC does not accept the IELTS Indicator or IELTS Online tests.

GMC can accept the following versions of OET: OET on paper, OET on computer and OET @Home.

You need an overall score of at least a grade ‘B’ in each testing area (speaking, listening, reading and writing)

For GMC to accept your OET Certificate, you must show:

• that you took the medicine version of the test,
• your candidate number,
• that you obtained the grades in your most recent sitting of the test.

The PLAB 1 exam tests your ability to apply your knowledge for the care of patients. It doesn’t test how well you can remember and recite facts. Questions relate to current best practice in the UK, and equipment routinely available in UK hospitals. You’ll need to answer the questions in relation to published evidence and not according to your local arrangements.

 The exam happens four times a year in the UK and in a number of overseas locations. The available exam dates and centers can only be seen via the GMC online account, the subsequent booking and registration application has to be done via this account too.

The Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials (EPIC℠) offers primary-source verification of medical credentials to physicians and organizations worldwide. 

Before you start the verification process you should check that the GMC accepts your qualification.

For overseas medical qualifications, you should create a GMC Online account (if you haven’t already) and check that we accept your primary medical qualification and/or postgraduate qualification.

If your qualifications don’t meet their criteria, they won’t be able to grant your registration with a licence to practise, even if they have been verified by ECFMG.

Once you’re sure your qualifications are acceptable for GMC, you’ll need to send them to ECFMG to be verified.

EPIC (Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials) is ECFMG’s online verification portal. The EPIC website is where you will set up an account and submit your qualification for verification. The EPIC verification process is managed entirely by ECFMG.

GMC recommend that you start the verification process as early as possible and have your qualification(s) verified before applying. The time it takes to verify qualifications depends on a number of factors. GMC can only keep applications open for 90 days.

A lot of planning and preparation is required for this step. If you understand what needs to be done, you can apply for UK Visa by yourself. If you don’t need a visa to visit UK or already have a visa. 

PLAB 2 is an objective structured clinical exam (OSCE). It’s made up of 16 scenarios, each lasting eight minutes and aims to reflect real life settings including a mock consultation or an acute ward.

The exam covers everything a UK trained doctor might expect to see on the first day of Foundation Year Two (F2). It tests your ability to apply knowledge to the care of patients, not how well you can remember and recite facts.

All the questions relate to current best practice. You should answer them in relation to published evidence and not according to your local arrangements.