Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (UK MRCGP)

The Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) is the integrated assessment system for doctors undertaking UK GP specialty training. It comprises three components: the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT), Simulated Consultation Assessment (SCA) and Workplace-based Assessment (WPBA).

The components assess different knowledge, skills and capabilities across the GP specialty-training curriculum. Satisfactory completion is a prerequisite for a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) and full RCGP membership, subject to the applicable training and registration requirements. The MRCGP is not a written examination alone: it combines applied knowledge, simulated consultations and evidence from workplace practice.

The SCA cases are marked in three domains: Data gathering and diagnosis, Clinical management and medical complexity, and Relating to others. Clinical management and medical complexity is weighted relative to the other domains. The overall result is based on performance across the assessment, not on passing a fixed number of cases.

WPBA evidence includes workplace assessments and reports, naturally occurring evidence and mandatory requirements. Trainees record evidence across 13 professional capability areas in the Trainee Portfolio; structured progress reviews normally take place every six months.

The RCGP assessment blueprint maps assessment methods to curriculum capabilities. It distinguishes methods that can provide strong evidence, supporting evidence that needs triangulation, or no evidence for a capability. Use it to plan across the curriculum; it is not a set of topic-percentage weights.

The regulations identify three broad AKT knowledge areas: clinical knowledge; critical appraisal and evidence-based practice; and organisation, management and administrative issues. Use those areas alongside the capability framework to balance knowledge revision with consultation performance and workplace evidence.

Eligibility depends on UK GP specialty-training status, RCGP membership records and the rules applicable to the candidate’s training circumstances and cohort.

• Training pathway: The regulations identify medical practitioners undertaking the UK GP specialty-training programme and registered with the RCGP as eligible. Some trainees who are out of programme but remain in training with a National Training Number may also be eligible.
• Booking checks: Current RCGP application guidance requires active MRCGP membership and training records showing the correct stage. The AKT is available to candidates recorded in ST2 or ST3; the SCA is available in ST3. Incomplete training records can prevent booking.
• CCT timing: The AKT and SCA must be taken and passed during the GP training programme to be eligible for a CCT. Subject to attempt rules, the regulations allow one attempt at either test in the 12-month period immediately after leaving training without a CCT; passing after leaving training does not make the candidate eligible for a CCT through that training route.
• Attempt limits: Candidates entering GP specialty training for the first time on or after August 2, 2023, are permitted a maximum of six attempts at both the AKT and SCA. Different provisions apply to earlier cohorts, so check the rules relevant to your entry date.
• SCA location: Candidates may not sit the SCA while located outside the UK and are responsible for securing a suitable GP training-surgery setting.
• WPBA: WPBA is completed through workplace evidence and training reviews, not through a conventional examination booking.

Check the live RCGP applications page and the regulations for your circumstances before applying.

AKT: revise applied knowledge across the stated areas

• Organize revision around clinical knowledge, critical appraisal and evidence-based practice, and organizational, management and administrative knowledge.
• Use timed mixed-topic practice to build the habit of applying knowledge in a UK general-practice context.
• Review errors by identifying whether the gap was factual knowledge, interpretation or choosing an appropriate next step.
• As the examination approaches, practice against the current 160-item, 160-minute format.

SCA: rehearse complete, responsive consultations

• Practice full consultations using the 3-minute reading period and 12-minute consultation period.
• Seek feedback against all three marking domains: data gathering and diagnosis; clinical management and medical complexity; and relating to others.
• Rehearse gathering relevant information, explaining your assessment, agreeing management and responding to risk or uncertainty.
• Use role-play or consultation review. Written question practice may support clinical reasoning, but it does not reproduce the SCA’s timed role-player interaction.

WPBA: build evidence throughout training

• Discuss capability goals and evidence opportunities with your educational supervisor regularly.
• Use real clinical work, feedback, assessments, reports and reflection to show development across the capability areas.
• Track portfolio and mandatory evidence as you go, and review progress during training rather than leaving portfolio work until the end.

A balanced study cycle can combine timed AKT practice, a complete SCA role-play and review of a real case or portfolio entry. Keep the preparation appropriate to each assessment format.

• Keep the scope UK-specific: MRCGP[INT] examinations use curricula developed for their respective countries. They differ from the UK GP curriculum, and passing an MRCGP[INT] examination does not itself confer the right to practise as a GP in the UK.
• Use the current booking page: The live RCGP applications page says candidates no longer need a reservation for MRCGP examinations and that bookings are made through MyRCGP. The consolidated regulations page still contains older reservation wording and lists a November 2024 revision history; use the live applications page for the operational booking process.
• Check dates, fees and deadlines directly: Examination dates, booking deadlines, fees and cancellation rules can change. Use the RCGP applications page for current booking and date information and the important-information page for fees and administration. This guide does not reproduce current amounts or calendar deadlines.
• Plan adjustments early: The RCGP publishes component-specific reasonable-adjustment guidance and deadlines. Check the current page for the sitting you plan to take; WPBA adjustments are handled through the employer or deanery in the first instance.
• Review recent WPBA guidance: RCGP WPBA resources describe changes introduced from August 2026. Check the current portfolio guidance for how requirements apply to your post and training stage.