Medical Licensing Assessment

The Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) will test the core knowledge, skills and behaviours of doctors who want to practise in the UK. 

It will give patients and employers greater confidence in doctors starting work in the UK, wherever they were educated or trained. The MLA is taken by two candidate groups:

  • All medical students graduating from UK universities need to pass the MLA as part of their degree before they can join the medical register.
  • International doctors who want to join the UK medical register will continue to take PLAB which is now compliant with our MLA requirements (it'll retain its current name for the time being).

Both groups of candidates will take assessments that draw from the same topics and meet the same requirements.


What you need to know about the MLA

The following pages explain the MLA for students at UK medical schools and for international medical graduates.




What will the MLA cover?

All content in the MLA will be drawn from the MLA content map. This is underpinned by three themes: 

  • readiness for safe practice
  • managing uncertainty 
  • delivering person-centred care

The content map is a live document. We're committed to keeping it up to date with timely revisions, to make sure it continues to be reflective of day-to-day medical practice.