Taking the MLA

You'll need to pass the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) as part of your medical degree before you can join the medical register.

The MLA will be a common part of a medical degree, but medical schools will teach across a range of areas and assess across a broad curriculum.

What the assessment involves

It's a two-part assessment made up of an applied knowledge test (AKT) and a clinical and professional skills assessment (CPSA). You'll take both parts at your own medical school on dates chosen by them.

The AKT

This is an on-screen exam, run by medical schools, with multiple choice questions. It will test your ability to apply medical knowledge to different scenarios.We set requirements that all AKTs must meet.

The CPSA

This is an assessment of clinical skills and professional skills, which your medical school sets and runs. Each medical school calls the CPSA something different - for example, an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) or Objective Structured Long Examination Record (OSLER). We set requirements that all CPSAs must meet.

As you approach your final exams, your medical school will let you know about the practical arrangements for taking the MLA.

Preparing

Your degree course is the best preparation for the MLA - you won't need to learn anything beyond what's already covered in your medical school's curriculum.

The MLA content map tells you and your medical school more about the topics and areas that your AKT and CPSA assessments could cover.

The content map is based on Outcomes for graduates, which sets out what newly-qualified doctors from UK medical schools must know and be able to do. Every medical school already needs to make sure their graduates are meeting these outcomes so schools are preparing students already.