Is my qualification acceptable

  1. Summary
  2. When we assess whether an overseas primary medical qualification is acceptable
  3. When and how to check your primary medical qualification is acceptable
  4. Our criteria for acceptable overseas qualifications
  5. Overseas medical qualifications we do not accept
  1. Overseas medical qualifications we may accept
  2. Information for medical schools and universities
  3. Is my qualification acceptable
  4. Definitions of terms we use

Please fully review our criteria and guidance relating to the acceptability of overseas qualifications. If you are unsure whether your qualification will be acceptable for the purpose of either sitting the PLAB test or applying for registration in the UK, you should contact us directly.

We strongly recommend you do not take confirmation on the acceptability of your qualification from any third-party organisation, including your medical school. Similarly, if you are considering enrolling in medical school and are unsure if it is currently acceptable to us you should contact us and not accept confirmation from third party organisations or medical schools directly.

Third Party Organisations, Medical Education Consultants and Medical Education Recruitment Agencies

Please exercise extreme caution when using any organisation which guarantees that the programme of study being recommended for you is ‘GMC Recognised’. ‘Meets GMC requirements’, ‘is accepted for GMC registration’, is ‘UK compliant’, or any other statements to that effect.

We do not endorse or accredit overseas medical education. We assess qualifications awarded outside of the UK against our acceptability criteria on a case-by-case basis. Whilst not all qualifications will require a full assessment prior to sitting PLAB/applying for registration, the qualification of each individual applicant is reviewed. There is no list of acceptable qualifications and even where a qualification has been accepted for the purposes of applying for registration for one applicant, this does not mean that the qualification will be acceptable for all other applicants.

We do not endorse, or work with any third-party organisations placing students in overseas programmes, nor do we provide information to them on the acceptability of a primary medical qualification for the purposes of registering in the UK.

We are only able to give definitive confirmation on the acceptability of your course of study once it has been completed. However, we may be able to provide general guidance prior to a course being completed.

Concerns

If you want to raise a concern about Third Party Organisations, Medical Education Consultants and Medical Education Recruitment Agencies, relating to information about the acceptability of a primary medical qualification, please contact us by email at pmq-queries@gmc-uk.org.

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Related content

World Directory of Medical Schools Check if your medical school is listed on the World Directory.
Apply for registration If you have an acceptable qualification, apply to join the register here.