What do you do after you get your results?

What do you do after you pass?

When reading this guidance, please note that your pass date is the date you took the test, and not the date your results are issued.

Applying for registration

When you pass the exam, you can apply for registration with a licence to practise. You should have your application for registration with a licence to practise in the UK approved within two years of passing PLAB 2. 

If you have passed PLAB 2 more than two years ago, you will need to provide additional evidence of your knowledge and skills. Once you have submitted your application, we will contact you to let you know exactly what’s needed.

For more information on applying for registration with a licence to practise, please see our before you apply guide.

English language evidence for registration

We know that for some candidates, delays in taking PLAB 2 could mean that their English language evidence will expire before they can register with us. If you’re in this situation there are several different ways you can demonstrate your knowledge of English which you can read about in our evidence of your knowledge of English guide.

Additionally, we currently accept a recent PLAB 2 pass at registration as evidence that you’ve maintained your English language skills.

To be eligible for this when you apply for registration you must have:

• passed PLAB 2 less than three months before you apply to join the register
• achieved our minimum scores in IELTs or OET less than three years ago.

We’ll automatically consider whether you meet these criteria when you apply for registration. You don’t have to provide us with any further information. 

We continue to be as flexible as we can be while upholding our responsibility for patient safety and making sure all doctors practising in the UK have the required English language skills.

Welcome to UK practice

We’d encourage you to sign up for one of our free Welcome to UK practice workshops once you join the register. 

These are designed to help doctors new to the UK, by offering practical guidance about ethical scenarios you may encounter, and the chance to connect with other internationally-qualified doctors.

You can book your place in GMC Online.

What do you do if you fail?

If you fail the exam, you can book to take the exam again provided you meet all the requirements. You can continue to attempt the exam until you have failed it four times.

If you've failed the exam four times, you can apply for one final attempt. You will need to demonstrate evidence of additional learning over a 12 month period and make an application to us.

Can you have your results checked?

No; this is a service we no longer offer. After reviewing our processes, we’re confident that our marking is robust, and that a manual check won’t change the result.

However, you can still appeal your result.