Your PA National Exam (PANE) or PA Registration Assessment (PARA) and assuring us you have the required knowledge and skills

  1. Summary
  2. Qualification details
  3. Your PA National Exam (PANE) or PA Registration Assessment (PARA) and assuring us you have the required knowledge and skills
  4. Registration and licensing history
  5. Work history
  6. Declaring your fitness to practise
  7. Insurance and indemnity
  1. How much does it cost to apply?
  2. Employer references
  3. How long will it take to consider my application?
  4. Completing an identity check
  5. When will you make a decision on my application for registration?
  6. I am ready to apply

Usually, PA applicants will demonstrate that they meet the standards of knowledge and skills through evidence of passing an approved registration assessment within the last 2 years. The GMC approved registration assessments for PAs are the Physician Associates Registration Assessment (PARA) or its forerunner the Physician Associate National Examination (PANE).

In addition to having a PA qualification awarded in the UK, all UK-qualified PAs must have passed both parts of PANE/PARA before they can apply for registration.

If you've already passed all required parts of PANE/PARA, when you apply we’ll ask you to enter the dates you passed these assessments as they appear on your results letter. Once your application is received, we’ll make checks with the Royal College of Physicians who currently run the exam and work with them to verify your passes in the exam.

If you passed the PANE/PARA more than two years ago, you may not need to retake an assessment if you can provide evidence of recent practice as a PA in the UK. You should read our transition policy on demonstrating knowledge and skills to determine whether your evidence of recent UK practice will meet our criteria. You should also note that this policy applies during the transition period, which ends on 12 December 2026. 

We’ll make checks on your work history and your employer’s reference.

If you have no UK PA practice within the last two years it is unlikely that you will meet our knowledge and skills standard, in these cases we suggest the best option for you to provide the most robust evidence of up-to-date knowledge and skills would be to re-sit the PA Registration Assessment (PARA).

If you've not yet passed both parts of the PANE/PARA, you’ll need to create a GMC Online profile so that you're allocated a GMC reference number. You'll then be able to use this reference number to book your exam. See our PANE/PARA guidance page for more information about the exam and how to book.

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