United Kingdom
Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board
The primary route for international medical graduates to gain GMC registration and practise in the UK.
- Exam body
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- Frequency
- PLAB 1: 6/year | PLAB 2: Continuous
- Eligibility
- International medical graduates. IELTS 7.5
- Format
- PLAB 1: 180 SBA MCQs | PLAB 2: 18-station OSCE
PLAB - Professional & Linguistic Assessments Board: overview
Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board is administered by General Medical Council (GMC). The primary route for international medical graduates to gain GMC registration and practise in the UK.
PLAB is the General Medical Council's route for international medical graduates to demonstrate they can practise safely in the UK. PLAB 1 is a single-best-answer written paper; PLAB 2 is an objective structured clinical examination run at the GMC's Clinical Assessment Centre. Questions and stations are built around UK practice - NICE guidance, safe prescribing and the way consent, escalation and communication are handled in the NHS - so knowledge gained in another health system needs deliberate re-anchoring to UK norms.
In practical terms the assessment is delivered as PLAB 1: 180 SBA multiple-choice questions | PLAB 2: 18-station OSCE, and candidates are measured against a approximately 65% (plab 1). It is scheduled plab 1: 6/year | plab 2: continuous, so building a realistic timeline back from the sitting you intend to take is the first planning step.
Exam pattern at a glance
- Exam format
- PLAB 1: 180 SBA MCQs | PLAB 2: 18-station OSCE
- Pass / selection standard
- Approximately 65% (PLAB 1)
- Frequency
- PLAB 1: 6/year | PLAB 2: Continuous
- Eligibility
- International medical graduates. IELTS 7.5
Subjects covered
Syllabus
- Medicine & Surgery (SBA)
- OSCE: History, Examination, Procedures, Communication, Ethics
Subject focus and weightage
Candidates who score well tend to protect time for the highest-yield areas rather than reading everything evenly. For PLAB - Professional & Linguistic Assessments Board, the topics that repeatedly carry weight include uk clinical guidelines (nice, bts, esc uk), prescribing safety, communication stations (most marks lost here), ethics and consent. Working these to mastery first, then broadening outward, is a more reliable use of limited revision time than a single linear pass through the syllabus.
The syllabus spans core subjects including Medicine & Surgery (SBA), OSCE: History, Examination, Procedures, Communication, Ethics. A blueprint-led plan - allocating study hours in proportion to how heavily each subject is examined - usually beats spending equal time on every subject.
High-yield areas
Study priorities
- UK clinical guidelines (NICE, BTS, ESC UK)
- Prescribing safety
- Communication stations (most marks lost here)
- Ethics and consent
How to prepare
A dependable preparation cycle for PLAB - Professional & Linguistic Assessments Board moves through three repeating phases. Learn: build the core concept for each topic once, from structured notes, so the framework is solid before you test it. Recall: convert that understanding into durable memory with active recall and spaced repetition rather than re-reading. Practise: apply it under exam conditions with question banks, reviewing every wrong answer until you understand why the correct option wins - which for this exam is where clinical-reasoning gaps surface.
Timed, full-length practice in the exam's own format is what converts knowledge into a score: it trains pacing, and the stamina a long paper demands. Analyse each mock not just for the total but for which subjects and question-types are dragging the score, then feed that back into the next study block.
Frequently asked questions
What is the PLAB - Professional & Linguistic Assessments Board exam and who conducts it?
Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board is conducted by General Medical Council (GMC). The primary route for international medical graduates to gain GMC registration and practise in the UK.
What is the PLAB - Professional & Linguistic Assessments Board exam pattern?
The stated format is PLAB 1: 180 SBA multiple-choice questions | PLAB 2: 18-station OSCE. The pass or selection standard is Approximately 65% (PLAB 1). Because pattern and marking can be revised between cycles, confirm the current structure on the official notification before you sit.
Who is eligible for the PLAB - Professional & Linguistic Assessments Board?
Broadly, eligibility is: International medical graduates. IELTS 7.5. This is a summary only - the definitive eligibility criteria, documentation and any registration or attempt limits are published by General Medical Council (GMC) for each sitting.
Sources and currency
Sources: official examination-body notifications and information bulletins (NBEMS, NMC, GMC, the relevant UK Royal College, USMLE/NBME, AMC, MCC and the Gulf health authorities as applicable). Exam patterns and eligibility change between cycles - always confirm the current sitting's rules, dates and fees on the official body's own notification before you apply. Last verified July 2026.
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