Examinations

For UK PACES, spaces are first and foremost prioritised for those who are UK based trainees. We first start with UK trainees who are based in ST3 posts needing full MRCP(UK) for their career progression, afterwards would be those in year 2 of their training, and then year 1, and so forth.

Once UK trainees have been accommodated, we then would move onto those who are non-UK trainees. The three colleges (RCP, RCPSG, RCPE) will then start offering spaces for non-UK trainees as they arise on a first come first served basis.

For Non-UK PACES/International PACES, spaces are first and foremost prioritised for local trainees.

Due to the nature of the waiting list, we are unable to give more specific time leads of when a space may become available or how much notice we can give you, nor can a space be guaranteed. Urgent requests for spaces will not be granted, as the colleges of entry will have to strictly work alongside the waiting list on a first come first served basis.

The time you submitted your original application or colleagues working in a same hospital being offered a space, as well as not having made a payment during the time of application will not affect your chances of gaining a seat any more or any less. UK- based candidates on the waiting list are randomly allocated a number on the waiting list to avoid any discrepancies and for fairness across applicants. Candidates who have been wait-listed repeatedly across multiple diets are prioritised higher on the waiting list over first-time applicants. This measure is implemented to minimise the amount of times a candidate is wait-listed across a range of diets so they have a higher chance of gaining a space once the UK trainees have been accommodated. The Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London colleges all share the same waiting list, which also helps maximise the chances of a candidate being accepted.

When all UK candidates are allocated a space, we would then introduce a ‘first come first served’ process for Non-UK candidates. Non-UK candidates take lower priority for a UK PACES space so we would therefore use this first come first served system due to limited travel flexibility and arranging Visas for travel. For this system, we would send out a survey to non-UK applicants to see if they find being on a waiting list feasible given their current limitations such as travel and visa processing.

Due to the data protection of candidate personal/application data, and circumstances ever-changing with applications, we would be unable to notify candidates of their placement or number on the waiting list, given that this data is changing daily due to on-going withdrawals.

Unfortunately, gaps in spaces are out of our control as they are usually a consequence of originally allocated candidates withdrawing/no longer needing the space, which can be due to their own personal circumstances which we cannot predict or control until we are notified.

If any candidate is currently pending a result from a previous diet and have provisionally applied for the upcoming diet, if they pass in the previous diet, their provisional application will be withdrawn and refunded as this will no longer be needed.

You can find more about provisional applications here.

This means that more spaces will open for the three colleges to offer to candidates on the waiting list.

If you would like to withdraw from the waiting list, please do inform your college of entry via email or use our contact form, and they will withdraw your application and process 100% of your fees to be refunded if you paid during the application period. This will not count as any of your PACES attempts.

Your college of entry will keep any funds of waiting list candidates whilst they wait to be offered a waiting list space. If we cannot accommodate you by the end of the diet, 100% of the fees will be processed back to the candidate’s original card/payment method.

We can certainly consider requests, however due to the nature of the waiting list, we may not be able to adhere to requests. When candidates who are already allocated withdraw from the exam, this opens a space for the next candidate on the waiting list. As we cannot predict which centre the candidate could withdraw from, we may not be able to meet your request due to this. Candidates can certainly decline a space if they feel it is not suitable for them.

Candidates must have paid for their offered space before they can be sent an official admission document confirming the allocation. If you have already paid during the application period, we will identify this, so providing you accept the space, we will send the admission document over.

If you require a visa letter before accepting a space, please refer to the next section.

If you have not paid, but accepted a space, the college of entry will be in touch with a direct payment invoice to pay for your seat. Once paid, your admission document will be released. More information should be included in the offer email.

Any candidate who is not based in the same country as their allocated centre will receive a visa support letter from their college of entry, which will outline the reasons for their visa application to show to the embassies or Visa offices.

It is a candidate’s responsibility to ensure they can get a visa arranged before accepting a PACES Space. As per our regulations, RCP cannot take any responsibility for third-party delays and candidates are waiving their right to a refund (no refund) if they cannot get a visa arranged in time for their exam.

Due to the current Ukraine crisis, we recognise that visa applications may take longer than usual to be processed, so before accepting and paying for a space, please ensure you check with your embassies/local visa offices that you can arrange this or enquire further regarding their processing times.

Any reasonable adjustment requests must be accompanied by evidence and received promptly, as we cannot grant adjustments close to exam dates. We must be given four weeks’ notice at minimum for this.

If you have supporting evidence for your reasonable adjustment request, please ensure to submit this evidence to your college of entry.

The format we will be following can be found here.

PACES Examination Format

As of diet 2023/03, the new PACES format has been implemented. This means that there will no longer be a rest station within the PACES exam. Instead, there will be a maximum of 5 candidates on each circuit.

Full examination results are available via candidates' 'My MRCP(UK) accounts' - For UK centres three weeks (15 working days excluding weekends) and for International centres between four to six weeks after the last exam in the respective centre.

Please note for centres running on Saturday and Sunday, the results publication deadline will be extended to the following Monday.

We unfortunately cannot grant requests for early results release.

Should you be offered a space by one of the three colleges that does not suit your availability, please decline the space.

This means you will be re-added to the waiting list if any other spaces arise across the three colleges, however does not guarantee another space may arise.

For candidates who have lost out on a seat internationally or in UK-based exams because of the limitations in seats the college has, please check this newsletter to check if this applies to you.

Those who are approaching their eligibility period may have had their eligibility extended due to limitation in spaces throughout the COVID pandemic, however if you need clarification as to what your current eligibility period is, you can contact one of the PACES teams using the contact form.