PLAB (the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board test) is the route most international medical graduates use to register with the General Medical Council (GMC) and work as a doctor in the UK. It has two parts. This guide covers PLAB 1 – the written exam – and how to prepare for it.

PLAB 1 at a glance

  • Format: a computer-based exam of 180 single-best-answer questions in three hours.
  • Level: applied clinical knowledge at the level expected of a doctor finishing the second year of the UK Foundation Programme.
  • Where: test centres in the UK and in several other countries, including Egypt, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.
  • Before you book: you must meet the GMC's English language requirements – for example IELTS (Academic) with 7.5 overall and at least 7.0 in each section, or OET (Medicine) with at least grade B in each section.

Fees, dates and rules on attempts change, so always check the GMC's PLAB pages before booking.

What does PLAB 1 test?

Questions are short clinical scenarios based on the PLAB blueprint and UK practice. Common areas include:

  • Acute and emergency presentations and when to escalate.
  • Common conditions in general practice, medicine, surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, and psychiatry.
  • Prescribing safely, including in pregnancy, older people and kidney disease.
  • UK guidelines – NICE, the BNF and national screening programmes.
  • Ethics, consent, capacity, confidentiality and GMC Good Medical Practice.

How to prepare

Learn UK practice: many candidates lose marks by answering according to practice in their home country. Learn NICE and BNF recommendations.

Do lots of questions: aim for several thousand single-best-answer questions over two to three months, reading every explanation.

Keep an error log: write down every fact you got wrong and review it weekly.

Practise timing: 180 questions in three hours means one minute per question.

Prepare with License Medical

Our PLAB 1 intensive live course runs over four weekends online via Zoom and covers the PLAB 1 syllabus with exam-style questions. Explore our PLAB courses to find the right option for you.