The PLAB (Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board) test assesses an overseas doctor's suitability for hospital employment in a UK hospital by examining the candidate's medical knowledge, clinical expertise and communication skills. The PLAB test is designed at SHO (Senior House Officer) level and comprises of two parts:

Part 1 of the PLAB test is confined to core knowledge, skills and attitudes relating to conditions commonly seen by SHOs, to the generic management of life-threatening situations and to rarer, but important problems. The examination format comprises of 200 questions divided into a number of themes. The duration of the test is two and a half hours.

Part 2 of the PLAB test is an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and is a practical evaluation. The aim of PLAB OSCE is to test candidates' communication and clinical skills in a variety of controlled situations.


The GMC (General Medical Council) will only grant limited registration to an overseas doctor providing that he or she has passed or been exempted from the PLAB test. The doctor's primary medical qualification needs to be acceptable for the purpose of limited registration. A current IELTS (International English Language Testing System) certificate with an overall test score of 7.0 is a pre-requisite for admission to the PLAB test.


The current fee for taking Part 1 of the PLAB test is £145.00 GB sterling. Part 2 of the PLAB test is £430.00 GB sterling.


Part 1 of the PLAB test can be taken in the UK at test centres in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh or Glasgow. Part 1 of the test may also be taken overseas in Bulgaria, Egypt, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Part 2 of the PLAB test can only be taken in the UK.

Doctors may be able to enter the UK as visitors for a period of up to six months for the purpose of sitting or re-sitting the PLAB test.

For more information on the PLAB test including test dates and overseas test centres, please refer to the British Council web site on our Useful Links page.