PLAB 2 Guide 2026: 16 Stations, Fees, Rules and How to Prepare

PLAB 2 is the practical half of the GMC's Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board test. Where PLAB 1 checks knowledge on paper, PLAB 2 checks whether you can apply it with patients, relatives and colleagues in realistic UK settings. Passing it is the last exam before you apply for GMC registration with a licence to practise.

PLAB 2 at a glance

PLAB 2 and the UKMLA CPSA

UK students sit the Clinical and Professional Skills Assessment (CPSA) as part of the UKMLA. PLAB 2 meets the CPSA requirements, so you are being assessed against the same clinical and professional standard as UK graduates. The MLA content map is again the reference for what can come up, and the professional capabilities in it (communication, consent, safeguarding, working in teams) are tested directly.

What the exam looks like

PLAB 2 is an objective structured clinical examination. Each of the 16 scenarios lasts eight minutes and simulates a real setting such as a consultation or an acute ward. You meet trained role players playing patients, relatives or colleagues, and an examiner observes and marks.

Station types you should be ready for include:

• History taking with focused, safe questioning and a working diagnosis
• Examination of a system on a simulated patient or manikin
• Explanation and planning: explaining a diagnosis, investigation or treatment and agreeing a plan
• Difficult conversations: breaking bad news, handling an angry relative, discussing an error
• Acute scenarios: assessing and managing an unwell patient using a structured approach
• Professional and ethical scenarios: consent, confidentiality, capacity, raising concerns
• Practical skills on manikins
• Telephone or colleague interactions, such as handover or seeking senior advice

There is no fixed mix of station types per sitting, so prepare for all of them.

How you are marked

Examiners assess performance across domains that broadly cover data gathering, clinical management and interpersonal skills. The pass standard is set for each sitting.

The key consequence: you cannot rely on clinical knowledge alone. A doctor who reaches the right diagnosis but ignores the patient's concerns, uses jargon or forgets safety-netting will lose marks in every station.

Fees and cancellation (as of October 2026)

You pay in full when you book. Refugee doctors living in the UK pay 50% of the PLAB 2 fee for their first two attempts.

Remember to budget for travel to the UK, accommodation and a visa if needed; these are not GMC fees and vary widely.

Booking

PLAB 2 is held at the GMC's clinical assessment centre in the UK. You book through your GMC Online account once you have passed PLAB 1. Seats can be in high demand, so check availability as soon as you have your PLAB 1 result, and plan your visa and travel around the confirmed date.

Timelines and attempts

• You have two years from the date you sat PLAB 1 to pass PLAB 2.
• You are limited to four attempts at PLAB 2.
• After passing, your registration with a licence must be approved within two years.

If a resit is needed, check how much time remains on your PLAB 1 window before booking.

How to prepare

1. Learn the structure of each station type

Build a template for history, examination, explanation and acute assessment. For acute stations use a structured ABCDE approach and escalate early. For explanation stations, check understanding, avoid jargon and agree a plan.

2. Practise aloud with a partner

PLAB 2 is a performance. Practise with a study partner who reads a scenario and plays the patient while you work against an eight-minute timer. Swap roles: playing the patient shows you what good communication feels like.

3. Master the UK professional framework

Consent, capacity, confidentiality, safeguarding, duty of candour and raising concerns appear in many forms. Base your answers on GMC guidance.

4. Safety-net every patient station

Tell the patient what to watch for, when to come back and who to contact. Missing safety-netting is one of the easiest ways to lose marks.

5. Use official materials

The GMC lists recommended resources for PLAB 2, including information on what to expect at the centre.

6. Keep your knowledge sharp

PLAB 2 still needs the clinical knowledge you built for PLAB 1. Short daily question sessions in the MediFlow app, using the PLAB 1 question bank, help keep management steps fresh while you focus on communication practice.

A simple eight-minute structure

For a typical history-and-explain station, a rough split that many candidates practise with:

This is a practice aid, not a rule. Some stations need far more time on management or on a difficult conversation, so stay flexible. The point of a structure is that you never forget the parts examiners consistently look for: consent, the patient's perspective, a clear plan and safety-netting.

Common mistakes

• Running out of time because the history wanders. Practise strictly to eight minutes.
• Ignoring ideas, concerns and expectations. Ask about them in every patient station.
• Medical jargon with role players.
• Forgetting to escalate in acute scenarios or to involve seniors when appropriate.
• Not safety-netting.
• Treating ethics stations as knowledge tests rather than conversations.

Day-of checklist

• Valid photo ID matching your GMC Online name
• Arrival time and route to the centre checked
• Stethoscope and any other permitted items
• Light meal and water
• A reset routine between stations: one breath, read the task, start fresh

After PLAB 2

Once you pass, apply for registration with a licence to practise, and start applying for posts. Our guide on working as a doctor in the NHS explains grades, pay sources and where jobs are advertised.