DFSRH is now the DCSRH: what changed and what still counts

Short answer: the DFSRH is now the DCSRH. The body that awards it, formerly the FSRH, is now the College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (CoSRH). If you already hold the Diploma, CoSRH’s rules for keeping it current are about membership and recertification. If you started it and ran out of time, your earlier learning does not usually carry over. Checked against cosrh.org and the CoSRH help centre on 16 October 2026.

What changed: the names

The College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare was formerly the FSRH. The footer of its curriculum document reads “CoSRH (formerly FSRH)”. The Diploma is now the DCSRH (formerly the DFSRH), though many people still search for the old name.

CoSRH itself now uses the new letters. Its membership terms list the post-nominals as FCSRH, MCSRH and DCSRH. None of the CoSRH pages we checked gives a date for either change.

What changed: the course

The course has changed too. CoSRH calls the current version a new pathway. The eKA, CoSRH’s previous theory assessment, has been replaced by the Online Theory Assessment (OTA). It is now passed during the programme and is no longer an entry requirement.

What still counts

• A Diploma you keep current. The membership and recertification rules are in the next section.
• A recent Diploma theory pass, for a Letter of Competence. An OTA passed within the Diploma in the last five years also counts towards the LoC SDI or LoC IUT.
• A recent Letter of Competence theory pass, for the Diploma. If you passed the OTA (eKA) during LoC training in the last five years, you need not resit it for the Diploma. If it was longer ago, or you sat the eKA on its own more than two years ago, you sit the full OTA again.

If you already hold the DFSRH

The CoSRH pages we checked do not mention the DFSRH by name or say whether holders should now use DCSRH. We found nothing CoSRH asks existing holders to do because of the rename. If you are unsure which letters to use, we would ask CoSRH through a help centre ticket.

What CoSRH does publish is written for holders of its Diploma:

• Post-nominals can be used while you are a paying Diplomate member.
• Recertification is every five years, with 10 CPD credits from the past five years. It is free, but only with continuous membership.
• Lapsed membership means paying up to five years of missed fees, at the current year’s rate, before you can recertify.
• Up to six weeks late, your qualification stays valid. Any later and it is deemed to have lapsed: you can no longer use the Diplomate status or post-nominals. Recertifying then needs 15 CPD credits rather than 10.
• Ten years or more since your qualification was awarded or last recertified means retaking the full training programme. CoSRH says there are no exceptions.

Your next review date is on your certificate. It is also in MyCoSRH under My Account, then Qualifications and assessments. CoSRH’s recertification page has the application form and guide.

If you started the Diploma and did not finish

Your learning expires six months after the end date of your two-year window. Past that, you need to apply again.

Your earlier learning does not usually carry over. Asked whether learning from a previous Diploma can be used on the new pathway, CoSRH’s answer begins with a plain “No”. In a small number of cases very recent learning may be accepted. That depends on the evidence you submit and is entirely at your trainer’s discretion.

You can still log in to the Training Hub to review your previous progress. You will need a trainer again. CoSRH says this could be the same one, depending on availability, or a new one.

If you are starting now

For a new candidate the name matters less than the route. Three things shape it.

A trainer comes first. You cannot submit an application until a College Registered Trainer has agreed to support you. CoSRH says it is worth starting that conversation early.

Four assessments, each signed off by your trainer:

• an Independent Learning Portfolio of 23 formative activities;
• five Summative Clinical Assessments with your trainer;
• the Online Theory Assessment: 50 single-best-answer questions in an hour, online and open book, with a 60% pass mark;
• the Assessment Half Day: a one-hour written paper and four observed stations with role-played patients, once the five clinical assessments are signed off.

Two years. You have two years from approval. CoSRH expects most candidates to finish within one year. Our guide to the DCSRH in 2027 covers each part and the fees.

How this fits the platform

The DCSRH hub has a question bank of 650 questions in the style of the Online Theory Assessment across 12 modules. Timed mocks give you 50 questions in 60 minutes. It also has the ten-chapter revision guide and the Station Simulator for timed Assessment Half Day stations. Full access is £49.99 for 12 months. The Core 10 daily questions and the five interactive decoders, from UKMEC to the postpartum timeline, are free with any account. In our view they suit a Diploma holder who wants a regular refresher. We do not run courses or offer clinical training, so the clinical side stays with your trainer. You can try ten questions free first.

Quick answers

Core Revision is independent and not affiliated with the College of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare.