MSRA 2027: what is confirmed, what is not, and how to plan around the gaps

The MSRA sits in the way of eleven specialty applications now, and for the 2027 cycle it arrives with more uncertainty attached than usual: applications run 22 October to 19 November 2026, both test windows are now published (5–20 January 2027, and 10–18 February 2027 for GP and psychiatry applicants only), and the new prioritisation rules were confirmed by regulations laid on 14 September 2026. Here is everything that is confirmed, everything that is not, and how to plan around it — checked against the national recruitment pages on 14 October 2026.

What the MSRA actually is

One computer-based sitting, 170 minutes, two papers, taken at a Pearson VUE centre (or by remote invigilation where eligible):

There is an optional five-minute break between the papers. No fee is listed for sitting it — you book a slot after applying on Oriel — though travel costs are yours and are not reimbursed.

Who has to sit it

General practice uses the MSRA as its entire shortlisting mechanism, and it contributes to or gates entry for core psychiatry, core surgery, clinical radiology, ACCS emergency medicine, obstetrics & gynaecology, anaesthetics, ophthalmology, community sexual and reproductive health, neurosurgery and nuclear medicine, along with the equivalent programmes in Scotland and Northern Ireland. If you are applying broadly, one sitting covers all of your applications in that recruitment round.

The dates: what is confirmed and what is not

Here is the 2027-entry Round 1 timeline as NHS England has published it, with the last completed cycle alongside for comparison:

Three details worth knowing. The February sitting is reserved for applicants applying only to GP and/or core psychiatry (some of them are still allocated to January); apply to anything else as well and you sit in January. NHS England’s core surgery timeline gives the January window as 5–18 January 2027, while the GP and radiology timelines give 5–20 January, so treat your Oriel invitation as the final word on your slot. And 350+ extra posts starting in February 2027 were filled this summer, mainly from existing reserve lists. Check your own specialty’s page before you book anything.

The 2027 wrinkle: prioritisation

Specialty recruitment for 2027 sits under the new prioritisation framework, and regulations laid in September 2026 confirmed the criteria: the 2026 priority groups carry over, prioritisation now applies at shortlisting as well as offers, and there is no separate NHS-experience route. Two rules to plan around: 2027 person specifications (GP ST1, for example) ask for full GMC registration at the time of application, and NHS England confirms a maximum of five applications per recruitment round in 2027. We have written separately about what the Prioritisation Act does and does not change — the short version is that preparation now decides more, not less, because the discretionary parts of the system have narrowed.

How scoring works, briefly

Both papers are machine-marked and converted to standardised scores. For GP, your MSRA score alone ranks you for offers. Other specialties use it as a shortlisting gate, as part of the final score, or both; for 2027, radiology and ophthalmology use it to decide who reaches interview but leave it out of the final score. The practical consequence is the same everywhere: a few extra marks move you dozens of places on a ranked list, because tens of thousands of applicants cluster around the mean.

Planning backwards from a January sitting

The main window is 5–20 January 2027 (GP and psychiatry applicants allocated to the second sitting have 10–18 February instead). Working back: December is consolidation and timed mocks; November is the heavy question-bank phase while your Oriel application is in; October is when you start Professional Dilemmas practice — the paper people underestimate, because it cannot be crammed and, for GP, it carries half of your total score. Eight to ten weeks of steady work beats twelve weeks of panic every time we have watched candidates do it.

Not sure which paper needs the work? The free MSRA taster gives you ten Professional Dilemmas and ten Clinical Problem Solving questions, marked the way the real papers are, with a short report at the end. No card needed; the first five questions need no account.

The dates above are NHS England’s as published when we last checked, on 14 October 2026; if any of them move, this page will be updated.

Quick answers

Related reading

• Applying for the MSRA in 2027 — Oriel, the five-specialty cap, prioritisation and the Pearson VUE booking steps
• MSRA results and ranking explained — scaled scores, the bands and the offer round
• The MSRA for IMGs — eligibility, sitting it overseas, and the traps
• An MSRA timeline that works around full-time work
• Is PLAB still worth it after the Prioritisation Act? — the wider 2027 recruitment picture
• The Core Revision MSRA Pack — Clinical Problem Solving plus 500 Professional Dilemmas scenarios with a timed two-paper mock
• January vs February sitting: who sits when, and how to plan
• MSRA for O&G: the specialty with 2027 dates already published
• MSRA for Radiology: how ST1 selection uses your score

Checked against the NHS England national recruitment pages on 14 October 2026: the MSRA overview and structure pages, the GP, core psychiatry, core surgery and clinical radiology recruitment timelines, and the August 2026 update on 2027 recruitment. Dates and rules change — always confirm against the official pages before booking or planning leave.