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For IMGs · Before you book
PLAB eligibility: your degree, your English evidence and EPIC
The Core Revision Team
Written with the IMG Hub · 8 min read
Published 11 July 2026 · Checked against sources current July 2026
Before a single practice question, PLAB has an admin layer: the GMC has to accept your medical degree, your English evidence has to be verified, and — before registration is granted — your diploma has to be independently verified through EPIC. None of it is difficult. All of it takes longer than people expect, and one piece of it decides whether you can even open the booking page. Here is the checklist, in the order that saves you months.
Core Lens
PLAB eligibility and paperwork in six points
- Your degree. The GMC keeps no list of approved overseas degrees and judges each case; your medical school needs an entry in the World Directory of Medical Schools.
- English comes first. PLAB 1 booking opens once the GMC has verified your IELTS Academic (7.5 overall, 7.0 in each skill) or OET Medicine (grade B in each), from one sitting.
- Mind the two-year limit. IELTS and OET results last two years; at registration the GMC accepts a result under three years old if you apply less than three months after passing PLAB 2.
- The internship rule. Registration needs at least a year of continuous practice in an approved, non-honorary training post covering medicine and surgery, or two years’ continuous practice in a regulated public hospital.
- Start EPIC early. ECFMG’s EPIC check of your diploma is needed before registration; most schools respond within about 90 days, and the GMC keeps a registration application open for only 90 days.
- Before you book. Confirm your school’s World Directory entry, set up your own GMC Online account, sit IELTS or OET three to six months before PLAB 1, and open EPIC alongside revision.
Figures checked against the GMC’s own pages on 28 September 2026; the Deep Dive has the detail and the sources.
You are reading the Core Lens — the points that matter. Open the Deep Dive for the full article.
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Everything below is checked against the GMC’s own guidance as of July 2026 — but requirements move, so treat the GMC’s English language pages and IMG registration guide on gmc-uk.org as the final word before you spend money.
The three pillars — and where the exam fits
GMC registration after PLAB rests on three things: an acceptable primary medical qualification, a pass in both parts of PLAB, and an acceptable internship. English language evidence sits underneath all of it, because you cannot book PLAB 1 without it. The exam is the famous part; the paperwork is the part that sets your timeline.
- Your degree (PMQ)
- No published list of acceptable qualifications — the GMC assesses case by case. Your medical school should appear in the World Directory of Medical Schools.
- English — IELTS Academic
- Overall 7.5 or above and 7.0 or above in each of the four skills, in the same sitting, on your most recent attempt. Valid for 2 years.
- English — OET (Medicine)
- Grade B in all four skills, same sitting, most recent attempt. Paper, computer and OET@Home all accepted. Valid for 2 years.
- Internship
- At least 12 months’ continuous practice in an approved training post, with defined medicine and surgery blocks — details below.
- EPIC verification
- Independent verification of your final medical diploma via ECFMG’s EPIC service, required before registration is granted. Commonly takes up to around 90 days.
Your degree: case by case, not a list
The GMC publishes no list of “approved” overseas medical degrees. Each application is assessed individually, and the practical starting point is the World Directory of Medical Schools — your school should be in it. The GMC does publish minimum criteria for an acceptable overseas qualification: a programme of at least three years and 5,500 hours, mostly taught in person, with clinical placements that include medicine and surgery. If you are unsure whether your qualification will be accepted, ask the GMC directly before you book anything — it is a cheaper question at the start of the journey than at the end.
English evidence: the gate in front of the gate
This is the piece that controls your calendar. Your English evidence must be verified by the GMC before you can access the PLAB 1 booking service in your GMC Online account. Not “booked”, not “sat” — verified. If you are planning around a specific sitting, the English test has to be passed and processed first, so book it earlier than feels necessary.
Two routes cover almost everyone:
- IELTS Academic (including UKVI and Online versions): overall score of 7.5 or above and at least 7.0 in each of listening, reading, writing and speaking — all in the same sitting, and it must be your most recent attempt. One One Skill Retake is accepted (once only) within 60 days, provided the original test was computer-based.
- OET, Medicine version: grade B in all four skills, same sitting, most recent attempt. Paper-based, computer-based and OET@Home are all accepted.
Both are valid for 2 years. Other routes exist on paper — a primary medical qualification taught in English, for instance — but strict conditions apply, and the GMC itself advises PLAB candidates to strongly consider taking IELTS or OET rather than relying on them. Check the GMC’s English language pages for the current criteria before building a plan on an alternative route.
Two routes are explicitly not open to you: the employer-reference route and the UK-job-offer route are not available to PLAB applicants, whatever a recruiter tells you.
The 2-year validity of IELTS and OET interacts badly with a slow PLAB journey. If your test result ages out between PLAB 1 and registration, you may be sitting it again — at your own cost, on your own delay. There is one partial safety net: a recent PLAB 2 pass extends the life of your English evidence at registration — an IELTS or OET up to 3 years old still counts, provided you passed PLAB 2 less than 3 months before applying. Plan the whole sequence — English, PLAB 1, PLAB 2, registration — as one timeline, not four separate events. The complete guide lays that sequence out.
The internship rules, precisely
The GMC’s standard requirement is at least 12 months’ continuous practice in an approved training post (honorary posts are not acceptable), immediately before or after graduation, including:
- 3 months of medicine and 3 months of surgery, within an internship lasting 12 to 18 months; or
- 6 months of each, within an internship of 18 months or more.
No formal internship? There is an alternative: 2 years’ continuous practice after graduation in a regulated public hospital, including at least 3 continuous months each of medicine and surgery, under supervision. If your career path is non-standard, gather the evidence for this route early — it is documents from employers and regulators, and those take time to arrive.
EPIC: start it before you think you need it
Before registration is granted, the GMC requires independent verification of your final medical diploma through EPIC, run by ECFMG (a division of Intealth). Two numbers make the timing argument by themselves: verification commonly takes up to around 90 days (some schools are faster, some slower), and a GMC registration application stays open for only 90 days. If you start EPIC when you apply for registration, you are racing your own deadline. Set up your EPIC account early — around the time you book PLAB 1 is not too soon. Fees are set by ECFMG in US dollars and vary; check the EPIC site for current amounts, and see our full cost breakdown for where it sits in the budget.
Your GMC Online account — yours, singular
Everything runs through your own GMC Online account: English verification, PLAB booking under “My Tests”, results, and eventually the registration application itself. Set it up yourself and keep control of it. Agencies sometimes offer to “handle everything” — but this account is your legal identity with your future regulator, and it should never live in someone else’s inbox.
The order of operations
Check the World Directory and open GMC Online
Confirm your medical school appears in the World Directory of Medical Schools, and create your own GMC Online account. If anything about your degree or internship is unusual, ask the GMC now — not after you have paid for an exam.
Book IELTS or OET earlier than feels necessary
Your English result must be verified before the PLAB 1 booking service opens to you, and the result is only valid for 2 years — so you want it early, but not so early that it expires mid-journey. Sitting it 3 to 6 months before your intended PLAB 1 date suits most people.
Open your EPIC account alongside PLAB 1
Verification commonly takes up to around 90 days and a GMC application stays open only 90 days — so EPIC belongs at the start of your plan, not the end. Upload your diploma and let the verification run while you study.
Once the paperwork is moving, the exam itself is next: PLAB 1 explained covers the format, sittings and preparation. And if you hold a postgraduate qualification like MRCP or have passed USMLE, read the routes without PLAB before you book anything — a small number of doctors do not need this exam at all.
Almost every painful PLAB story we hear is a paperwork story, not an exam story — an English result that expired, an EPIC verification started too late, a booking page that would not open. The doctors who sail through treat the admin as part of the syllabus. One organised weekend at the start buys you a calm year.
Sort the paperwork, then learn the system
The IMG Hub is our free collection of guides, tools and videos for doctors joining the NHS — the jargon, the payslip, the first 90 days and the exams. Bookmark it now; you will use it at every step after this one.
Sources & the small print. GMC IMG registration guide and English language pages; GMC PLAB 1 guide (booking requirements); ECFMG EPIC verification pages; World Directory of Medical Schools. General careers information, not immigration or legal advice — always check the GMC’s current PLAB and registration guidance, GMC Online and GOV.UK before acting. Written by the Core Revision team.