Sitting the Common Registration Assessment

To be eligible to apply to sit the assessment in 2026, you must have approved foundation training pharmacist status and have started your training during the relevant window for your SEB:

• June 2026 assessment - you must have started your training during your SEBs Summer 2026 window
• Autumn 2026 assessment - you must have started your training during your SEBs Autumn 2026 window.

You can check your eligibility with your SEB.

If you are on a sandwich or integrated course, your university will advise you on your eligibility. 

If you started foundation training before the 2025/26 year, you may be eligible to sit in 2026, provided you meet the rest of the requirements in the registration criteria. If you need to complete your training to meet the criteria, you must restart during the time windows above. You can check your eligibility by contacting us.

If you are eligible for the June 2026 sitting, you will receive your eligibility email in January.

If you are eligible for the November 2026 sitting, you will receive nearer to the time.

Pharmaceutical Society Northern Ireland trainee pharmacists

If you are following the Pharmaceutical Society NI foundation training programme, there are extra requirements you will need to meet to sit the Common Registration Assessment. You can find more information on the Society's website.

The Common Registration Assessment Regulations for sittings in 2026  set out key information and the rules that cover this sitting of the assessment.  

The Common Registration Assessment Specification and Permitted Items for sittings in 2026 sets out how the assessment will be run and will help you decide if you need to request a reasonable adjustment. The specification also sets out the list of permitted items you may have access to during the assessment.

The Common Registration Assessment Framework for sittings in 2026 outlines the topics, skills, and knowledge areas that may be assessed in the assessment, with all assessment content directly derived from it. The framework explains the overall scope and structure of the assessment.

Being ready to apply

It is important that you only apply to sit when you are confident you are ready to take the assessment. You can find out more about how to make this decision in our Ready to apply guidance.

The online application form will be made available to you through myGPhC.

For the June 2026 sitting, the application will be available from Thursday 22 January 2026 and must be successfully submitted by 5.00pm on Tuesday 14 April 2026.

For the November 2026 sitting, we will provide these dates closer to the time, and in good time for you to consider applying.

As part of your myGPhC application for the assessment, you must:

1. Confirm your personal details, including your home and email address
2. Complete declarations, including your understanding of the assessment process and regulations
3. Provide a valid copy of the photo identification you will use on the day of the assessment
4. Pay the non-refundable application fee of £208.

You will receive a notification in your myGPhC account to confirm your application has been processed. It is important you check your assessment application has been submitted correctly. We also recommend checking your bank account to see the payment has gone through. If you do not receive the notification on myGPhC, or see the payment in your banking transactions, you must contact us before the deadline.  

If you are a Pharmaceutical Society NI trainee pharmacist, you will need to apply directly with the Society. 

You will then receive a second notification via your myGPhC account confirming that you have been approved to sit the assessment.  

For the June 2026 sitting you’ll receive a notification on Tuesday 21 April 2026.

For the Autumn 2026 sitting, we’ll let you know closer to the time of when the application will open.

Important: when using myGPhC, please ensure you and your designated supervisor use an up-to-date version of an internet browser such as Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox. Do not use Internet Explorer as you may experience compatibility issues which prevent you from submitting your progress report. If you experience any problems logging in, or using myGPhC, refer to our troubleshooting tips.

You will sit the assessment at one of test centres we will have throughout the UK.  

We will reserve seats in centres for all trainee pharmacists approved to sit. We will use our best endeavours to allocate you to the closest available centre to you, based on your address on your myGPhC account when you applied for the assessment. 

More information will be provided at a later stage, including a list of test centre locations.

If you have a specific need which you feel could substantially disadvantage you when sitting the assessment, please look at our reasonable adjustment page.

If you have previously been approved a reasonable adjustment for all sittings in 2026, you do not need to submit a new application to receive the same adjustment(s) for this sitting. Please refer to your original adjustment outcome letter for confirmation of your granted adjustment(s).

If you want to request an additional or different adjustment, you will need to submit a new request.

If you haven't submitted or been granted a reasonable adjustment before and would like to request one for this sitting, you must submit a request.

The deadline to submit a reasonable adjustment for the June 2026 is assessment is 5pm on Monday 23 February 2026.

The deadline to submit a reasonable adjustment for the November 2026 is assessment is 5pm on Thursday 6 August 2026.

It is very important that you only sit the assessment if you are fit to do so. Being ‘fit to sit’ means that you are not aware of any reason why your performance would be adversely affected during the assessment. A trainee pharmacist who is affected by illness or other adverse circumstances before the sitting including disabilities for which a reasonable adjustment has not been granted but chooses to sit the assessment will be regarded by the GPhC as fit to sit.

If you are aware of anything that might affect your performance on the day, you should not sit the assessment – even if it is a difficult decision to make.  

Assessment format and structure 

The assessment comprises a time-limited Part 1 and Part 2:

• Part 1 contains 40 pharmacy and healthcare calculations with numerical free-entry responses and a 2-hour (120 minute) time allowance.
• Part 2 contains 120 multiple-choice questions on the safe and effective pharmacy care of the public and a 2.5-hour (150 minute) time allowance.

Part 2 contains two sections:

• Section 1: 90 Single Best Answer (SBA) questions, each with five options
• Section 2: 15 sets of Extended Matching Questions (EMQs), each set consists of two questions with the same eight options.

To pass the assessment, a trainee pharmacist must achieve the pass mark or greater for Part 1 and for Part 2 within the same sitting.

In the assessment, the order of questions will be randomised. In Part 2, questions will be randomised within each section, question sets in Section 2 will appear together.

See a video about the assessment and how to prepare

Framework

The Common Registration Assessment Framework for sittings in 2026 outlines the topics, skills, and knowledge areas that may be assessed in the assessment, with all assessment content directly derived from it. The framework explains the overall scope and structure of the assessment.

Example questions

The Board of Assessors provide a set of example questions mapped to the framework, which cover a range of difficulty levels. The example questions help you familiarise yourself with the Surpass platform and, to understand the style, format, and level of challenge of assessment questions. A guide to using the example questions is also provided, including platform functionality and the answers to the example questions.

The Board do not endorse any external revision or preparation materials as these may be of a different content and style to actual assessment content. The example questions are not intended to be used as a mock assessment. The best preparation for the assessment comes from the experience gained during the foundation training year. The example questions are intended to complement workplace-based learning. 

Use the example questions guide to find out more information about how the system works, the functionality available on the day and to find the answers to the example questions.

See the part 1 example questions

See the part 2 example questions

For these example questions, no information about you or your answers will be recorded.

The example questions do not time out. You can work through the questions as many times as you like.

See the answers and how to use the system in the example questions guide.

Calculators

A calculator is permitted in both Part 1 and Part 2 of the assessment. Trainee pharmacists may use their own calculator provided it is a model specified by the GPhC or use the onscreen calculator provided.

Board of Assessors feedback and learning points from previous sittings 

After each sitting, the Board of Assessors publishes feedback highlighting topics trainee pharmacists found challenging. Use these resources to help you prepare for your sitting.

November 2025

June 2025

November 2024

June 2024

You can find more information on the Board of Assessor's mark awarding algorithm under key documents.