MRCS (Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons)
The Intercollegiate MRCS is the common membership examination of the four surgical Royal Colleges of Great Britain and Ireland, sat in two parts: Part A (a computer-based MCQ examination) and Part B (an OSCE). In Ireland it is administered by RCSI, with Part A delivered at Pearson VUE centres and Part B held in Dublin three times a year. Passing both parts is a prerequisite for transition from Core Surgical Training (ST2) to Higher Surgical Training (ST3) in all Irish surgical specialties.
Cost: £1,827 for one attempt at each part at the 2026 intercollegiate fees (£650 + £1,177); £1,882 from 1 January 2027 (£670 + £1,212). Confirm RCSI euro fees in its application portal.
Pass rates: ICBSE Annual Report 2023/24: Part A May 2024 54.1% (2,159 of 3,991); Part B (OSCE) May 2024 58.93% (442 of 750). Part A January 2024 54.65%; Part B February 2024 62.25%.
Who can sit it
Any doctor holding a primary medical qualification acceptable to the UK GMC (full or provisional registration) or the Medical Council in Ireland (full or temporary registration); overseas qualifications must be acceptable to the four Colleges (World Directory of Medical Schools). Doctors erased or suspended for fitness-to-practise reasons are excluded; conditions or undertakings must be declared. Part A must be passed before applying for Part B. Not restricted to trainees.
When NCHDs sit it
Irish NCHDs commonly sit Part A during intern year or the first SHO year and Part B during Core Surgical Training. MRCS is not required to apply for RCSI Core Surgical Training (MRCS status is recorded at application and may be considered under professional development at interview, but no defined score is awarded). Both parts must be passed to be eligible for the ST3 specialty selection interview, which takes place in ST2 (RCSI states MRCS must be completed before the specialty selection interview, generally in March of ST2). ICBSE regulations also require Part B to be passed within seven years of Part A.
The parts
Part A£650 (intercollegiate fee 2026); rises to £670 for all candidates from 1 January 2027. RCSI charges in euro through its application portal; the euro amount is not published on rcsi.com · 3 (January, April/May, September)/yr
Written, computer-based MCQ (single best answer), two papers on the same day: Paper 1 Applied Basic Sciences (3 hours) and Paper 2 Principles of Surgery in General (2 hours), with a 60-minute break between papers · 5 hours total (3 h + 2 h)
Eligibility: primary medical qualification acceptable to the GMC (full or provisional) or the Medical Council in Ireland (full or temporary registration); can be sat by doctors not in training posts. Marks of both papers combined; must reach a minimum level in each paper plus the combined pass mark. Maximum six attempts (one additional attempt possible under the Additional Attempt Policy). Delivered via Pearson VUE test centres (Ireland included); scheduling window opens about 2 months before the exam. Refund less 20% admin fee before closing date; forfeited after.
Part B (OSCE)£1,177 (intercollegiate fee 2026); rises to £1,212 for all candidates from 1 January 2027. RCSI charges in euro through its application portal; the euro amount is not published on rcsi.com · 3 in Dublin (February, May, October); RCSI also runs diets in Bahrain, Malaysia (Penang, Sabah, Kuala Lumpur) and Cairo/yr
OSCE, normally 17 examined stations of 9 minutes each (plus one or more preparation stations and one unmarked pre-test station), covering Applied Knowledge (anatomy, surgical pathology, applied surgical science, critical care) and Applied Skills (communication, history taking, clinical and procedural skills) · One day per candidate; Dublin diets run over two days
Must have passed Part A (formal Part A pass letter required; cannot apply with Part A results outstanding). Part B must be passed within seven years of passing Part A, otherwise Part A must be re-sat. Maximum four attempts (one additional attempt possible under the Additional Attempt Policy). Candidates who fail must re-sit all stations. Election to Membership is at the College through which Part B was passed. Held at RCSI, 123 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2.
Dates
29 Oct 2026Apply byMRCS Part A applications close (January 2027 sitting) (Part A)
6 Nov 2026Apply byMRCS Part B OSCE Kuala Lumpur applications close (Part B)
20 Nov 2026Apply byMRCS Part B OSCE Dublin applications close (February 2027 diet) (Part B)
20 Nov 2026SittingMRCS Part B OSCE Bahrain (day 1 of 2) (Part B)
13 Jan 2027SittingMRCS Part A written (Pearson VUE) (Part A)
16 Jan 2027SittingMRCS Part B OSCE Kuala Lumpur (day 1 of 2) (Part B)
3 Feb 2027SittingMRCS Part B OSCE Dublin (day 1 of 2) (Part B)
26 Feb 2027Apply byMRCS Part A applications close (April 2027 sitting) (Part A)
18 Mar 2027Apply byMRCS Part B OSCE Dublin applications close (May 2027 diet) (Part B)
29 Apr 2027SittingMRCS Part A written (Pearson VUE) (Part A)
11 May 2027SittingMRCS Part B OSCE Dublin (day 1 of 2) (Part B)
1 Jul 2027Apply byMRCS Part A applications close (September 2027 sitting) (Part A)
23 Jul 2027Apply byMRCS Part B OSCE Dublin applications close (October 2027 diet) (Part B)
1 Sept 2027SittingMRCS Part A written (Pearson VUE) (Part A)
5 Oct 2027SittingMRCS Part B OSCE Dublin (day 1 of 2) (Part B)
1 past date
28 Aug 2026Apply byMRCS Part B OSCE Bahrain applications close (Part B)
The definitive statement of Part A and Part B format, syllabus breakdown, standard setting and official sample questions; every candidate should start here.
eMRCSQuestion bank£40/4 months or £50/6 months (Part A)Part A, Part B
Cheapest and most consistently recommended Part A bank on r/JuniorDoctorsUK and trainee blogs, with question style close to the real paper and short revision notes; also has a 1000+ question Part B module.
Pastest MRCS Part AQuestion bank£99.99/3 months, £149.99/6 months, £179.99/12 monthsPart A
Largest Part A bank (about 3,150 questions plus 16 past papers) and RCSI gives its Part A and B candidates a 15% discount code once applications close.
Two-day college-run mock OSCE course held three times a year in Ireland ahead of the Dublin sittings; places are limited so book when Part B applications open.
Candidates sitting Part A with RCSI get a year of Affiliate Membership plus 2,000 TeachMe MCQs mapped to the Part A curriculum and two mock papers at no cost, so it is worth activating.
Pastest MRCS Part BQuestion bank£99.99/3 months, £149.99/6 months, £179.99/12 monthsPart B
237 station cases across all 18 OSCE stations with anatomy images and demonstration videos; the most structured online Part B resource, RCSI discount applies.
The standard concise anatomy text for Part A applied basic science and Part B anatomy stations; short enough to read cover to cover alongside an atlas.
Long-running UK OSCE courses split by station type (clinical and procedural skills, applied science and critical care, anatomy and pathology); useful for candidates who want more mock stations than the RCSI course provides.
Older two-volume OSCE guide still passed around for structured examination protocols and communication stations; content is dated in places.
Tiers are editorial: S = essential and closely mapped to the exam, A = strong, B = useful supplement, C = optional. No affiliate links; prices are indicative and change.
Preparing
Part A is a knowledge-heavy MCQ paper weighted towards applied anatomy, physiology and pathology, with the second paper covering principles of surgery in general (perioperative care, trauma, critical care, common surgical conditions). Most candidates work through the ICBSE syllabus with a question bank and an anatomy atlas, and use the ISCP core curriculum modules as the map. RCSI publishes the syllabus and regulations on its guidance and regulatory documents page.
Part B rewards structured, examiner-facing practice: talking through anatomy on prosections and images, procedural skills, and communication and history-taking stations. RCSI runs a two-day Part B preparation course, and candidates typically practise in small groups with a senior colleague acting as examiner. Realistic preparation is several months of steady work for each part alongside clinical duties; the seven-year Part A to Part B window is generous but the ST3 interview timing is the practical deadline for Irish CST trainees.
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