UKCAT/UCAT Requirements & Prerequisites
Everything you need to know before registering for the UKCAT/UCAT, eligibility, cost, format, and what to expect on exam day.
Cost
£75-£115
Provider
UCAT Consortium
Validity
1 year
Available
UK/Australia/NZ
Education
Check official exam requirements
Experience
1-3 years of hands-on experience recommended
Specific Requirements
- There are no academic prerequisites and no published qualification requirement to sit the UCAT. It is an aptitude test, and no curriculum content is assumed.
- The UCAT is compulsory for applicants to relevant medical or dental degree programmes at UCAT Consortium UK and Partner universities. Check each course's entry requirements directly, because alternative entry requirements apply to some groups of applicants.
- You must create a UCAT account, complete registration, and then book. For the 2026 cycle every candidate needs a new account, including those who tested in previous years.
- You may sit the test only once per cycle. Sitting both the UCAT and the UCAT ANZ in the same year is not permitted under any circumstances and may lead to all results being withdrawn.
- Anyone affiliated with a UCAT coaching business, as a tutor, as a content developer, or with a financial interest in one, is not eligible to sit the test, and bookings by ineligible candidates may be cancelled.
- You need one original, unexpired, government-issued photo ID that meets the ID Policy and is accepted in the country where you are testing.
- Test fee: £70 for tests taken in the UK, £115 for tests taken outside the UK, payable by debit or credit card at booking. UK candidates meeting the bursary criteria have the fee waived automatically at checkout.
Number of Questions
184 questions across four subtests: 44 Verbal Reasoning, 35 Decision Making, 36 Quantitative Reasoning, 69 Situational Judgement
Duration
111 minutes of scored subtest time plus 6 minutes 30 seconds of timed instruction screens, described by the UCAT Consortium as just under 2 hours
Question Format
Multiple choice with one correct answer, Decision Making multiple-statement items, answered yes or no to each of five statements, worth 2 marks with 1 mark for a partially correct response, Drag and drop items, which can only be answered with the mouse, Situational Judgement items rating appropriateness or importance of a response
Passing Requirement
None. The UCAT has no pass mark. Universities set their own thresholds and use the score in different ways, and the UCAT Consortium states that no single score guarantees selection and that not all universities have a minimum requirement.
How It Is Delivered
Computer-based at Pearson test centres in the UK and more than 130 countries. Online proctored delivery through OnVUE is available only where travel is impossible because of distance, pandemic, war, civil unrest, or natural disaster, or as an approved access arrangement.
Languages Offered
English
Rules specific to this exam
- Adaptive: No. The UCAT Consortium states that performance on one question does not influence which other questions are presented.
- Negative Marking: None. The test is marked on the number of correct answers given.
Visit the official UCAT Consortium certification page
Create an account and select your exam
Choose a test center or online proctoring option
Pay the exam fee and schedule your date
Score Scale
300 to 900 for each of the three cognitive subtests, giving a total of 900 to 2700, plus a separate Situational Judgement band from 1 to 4
Score You Need
None. The UCAT has no pass mark. Universities set their own thresholds and use the score in different ways, and the UCAT Consortium states that no single score guarantees selection and that not all universities have a minimum requirement.
How It Is Calculated
Marking is purely on the number of correct answers, with no negative marking. Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning items are worth 1 mark each; Decision Making single answer items are worth 1 mark and multiple statement items 2 marks, with 1 mark for a partially correct response. Because question counts differ, raw marks are converted to scaled scores on a common 300 to 900 range. Several equated test forms run each cycle so scaled scores are comparable between forms.
When You Get Results
You collect a printed score report before leaving the Pearson test centre on the day. Scores appear in your UCAT account about 24 hours later. Preliminary mean scores and deciles are published in mid-September, final means, deciles and percentiles shortly after testing ends, and results are delivered to your chosen UK universities in early November.
In raw terms: The UCAT Consortium does not publish raw-to-scaled conversion tables. The nearest published anchor is the decile table: in 2025 a total of 1580 marked the first decile, 1880 the fifth, and 2220 the ninth, against a mean of 1891 across 41,354 tests.
- Two forms of valid ID (one government-issued with photo)
- Appointment confirmation email
- For online proctoring: webcam, microphone, clean desk, stable internet
What are the prerequisites for the UKCAT/UCAT?
There are no academic prerequisites and no published qualification requirement to sit the UCAT. It is an aptitude test, and no curriculum content is assumed.. The UCAT is compulsory for applicants to relevant medical or dental degree programmes at UCAT Consortium UK and Partner universities. Check each course's entry requirements directly, because alternative entry requirements apply to some groups of applicants.. You must create a UCAT account, complete registration, and then book. For the 2026 cycle every candidate needs a new account, including those who tested in previous years.. You may sit the test only once per cycle. Sitting both the UCAT and the UCAT ANZ in the same year is not permitted under any circumstances and may lead to all results being withdrawn.. Anyone affiliated with a UCAT coaching business, as a tutor, as a content developer, or with a financial interest in one, is not eligible to sit the test, and bookings by ineligible candidates may be cancelled.. You need one original, unexpired, government-issued photo ID that meets the ID Policy and is accepted in the country where you are testing.. Test fee: £70 for tests taken in the UK, £115 for tests taken outside the UK, payable by debit or credit card at booking. UK candidates meeting the bursary criteria have the fee waived automatically at checkout..
How much does the UKCAT/UCAT cost?
The UKCAT/UCAT exam costs £75-£115. This includes the exam fee only, study materials are additional.
How do I register for the UKCAT/UCAT?
Visit the official UCAT Consortium certification page → Create an account and select your exam → Choose a test center or online proctoring option → Pay the exam fee and schedule your date
What should I bring to the UKCAT/UCAT?
Two forms of valid ID (one government-issued with photo). Appointment confirmation email. For online proctoring: webcam, microphone, clean desk, stable internet.
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