The Verifera Encyclopaedia — Careers edition

UKMLA — UK Medical Licensing Assessment

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The GMC's single licensing standard — the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) plus the Clinical and Professional Skills Assessment (CPSA). UK graduates sit it directly; international medical graduates are assessed against the same MLA standard via the MLA-compliant PLAB exam (PLAB 1 meets the AKT requirements, PLAB 2 the CPSA).

The UK Medical Licensing Assessment (UKMLA) is the GMC’s single standard for the knowledge and skills required for provisional registration. It has two components: the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) and the Clinical and Professional Skills Assessment (CPSA). UK medical students sit it from the 2024–25 cohort onward. International medical graduates are not given a separate UKMLA in place of PLAB — they continue to take the two-part PLAB exam, which has been made MLA-compliant (PLAB 1 meets the AKT requirements; PLAB 2 meets the CPSA), so both routes are assessed against the same MLA content map.

Sources & verification

  • UKMLA comprises the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) and the Clinical and Professional Skills Assessment (CPSA) — source, verified 2026-06-12
  • International medical graduates are assessed against the MLA via the MLA-compliant PLAB exam (PLAB 1→AKT, PLAB 2→CPSA); UKMLA does not replace PLAB — source, verified 2026-06-12

Verified reference information — not professional, medical, legal or careers advice. Regulations change; always check the cited primary source before relying on it.

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