PLAB 2 pass rate: the official GMC figures (2021–2025)
In 2025, 59.8% of candidates who sat PLAB 2 passed: 8,787 out of 14,689, according to the GMC's published table. That was the lowest rate of the last five years; it was 65.8% in 2024 and 69.9% in 2021. The GMC's figures count everyone who sat in the calendar year and don't separate first attempts from resits.
Last checked Nov 1, 2026 against the GMC page "Recent pass rates for PLAB 1 and PLAB 2".
The short version
- 2025: 59.8% passed (8,787 of 14,689) [1].
- 2024: 65.8% passed (12,902 of 19,594) [1].
- Five-year range: 59.8% to 69.9% [1].
- Roughly 2 in 5 candidates who sat in 2025 did not pass.
- The GMC table doesn't give first-attempt pass rates, pass rates by country, or by station type.
- Your result depends on a pass mark set for each exam, not on a fixed share of candidates passing [2].
The official table
| Year | Sat PLAB 2 | Passed | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8,648 | 6,043 | 69.9% |
| 2022 | 13,533 | 8,775 | 64.8% |
| 2023 | 15,702 | 9,884 | 62.9% |
| 2024 | 19,594 | 12,902 | 65.8% |
| 2025 | 14,689 | 8,787 | 59.8% |
Source: GMC, "Recent pass rates for PLAB 1 and PLAB 2", read Nov 1, 2026 [1]. Numbers are copied as published.
What the numbers tell you, and what they don't
What they tell you
- PLAB 2 is not a formality. In every year shown, at least 3 in 10 candidates did not pass, and in 2025 it was 4 in 10.
- The number of candidates changes a lot year to year (from 8,648 in 2021 to 19,594 in 2024), so the exam center has run at very different volumes.
What they don't tell you
- First attempt vs resit. The table counts sittings in a calendar year. Someone who sat twice in one year may appear twice. The GMC page doesn't publish a first-attempt pass rate, so any first-attempt figure you see elsewhere is not from this table.
- Why candidates fail. The GMC doesn't publish which domains or station types candidates fail most.
- Your own chance. A pass rate is an average across thousands of people with very different preparation. It doesn't predict one person's result.
- 2026. The table we read has calendar years up to 2025.
We don't estimate any of these. If you see a figure for them, check whether it links to a GMC page.
Why the pass rate isn't fixed
The GMC sets a pass score for each station from the examiners' own judgments in that exam (borderline regression), adds the station scores together, and adds one standard error of measurement to get the overall pass mark. You must also pass a minimum number of stations [2]. So the share who pass changes with how candidates perform against that standard, not with a quota.
This has a practical meaning: there's no "safe" number of strong stations that guarantees a pass. Weak station types pull you below the station minimum even if your total looks fine.
Worked example: turning the pass rate into a study plan
This is a planning example written by Confetto, not GMC advice.
Say your exam is in eight weeks and you can practice 10 hours a week. The pass rate tells you the exam is hard; it doesn't tell you what to fix. Your own results do. A useful loop:
| Week | What you do | What you measure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Do one station of each common type under time (history, explaining, bad news, angry patient, consent, telephone, ethics, counseling, handover) | Which types you finish in 8 minutes; which domain feels weakest |
| 2–3 | Drill your two weakest types daily; one mixed station a day for range | Do you ask ICE and safety-net every time? |
| 4 | First full 16-station circuit in one sitting (rests included) | Stamina; which stations dropped late in the circuit |
| 5–6 | Fix the pattern: if interpersonal is weak, slow down your opening and pick up cues; if management is weak, practice plain-English explanations | Domain scores trend up |
| 7 | Second full circuit | Stations passed out of 16 |
| 8 | Light practice, the GMC sample station and video again, rest | — |
The aim isn't to "beat 59.8%". It's to make every one of the 16 stations a pass on its own.
Checklist: questions to ask any pass-rate claim
- Does it link to the GMC's own page?
- Which year is it, and is it the calendar-year table?
- Is it all sittings or first attempts? (The GMC table is all sittings.)
- Is it PLAB 1 or PLAB 2? They are different exams with different rates.
- Is a course quoting "our" pass rate? That is their data, not the GMC's, and is usually not independently checked.
Practice PLAB 2 stations
Confetto isn't affiliated with the GMC.
Frequently asked questions
What is the PLAB 2 pass rate in 2025?
59.8%: 8,787 of the 14,689 candidates who sat PLAB 2 in 2025 passed, according to the GMC [1].
What was the PLAB 2 pass rate in 2024?
65.8%: 12,902 of 19,594 passed [1].
What is the PLAB 2 first-attempt pass rate?
The GMC's pass-rate table doesn't separate first attempts from resits, so there is no official first-attempt figure on that page [1].
Is PLAB 2 harder than PLAB 1?
They test different things: the GMC says PLAB 1 meets the requirements for the MLA Applied Knowledge Test and PLAB 2 the Clinical and Professional Skills Assessment [4]. A pass-rate comparison doesn't show which is harder for you. Both rates are on the GMC page [1].
How many stations do I need to pass?
The GMC doesn't publish a number. You need the overall pass mark and a minimum number of passed stations, and you won't be told exactly how many were required [2].
Does the GMC publish why candidates fail?
Not on its pass-rate page. Your own result comes with quantitative and qualitative feedback [3]; see PLAB 2 results.
Sources
Read on November 1, 2026.