SCA exam dates and results: the 2026 calendar, your feedback and what to do next

The short version

• Nine diets a year (RCGP): January to June and September to November.
• Next results: October 2026 diet on 10 November 2026; November 2026 diet on 8 December 2026. All at 17:00.
• Next diets: 12–15 January 2027 (book by 6 November 2026), then February to June 2027. Fee £1,238 for 2027 diets.
• Booking: each diet has a reasonable adjustments deadline and a final booking deadline; you need active MRCGP (AiT) membership and to be in ST3.
• Feedback: "Any domain which is failed by the examiner will receive feedback." It is case-specific and released with your results.
• After a fail: discuss timing with your trainer, then rebook "following the same process you used to book your examination the first time around" (now in MyRCGP).
• Attempts: trainees who entered GP training on or after 2 August 2023 get "a maximum of six attempts at both the AKT and SCA" (RCGP regulations). Trainees already in training on 1 August 2023 have different rules, including an exceptional fifth attempt policy.

SCA exam dates 2026

From the RCGP's "MRCGP exam dates and booking process" page and its "Marking and results for the SCA" page:

"—" = past diet; deadlines and results days for January to June 2026 weren't on the RCGP pages we read on Nov 1, 2026.

SCA exam dates 2027

From the RCGP's "SCA dates 2026-27" table:

The RCGP says "All dates and times may be subject to change." Dates for September 2027 onwards weren't on the page on Nov 1, 2026.

Your own date. Each diet runs over several days, and you can't choose your day. The RCGP: "Your examination will be scheduled in either a morning or afternoon session during the examination diet. Confirmation of your examination date and time is emailed four weeks before your examination."

Booking rules (RCGP)

• "Candidates are eligible to sit the SCA examination from ST3 onwards." The booking page adds that your training record must show you are in your ST3 year.
• "MRCGP membership must be active. Resigned, lapsed or suspended MRCGP membership will prevent booking."
• Booking is in MyRCGP ("My Exams"), up to 12 months ahead. "You no longer need to reserve a booking in FourteenFish."
• Fee: £1,207 for the September to November 2026 diets; £1,238 for exams sat from 1 January to the end of July 2027 (RCGP exam admin page). You can pay in stages (25%, 25%, 50%), but the fee must be paid in full by the final booking deadline or the booking is cancelled. Cancelling is free until the final booking deadline.
• Reasonable adjustments have their own, earlier deadline for each diet (see the tables).

When and how SCA results come out

• Time: the RCGP lists results days with "Results published (all 17:00 hours)".
• Where: the MRCGP regulations say results "will be published by the RCGP, in accordance with published timescales, via each candidate's Portfolio. Results are also issued to the trainee's host deanery."
• Feedback comes with the result: "Feedback will be released with your results."
• What decides the result: your aggregate mark across all 12 cases against the pass standard. "Candidates will not have to pass a certain number of stations in order to pass." Each case's pass mark is set by borderline regression from the examiners' global judgments (see SCA marking scheme).
• Pass rates per diet: the RCGP publishes a summary report for each diet with the number who sat and passed and the overall and first-attempt pass rates (see SCA pass rate).

How to read your feedback statements

The RCGP's guidance on using the feedback, in its own words:

• "Feedback will be case-specific and linked to the marking domains."
• "Any domain which is failed by the examiner will receive feedback. Any selected statement should guide your future preparation particularly if these appear more than once."
• "Following the result the candidate is encouraged to discuss the feedback with their trainer and/or Educational Supervisor."
• "Experience shows that it is often most useful if a particular feedback statement is repeatedly marked. Or if the feedback is found repeatedly in a particular domain." A single statement on one case "may be less useful".
• A warning: candidates are encouraged "to avoid focussing solely on the areas where they received negative feedback". The RCGP's example: "over-emphasising safety-netting may be to the detriment of these consultations where it is not needed, appears formulaic or takes up too much time."
• The statements "are not performance indicators and play no part in the marking process for the examination."

All 26 statements are listed on our marking scheme page.

Worked example: turning feedback into a plan

Example written by Confetto for practice (not a real candidate's result).

Statements received across 12 cases:

How to read it:

1. Find the repeats. Two statements came up three times each. Per the RCGP, repeated statements are the most useful signal. The single prescribing statement is worth a look, not a whole revision plan.
2. Look for one cause behind several statements. Poor time management (2) often explains a weak safety-net (3): the candidate ran out of time before the end of the consultation. One fix, finishing data gathering by about 6–7 minutes (an RCGP toolkit global skill), may help both.
3. Agenda not explored (3) is an RTO problem that also weakens the plan: if you don't know what the patient wants, your plan can't use it. Practice asking about ideas, concerns and expectations early and using them in the plan.
4. Don't overcorrect. Following the RCGP's warning, the goal is a safety-net that fits each case, not a long script in every case.
5. Take it to your trainer or Educational Supervisor, as the RCGP recommends, with two or three recorded practice consultations.

What to do after a fail

Official facts first:

• Failing is decided on the aggregate, not on any one case.
• Talk to your trainer about timing. The RCGP: "it is important to sit down with your trainer to discuss the best timeframe for re-sitting your SCA. They may feel that, based on your feedback, more consultation practise is required, before another attempt is undertaken."
• Rebooking: the RCGP's resit guidance says "You can rebook via your trainee portfolio, following the same process you used to book your examination the first time around." (Since the end of 2025, SCA bookings are made in MyRCGP.) If your preferred diet is full there is a waiting list form, and the RCGP says "we always ensure that those candidates nearing CCT receive a space."
• Attempts: for trainees who entered GP training for the first time on or after 2 August 2023, "All trainees are permitted to make a maximum of six attempts at both the AKT and SCA." For trainees already in training on 1 August 2023, the regulations describe an exceptional fifth attempt policy. The SCA must be passed during training to apply for CCT; the regulations allow one attempt in the twelve months after leaving training without a CCT, but a pass then doesn't lead to a CCT.
• Complaints and appeals: "If you wish to make a complaint about the SCA examination or lodge an appeal against an examination result, please read the MRCGP Examination Feedback and Complaints Policy and Procedure."
• Eligibility still applies: ST3 and active membership; check the booking deadlines for the diet you want.

Then a practical plan (our suggestion):

1. Read all your statements in one sitting and count repeats by domain.
2. Book a meeting with your trainer or Educational Supervisor in the first week.
3. Pick the next realistic diet, given the booking deadline and how much practice you need.
4. Practice timed 12-minute cases weekly, marked against the three domains, with someone or something that plays a patient with a hidden agenda. See how to prepare for the SCA.

Practice this case with an AI patient

Confetto isn't affiliated with the RCGP.