As a non-trainee you need MRCEM, full registration and 4 years' full-time emergency medicine training, one of them at higher specialty level. FRCEM on its own is not specialist registration: in the UK that needs a CCT or the portfolio pathway, and elsewhere the regulator decides — in the UAE, for example, it leads to the Specialist title only after three years' experience, and not to Consultant.
What RCEM Requires
The same criteria apply to the FRCEM SBA and the FRCEM OSCE, and you must meet them when you apply:
- A primary medical qualification the GMC accepts.
- A current full medical registration with a licence to practise — it does not have to be GMC registration.
- MRCEM, or an equivalent RCEM accepts.
- As a non-trainee: 4 years' full-time emergency medicine training, at least one year of it at higher specialty level. A UK training post is not required.
You can sit the two exams in either order. For the OSCE, RCEM's regulations also require IELTS Level 7, OET or equivalent. You have four attempts at each component, and after completing MRCEM you have seven years to pass your first FRCEM exam, then seven more to finish. Full detail: FRCEM eligibility.
FRCEM and Specialist Registration
Passing the FRCEM is not the same as being registered as a specialist. What it counts for depends on the regulator:
| Where | What FRCEM counts for |
|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | Specialist registration comes from a CCT or the GMC's portfolio pathway (formerly CESR). FRCEM is not mandatory for the portfolio pathway, but RCEM strongly encourages it as evidence of consultant-level knowledge. The GMC's application fee is £1,974 from 1 April 2026. |
| 🇦🇪 UAE | On its own, an exam-based Royal College fellowship is Tier 3 in the unified PQR: the Specialist title after three years' experience, not Consultant. GMC specialist registration together with the fellowship is Tier 2, and a UK CCT is Tier 1. |
| 🇲🇾 Malaysia | FRCEM is on the Malaysian Medical Council's list of registrable emergency medicine qualifications. Specialist registration also needs completed specialised training the MMC approves or accepts, and supervised work experience. |
| 🇦🇺 Australia and 🇳🇿 New Zealand | ACEM's specialist assessment is for doctors who have completed specialist training and are recognised as emergency medicine specialists in their country of training. |
For the UK route in detail, see our portfolio pathway guide. For other countries, ask the regulator how it treats FRCEM before you plan around it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources: RCEM's exam eligibility page and FRCEM Exam Regulations 2025; RCEM's Portfolio Pathway page; the GMC's fees for doctors; the UAE's unified PQR (April 2025); the MMC's list of registrable qualifications; ACEM's specialist assessment page. Checked September 2026.
Practise for the FRCEM
Work through SLO-tagged FRCEM SBA questions — bank 1 is free — and practise OSCE stations built to RCEM's format.