📅 FRCEM Calendar · 2026

FRCEM Exam Dates 2026: SBA & OSCE Sittings, Booking Windows

Plan your ST4–ST6 revision against the 2026 RCEM higher-specialty exam calendar. Sitting dates for the SBA and OSCE, booking windows and results timing.

🗓️ Updated September 2026 ⏱️ 5 min read ✍️ ReviseFRCEM Editorial Team
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Always verify dates on the RCEM website

The dates below are copied from RCEM's exam calendar as published on 24 September 2026. RCEM can change them, so check the RCEM exam calendar before you apply.

FRCEM SBA 2026 Sittings

RCEM's calendar lists one more FRCEM SBA sitting in 2026, then two a year from 2027, in May and October. The SBA is a computer-based exam taken at test centres worldwide (RCEM delivers it through Surpass Assessments): 180 single best answer questions in two papers of two hours each.

SittingExam dateApplications openApplications closeResults released
Autumn 20267 October 20261 July 20268 July 2026 (closed)11 November 2026
Spring 202712 May 202711 February 202718 February 202723 June 2027
Autumn 20276 October 202721 July 202728 July 202717 November 2027

FRCEM OSCE 2026 Sittings

RCEM's calendar lists one more FRCEM OSCE sitting in 2026, then two a year from 2027, in April–May and November. The FRCEM OSCE is held in London only.

SittingExam datesApplications openApplications closeResults released
Autumn 202630 November – 11 December 20262 September 20269 September 2026 (closed)22 January 2027
Spring 202720 April – 7 May 20272 February 20279 February 202718 June 2027
Autumn 20272 – 18 November 20274 August 202711 August 20276 January 2028
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Each application window is open for one week

Applications open at 10am on the first day and close automatically at 4pm (UK time) on the last, and RCEM does not accept late applications. Check that you meet the eligibility requirements, and have everything ready, before the window opens.

Pacing Your FRCEM Through ST4–ST6

Typical ST4 plan

Typical ST5 plan

Typical ST6 plan

Results Release Timing

More FRCEM guides

FRCEM exam guideThe SBA and OSCE, eligibility, fees, attempts, currency and how to prepare. FRCEM exam structureThe two components — the SBA and the OSCE — and how each one works. FRCEM eligibilityWho can sit the SBA and OSCE: registration, MRCEM and emergency-medicine experience. FRCEM cost and feesRCEM's exam fees and what the Fellowship costs in total. FRCEM curriculumHow the RCEM curriculum maps onto the FRCEM exams. FRCEM OSCE guideSixteen stations, nine marking domains and the resus-station rule. FRCEM SBA study planA 12-week plan for the 180-question exam. FRCEM for non-trainees and IMGsRCEM's criteria outside UK training, and what FRCEM does for specialist registration. FRCEM pass ratesRCEM's published figures for 2024 and 2023, and how to read them.

Practise for the FRCEM

Work through SLO-tagged FRCEM SBA questions — bank 1 is free — and practise OSCE stations built to RCEM's format.

Try the free SBA bank FRCEM OSCE practice

Frequently Asked Questions — FRCEM Dates 2026

RCEM's exam calendar lists one more sitting of each exam in 2026: the FRCEM SBA on 7 October 2026, and the FRCEM OSCE in London from 30 November to 11 December 2026. From 2027 each runs twice a year: the SBA on 12 May and 6 October 2027, the OSCE from 20 April to 7 May and from 2 to 18 November 2027.
Each application window is open for one week, about three months before the exam: 1–8 July 2026 for the 7 October 2026 SBA, and 2–9 September 2026 for the November–December 2026 OSCE. Applications open at 10am on the first day and close at 4pm (UK time) on the last; late applications are not accepted.
FRCEM SBA results come about five weeks after the exam (11 November 2026 for the 7 October sitting), and FRCEM OSCE results about six weeks after the sitting ends (22 January 2027 for the November–December 2026 sitting). RCEM publishes each results date on its exam calendar.
Yes. RCEM's FRCEM regulations let you apply for the FRCEM SBA or the FRCEM OSCE in either order, as long as you meet the eligibility requirements at the point of application.
The FRCEM SBA is: it is a computer-based exam taken at test centres worldwide, delivered for RCEM by Surpass Assessments. The FRCEM OSCE is held only in London.