The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) uses the term registration assessment for the assessment trainees take before registration in Great Britain. If you are training in Great Britain, that distinction matters because the official documents, dates, and rules all sit under that name.
The assessment is one of the steps required for registration as a pharmacist in the United Kingdom (UK). It is delivered jointly by the General Pharmaceutical Council and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, and it is designed to test whether a trainee pharmacist can apply knowledge and judgement at the standard expected for safe practice at the point of registration.
The assessment format
The GPhC registration assessment is a two-part, time-limited, computer-based assessment.
Part 1 contains 40 pharmacy and healthcare calculations questions. The time allowance is 2 hours, or 120 minutes. Answers are entered as numerical free text rather than selected from options.
Part 2 contains 120 selected-response questions with a 2.5-hour, or 150-minute, time allowance. This part is split into two sections: 90 Single Best Answer questions and 15 Extended Matching Question sets. Each Extended Matching Question (EMQ) set contains two questions that share the same eight options.
To pass the assessment, a trainee pharmacist must achieve the pass mark or above in both Part 1 and Part 2 in the same sitting.
| Part | Format | Time allowance | What it tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | 40 calculations questions, numerical free-entry answers | 2 hours | Accuracy in pharmacy and healthcare calculations |
| Part 2 | 90 Single Best Answer (SBA) questions and 15 EMQ sets, totalling 120 questions | 2.5 hours | Safe and effective pharmacy care, clinical judgement, law, ethics, and application of knowledge |
Timing and 2026 dates
For the June 2026 sitting, the GPhC states the following key dates: the email to eligible candidates and the application window both open on Thursday 22 January 2026; the deadline for reasonable adjustments is 5pm on Monday 23 February 2026; the application window closes at 5pm on Tuesday 14 April 2026; approved-to-sit notifications are sent on Tuesday 21 April 2026; the assessment day is Tuesday 16 June 2026; and results day is 21 July 2026.
There are usually two sittings each year, in summer and autumn, but candidates should always use the current GPhC page for live dates rather than relying on summaries.
What topics come up
The assessment is not just a memory test. It examines whether a trainee can apply pharmaceutical knowledge safely.
That includes calculations, therapeutics, pharmacy law and ethics, patient safety, and the practical judgement needed in real pharmacy work. Candidates are often expected to work with clinical information, identify risks, choose the safest answer, and apply guidance rather than recite facts.
Because of that, weak revision often shows up in the same way: someone knows the topic broadly but struggles when the question changes the context.
What the day feels like
The day is long enough that stamina matters. Calculations require calm method under time pressure. Part 2 requires steady reading and the discipline to keep making careful decisions after concentration starts to dip.
The assessment is also computer-based, so it helps to practise on screen rather than doing everything on paper. Timing needs to feel familiar before the real day arrives.
A realistic scenario
Consider a candidate who is comfortable with the core content but keeps slowing down when a question adds an extra layer of detail. In a Part 2 question, that might mean recognising the right medicine but missing the safety issue hidden in the patient's age, comorbidity, or concomitant medicines. In Part 1, it might mean understanding the formula but losing time because units were not converted carefully.
That is exactly the type of pressure the assessment is meant to test. It is not only asking whether you have seen the topic before. It is asking whether you can handle it safely when the details shift.
Eligibility and the route around it
In Great Britain, pharmacy registration involves more than the assessment itself. The GPhC states that a UK-qualified pharmacist applying in England, Scotland, or Wales must have completed a UK-accredited Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree or relevant Overseas Pharmacists Assessment Programme (OSPAP) route where applicable, 52 weeks of foundation training, and the registration assessment with a pass result.
Foundation training itself involves 52 weeks of supervised training at an approved training site, with trainees expected to demonstrate the GPhC learning outcomes.
Northern Ireland follows a related but separately regulated route, so candidates should be careful not to blend Great Britain and Northern Ireland processes into one system.
How to prepare for what the exam is really asking
Prepare in a way that reflects the format. Calculations need repetition. Selected-response questions need careful review. Timed practice matters because the assessment is timed. Official GPhC pages matter because the format, dates, and documents should come from the regulator rather than from recycled summaries online.
The candidates who tend to feel more in control are not always the ones who know the most isolated facts. They are usually the ones who understand the structure, revise against it, and keep returning to weak areas until they stop being weak.
Quick FAQs
- What is the official name? The GPhC uses registration assessment in its current official guidance.
- How many parts are there? There are two parts: Part 1 for calculations and Part 2 for selected-response questions.
- Do both parts need to be passed together? Yes. The GPhC states that the pass mark or above must be achieved in both parts in the same sitting.
- How many times can the assessment be sat? The GPhC states that it can be sat a maximum of three times within the time limit available to apply for registration.