MRCP Part 2 Written and PACES in 2026 and 2027: Passing Scores, Pass Rates and Dates

MedUni Exam. Checked on October 11, 2026.

The MRCP Part 2 Written pass mark is 444, an equated scaled score that applies from the 2026/1 diet, and the PACES pass mark is 126 with a minimum in each of seven skills, both from the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians pass mark page, checked on October 11, 2026. The PACES maximum is 168, per the Federation's PACES pass standard notice of June 11, 2024. In the July 15, 2026 Part 2 Written paper, 444 came out as 126 correct answers out of 200 scored questions, and 58.9 percent of the 2,418 candidates passed. The next Part 2 Written paper is on November 25, 2026, with results by January 8, 2027. The UK application window for the 2027/01 PACES diet runs November 10 to November 17, 2026.

What is the pass mark for MRCP Part 2 Written?

The MRCP Part 2 Written pass mark is 444, and it applies to every diet from 2026/1 onward. The number is on the Federation pass mark page, checked on October 11, 2026, as the scaled ability score agreed by the MRCP(UK) Part 2 Standard Setting Group. There is no Part 2 passing percentage. Each candidate gets an overall scaled score, for the vast majority between 200 and 800, worked out from the number of correct answers and the difficulty of that paper by equating, which Part 2 has used since the 2010/1 diet.

The 444 replaced 454, the pass score set at the November 2022 standard setting review and applied to the 2025 diets. The Part 2 Written Standard Setting Group met in November 2025, used an Angoff method on the 2025/3 paper with UK core medical trainees in the NHS as the reference group, checked its judgment against a Hofstee method and the pass rates it would give, and agreed on 444. The Part 2 Examination Board supported the change in December 2025.

Source: the Federation pass mark page, the Part 2 Written standard setting note of November 2025 and the Part 2 Written 2025 performance report, checked on October 11, 2026.

The Part 2 FAQs say the pass mark will remain at 444 and that any change in difficulty from one diet to the next is accounted for within equating. The Part 1 pass mark of 450 sits on its own scale, and its history is in the MRCP Part 1 pass mark and pass rate article.

How many questions do you need to get right to pass MRCP Part 2 Written?

A pass in the July 2026 MRCP Part 2 Written paper took 126 correct answers out of 200 scored questions, stated in the Federation performance report for that diet, checked on October 11, 2026. The share needed moves with the paper: 63.0 percent in July 2026, 62.6 percent in March 2026 and 62.3 percent in July 2025, computed here from each report.

Source: the Federation Part 2 performance reports for March 2026, July 2026 and July 2025, and the pass rate page for 2025/03, checked on October 11, 2026.

March and July 2026 were both marked against 444, and one needed 122 of 195 scored questions while the other needed 126 of 200. Equating moves the raw number with the paper, so read these as past results, not as a target for your own diet.

Source: the same three Federation performance reports, checked on October 11, 2026.

The Federation publishes no percentile table for Part 2 and no conversion from a scaled score to a rank. In both 2026 diets the median candidate scored above the pass mark: 459 in July and 462 in March, against 444.

MRCP Part 2 Written pass rate by diet and candidate group

The MRCP Part 2 Written pass rate for all candidates was 58.9 percent in the July 2026 diet and 56.7 percent in March 2026, from the two Federation diet reports, checked on October 11, 2026. The Federation pass rate page splits the recent diets by candidate group.

Source: the Federation pass rate page, Part 2 Written examination, checked on October 11, 2026. UK trainee status is self-declared, the Federation notes.

On October 11, 2026 that page printed the same five figures under 2026/02 as under 2026/01. The July 2026 performance report gives the 2026/2 diet its own numbers: 58.9 percent of all candidates passed, 57.2 percent of the 813 self-declared UK resident doctors and 59.8 percent of the 1,605 other candidates. The March 2026 report matches the 2026/01 row, with 62.9 percent for UK resident doctors and 56.7 percent overall.

Across a year, the Federation counts results by attempt. In 2025, 6,106 candidates took the three papers, and UK resident doctors passed at their first attempt at 71.3 percent, 978 of 1,372, against 68.3 percent for other candidates, 2,237 of 3,273. In 2024, 5,554 candidates took four diets, and the first attempt rates were 78.3 percent, 995 of 1,270, and 74.3 percent, 2,108 of 2,838. Those figures are in the Part 2 annual performance reports for 2025 and 2024, checked on October 11, 2026. The 2025 report leaves out 131 candidates whose 2025/2 results were voided after technical difficulties.

MRCP Part 2 Written dates for 2026 and 2027, with results dates

Six Part 2 Written diets are published, three in 2026 and three in 2027. Application windows open and close at 8am UK time, and applications made outside them are not accepted.

Source: Federation, Part 2 exam dates and fees, checked on October 11, 2026. The page prints a pound sign; this table writes GBP. Applications and fees for the Hong Kong centers follow a different process, the page notes.

Every row puts the results 44 days after the paper, by this article's count. That follows the move of Part 1, Part 2 and specialty certificate results from four weeks to six weeks after the exam, effective September 1, 2025, in a Federation notice of August 21, 2025. Results go to your MyMRCP(UK) account, under Exam History, and the Federation no longer posts result letters, per the Part 2 results page.

From the 2026/2 diet in July, Part 2 is delivered in test centers, with exams based in Myanmar and Sudan still taken by remote online proctoring. Venue details and timings arrive three to four weeks before the exam, per the Part 2 FAQs. One clash, this article's reading of the dates rather than a Federation statement: the 2027/1 window closes on December 15, 2026, before the 2026/3 results arrive, so a candidate who wants the February 24, 2027 paper applies before knowing the November result.

How many questions are on MRCP Part 2 Written, and what it covers

MRCP Part 2 Written is 200 best of five questions in two papers of three hours each, taken on one day, which is 1.8 minutes per question, computed here. The Federation Part 2 format page, checked on October 11, 2026, gives 100 questions per paper, five options with one correct answer, one mark for each correct answer and no negative marking. Questions usually start from a clinical scenario and may carry investigation results and images such as ECGs, X-rays, CT and MR scans, pathology slides and echocardiograms.

Source: the Federation Part 2 format page, checked on October 11, 2026. The page says the actual number may vary by up to 2 percent, and that a proportion of the questions are on adolescent medicine.

Five specialties of 20 questions each make up half the paper. In the July 2026 diet, candidates overall scored highest in medical ophthalmology and lowest in oncology; in March 2026, highest in hematology and lowest in ophthalmology. Each of those topics has few questions, the two diet reports note. The same question count across other exams is in the table on how many questions each medical exam has.

What is the PACES pass mark?

To pass PACES you need at least 126 of 168 across the whole assessment and the pass mark in each of the seven skills, from the Federation pass mark page and its PACES pass standard notice of June 11, 2024, both checked on October 11, 2026. The PACES standard setting group agreed that standard on May 28, 2024 for the 2024/02 assessment period and every period after it, the same standard used for 2023/03 and 2024/01, and the notice says a full standard setting exercise is scheduled for 2027.

Source: the Federation PACES pass standard notice of June 11, 2024 and the pass mark page, checked on October 11, 2026.

126 of 168 is 75.0 percent of the maximum, computed here. The maximum comes from the mark scheme on the PACES format page: two examiners at each of five stations grade every skill an encounter assesses as satisfactory (2), borderline (1) or unsatisfactory (0), across eight encounters. A skill assessed at all eight encounters, such as clinical judgment or patient welfare, has 32 points to give, and one assessed at four, such as clinical communication, has 16.

Source: the Federation PACES format page, checked on October 11, 2026. The whole carousel takes 125 minutes, including 5 minutes between stations.

PACES pass rate by diet and candidate group

About half of PACES candidates pass a diet: 47.9 percent of all candidates in 2026/02, 49.3 percent in 2026/01 and 46.1 percent in 2025/03, from the Federation pass rate page, checked on October 11, 2026.

Source: the Federation pass rate page, PACES examination, checked on October 11, 2026. UK trainee status is self-declared.

The Summer 2026 PACES performance report covers 1,942 candidates, 954 of them self-declared UK resident doctors. Their scores had a mean of 133, a median of 135, a mode of 140 and a standard deviation of 18.1, against the overall pass mark of 126 and a pass mark in each skill. Skill B, identifying physical signs, had the lowest pass rate at 64.9 percent and skill G, maintaining patient welfare, the highest at 99.7 percent. Of the eight encounters, the neurological examination had the lowest average share of its maximum, 74.6 percent.

In 2025, 7,485 candidates took PACES. UK resident doctors passed at their first attempt at 56.6 percent, 901 of 1,591, and other candidates at 43.0 percent, 1,066 of 2,481, from the PACES 2025 performance report, checked on October 11, 2026.

PACES dates for 2026 and 2027, and when PACES results come out

PACES runs in assessment periods rather than on one day, and your exam can fall on any day of the period, weekends included. Admission documents with your date, time and place arrive at least four weeks before the exam, per the Federation PACES dates and fees page, checked on October 11, 2026.

Source: the Federation PACES dates and fees page, checked on October 11, 2026. Windows open and close at 8am UK time. The page prints a pound sign; this table writes GBP.

International centers run their own windows. For 2027/01 the international application window ran October 6 to October 13, 2026, for an assessment period from late January to April 2027. The fee at most international centers is GBP 1,358 for 2026/03 and 2027/01, with GBP 1,485 in Singapore and HKD 16,300 in Hong Kong, and each center lists its own exam days.

UK PACES results are published in your MyMRCP(UK) account 15 business days after the last day your center runs, and international results 20 to 30 business days after it, per the same page.

How many times can you take MRCP Part 2 and PACES?

You can take each part of the MRCP(UK) Diploma a maximum of six times, Part 2 Written and PACES included, and a candidate who reaches six may apply for one exceptional additional attempt. That is on the Federation limit on attempts page, checked on October 11, 2026, which says the General Medical Council requires the limit. A withdrawal does not count as an attempt.

The extra attempt rests on further study, not on bad luck. You prepare an educational plan with your educational supervisor, and the supervisor and your training program director sign a form saying a pass is highly likely at the next attempt. The form goes in at least two weeks before the application period opens, and the MRCP(UK) Regulatory Sub-Group decides.

The order is yours once Part 1 is behind you. Applications for Part 2 Written and PACES are accepted only after your Part 1 pass is confirmed, and the two can be taken in any order, per the MRCP(UK) Regulations of April 2026, checked on October 11, 2026. Paragraph 3.4 of those Regulations removes the old rule that made candidates finish Part 2 Written and PACES within seven years of passing Part 1. The Regulations recommend two years of experience after graduation before PACES, with at least four months in posts caring for emergency medical patients. Attempt limits for Step 1, the NCLEX, the MCAT and PLAB 1 are in the attempt limits article.

Is MRCP Part 2 Written harder than Part 1?

More Part 2 Written candidates pass than Part 1 candidates. In the first diets of 2026, 56.7 percent passed the March Part 2 Written paper against 48.7 percent for the January Part 1 paper. In the second, 58.9 percent passed Part 2 Written in July, from its diet report, against 50.7 percent for the May Part 1 paper, from the Federation pass rate page, checked on October 11, 2026. The gaps are 8.0 and 8.2 points, computed here.

The pass mark numbers say nothing about difficulty. From 2026/1 Part 1 is 450, Part 2 Written is 444 and PACES is 126, each on its own scale. Every Part 2 candidate has already passed Part 1, which may explain part of the higher rate; that is this article's reading, not a Federation finding.

The Part 1 numbers, with the correct answers needed in each diet, are in the MRCP Part 1 pass mark and pass rate article, the Part 1 results calendar is in the MRCP Part 1 results date article, and the Part 1 blueprint is on the MRCP Part 1 page.

MRCP Part 2 practice questions from the guideline you are reading

Part 2 Written is 200 best of five questions built on clinical scenarios. This site turns the guideline, review article or notes you upload into best of five questions, and each one prints the sentence it came from and the page that sentence sits on. It is not an MRCP question bank, it cannot rehearse a PACES station, and it has no connection to the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians.

The free lane is 200 verified questions as a guest and 500 a month with a confirmed account. A 90 day Exam Pass is £39.99, and it does not renew. Ten questions with no account and no upload are in the sample exam, and pricing has the rest.

Questions people ask

What is the MRCP Part 2 pass mark in 2026?

444, an equated scaled score that applies from the 2026/1 diet, on the Federation pass mark page checked on October 11, 2026. In the July 2026 paper it came to 126 correct answers out of 200 scored questions, and in March 2026 to 122 of 195, from the two diet reports. There is no fixed percentage: the raw number moves with the difficulty of each paper.

What was the MRCP Part 2 pass mark in 2025?

454. The Federation Part 2 Written 2025 performance report states that the pass score for the 2025 Part 2 examinations was 454, set at the November 2022 standard setting review, checked on October 11, 2026. In the July 2025 paper that meant 124 correct answers out of 199 scored questions. A review in November 2025 moved it to 444 from 2026/1.

When are the MRCP Part 2 results for November 2026?

By January 8, 2027, for the 2026/3 paper on November 25, 2026, the results date on the Federation Part 2 dates page checked on October 11, 2026. That is 44 days after the paper, by this article's count. Results go to your MyMRCP(UK) account, and the Federation publishes no time of day for the release.

What is the MRCP Part 2 pass rate?

58.9 percent of all candidates passed the July 2026 Part 2 Written paper and 56.7 percent passed in March 2026, from the two Federation diet reports checked on October 11, 2026. In 2025/03 it was 53.4 percent. UK graduates did better: 79.7 percent passed at the first attempt in 2026/01, from the Federation pass rate page.

What is the PACES pass mark?

126 of 168 overall, plus the pass mark in every one of the seven skills, from 16 of 24 for physical examination to 28 of 32 for maintaining patient welfare. The standard was agreed on May 28, 2024 for 2024/02 and every period after it, and a full standard setting exercise is scheduled for 2027, per the Federation notice checked on October 11, 2026.

When do PACES results come out?

15 business days after the last day your UK center runs, and 20 to 30 business days after the last day for an international center, in your MyMRCP(UK) account, per the Federation PACES dates page checked on October 11, 2026. The clock starts from the center's last day, not from your own exam day.

How many times can you take PACES?

Six times, like Part 1 and Part 2 Written, and a candidate who reaches six may apply for one exceptional additional attempt, backed by a form signed by the educational supervisor and training program director. A withdrawal does not count, per the Federation limit on attempts page checked on October 11, 2026.

Can you take PACES before MRCP Part 2 Written?

Yes. Once your Part 1 pass is confirmed, Part 2 Written and PACES can be taken in any order, per the MRCP(UK) Regulations of April 2026, checked on October 11, 2026. The Regulations recommend two years of experience after graduation before PACES, and the old seven year limit for finishing both parts after Part 1 has been removed.

Published October 11, 2026, updated October 14, 2026.