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- Overview of practice standards
- About the Practice Standards Scheme
- Which accreditation is right for your practice and how to apply
- What happens during an assessment?
- About Stanley, our support system for the PSS
- How do I update my accredited-practice information?
- How can I promote my RCVS accreditation?
- Additional resources
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- Coronavirus (Covid-19)
- Contact the Advice Team
- Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons
- Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Nurses
- GDPR – RCVS information and Q&As
- Advice on Schedule 3
- FAQs – Common medicines pitfalls
- FAQs – Routine veterinary practice and clinical veterinary research
- Dealing with Difficult Situations webinar recordings
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Statutory Membership Exam
If your qualification is not recognised by the RCVS you must sit and pass the RCVS Statutory Examination for Membership in order to register.
If you are unsure whether we recognise your qualification, select from the list the region or country where your qualification was awarded.
Statutory Membership Guidance: please note that the guidance document was updated in November 2021. You can download the latest version from the 'Related documents' section, at the end of this page.
Declaring your intention to sit the examination
The first step in the examination process is to inform the RCVS of your intention to sit. To do this, you will need to submit a completed 'Declaration of Intention to Sit Form', along with all the required supporting evidence.
The declaration form can be downloaded from the 'Related documents' section at the end of this page. You can also download the 'Statutory Membership Examination Guidance' document which contains detailed information on all aspects of the examination, including what supporting evidence you will need to provide when declaring your intention to sit.
Declarations expire in September in the year you intend to sit the examination. The deadline for declaring your intention to sit the exam is 31 December to allow time to process your declaration.
If you have previously declared your intention to sit the examination and would like to renew your declaration, please read the information on renewing your intention to sit the examination.
Applying to sit in an examination diet
If you have submitted a completed declaration of intention to sit, you will be eligible to apply to sit in the next examination diet.
We will provide you with information, as well as the relevant application forms, once your declaration has been confirmed by the Education Department.
English Language Requirements
You must demonstrate that you can communicate in English at an appropriate level.
This can be demonstrated by taking either the International Language Testing System (IELTS) or the veterinary version of the Occupational English Test (OET). The required scores for these tests are shown in the table below:
Provider | Average Score | Component Scores |
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IELTS | 7.0 or higher | 6.5 or higher in one component |
OET | Grade B or higher | C+ or higher in one component B or higher in all other components |
Candidates whose bachelor veterinary degree was taught and assessed entirely in English may be exempt from English language testing if appropriate evidence can be presented.
Important dates
The application window for the 2022 diet is now closed. The application window for the 2023 diet will open on 1 October 2022 and will close on 14 January 2023.
The written component will be held across 5 consecutive days at the start of March 2023, with the exact dates to be confirmed. This component will be delivered remotely, meaning that you may attempt it using your own computer, from a suitable location of your choosing.
The OSCE will be held at the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine, with the date to be confirmed.
Pass lists
View pass lists from 2006 onwards.
Contact us
If you have a query about the Statutory Examination for Membership, please contact us stating where you qualified (university name and country) and the year in which you qualified.
T: +44 (0)20 7050 1247
Address: Statutory Examination for Membership, The Cursitor, 38 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1EN
Frequently Asked Questions
Statutory Membership Examination
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In order to work as a vet in the UK, you must be registered with the RCVS. The RCVS recognises veterinary degrees from the accredited universities of countries outlined on this map.
If the university that awarded your veterinary degrees is not listed, then you will need to pass the statutory membership examination before you can register.
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First, you will need to submit a declaration of intention to sit. You can submit this at any point during the year and it is valid until the end of September. Please refer to the examination guidance for detailed information on what supporting evidence you need to provide at this stage.
Only once you have submitted a declaration of intention to sit, along with all the necessary documentation, can you apply to sit the examination.
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The annual deadline for applications is 14 February.
Application forms will be provided to candidates who have submitted a declaration of intention to sit.
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Unfortunately, we are unable to offer advice with regard to your visa status or work permit status.
For such advice, please contact the Home Office.
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Yes, you must demonstrate that you can communicate in English at an appropriate level.
This can be demonstrated by taking either the International Language Testing System (IELTS) or the veterinary version of the Occupational English Test (OET).
Please see the examination guidance for more information about these requirements.
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Yes, please refer to the guidance for how to apply for an exemption and what supporting evidence we accept.
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The entry fee is £2,500.
This includes the £2,200 examination fee and a non-refundable £300 administration charge.
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If you withdraw before the application closing date, you will be refunded the £2,200 examination fee.
Withdrawals made more than 28 days before the examination will receive half the examination fee: £1,100.
If you withdraw 28 days or fewer before the first examination date, then you will not be entitled to a refund.
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You may be eligible for a discretionary refund of some or all of the entire exam fee.
You must submit your request in writing, along with documentary evidence to support the medical or compassionate grounds cited, no later than 28 days after the part of the examination that you missed.
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If you fail the Code of Professional Conduct paper then you will have the opportunity to resit it within the same diet.
We do not offer re-sits for the clinical written papers or the OSCE.
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The examination guidance includes an extensive reading list covering the main subject areas, links to websites that give information about current legislation of relevance to veterinary surgeons, as well as some recommended veterinary journals and publications.
Candidates are eligible for a special RCVS Knowledge library membership category.
Once you submit a completed examination application, you will be given access to a formative quiz containing 110 questions in the same format and of the same standard you will be faced with in the written examination.
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Once you submit a completed declaration of intention to sit you will be eligible to ‘see practice’ in accordance with the provisions laid out in the Veterinary Surgeons Act.
This affords you the opportunity to gain practical, clinical experience, as part of your preparation for the examination.
Further information about the regulations around ‘seeing practice’ can be found in the examination guidance.
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The examination consists of two components: a written examination consisting of best-of-5 multiple-choice questions and an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE).
The written component will assess your clinical knowledge and will include an open-book paper assessing your familiarity with the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct.
The OSCE will assess a range of practical skills. For more information on the format, please refer to section 6 of the guidance document.
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The written component is normally held in late April or early May, and the OSCE is held in July.
View the dates of the next examination diet.
The written component is run remotely, allowing candidates to take the examination securely using their own computer from a suitable location of their choosing.
The OSCE is held at the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine.
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If you can demonstrate that you have been granted refugee status by the British Home Office then you may be entitled to financial support, including waiver of the examination fee. Please contact the examinations manager at rcvsexam@rcvs.org.uk if you would like to apply for this assistance.