Eligibility and Exemptions

To sit the FRCA Exams, you must be a member of the College or apply for Temporary Exam Eligibility (TEE).

Each of the FRCA exams have different eligibility criteria.  Please see the relevant summary table below to quickly check your eligibility.  A more detailed eligibility list is available in the FRCA Examination Regulations.

Temporary Examinations Eligibility (TEE)

Who is TEE for?
The College has introduced Temporary Examination Eligibility (TEE) which will allow all non-UK Trainee applicants, who do not qualify for any of the College membership categories to apply.  Further information on College membership categories can be found here.  If you are currently employed in the UK as an anaesthetist then you may be able to apply for voluntary membership of the College which will enable you to sit the FRCA exams.

When do TEE Applications have to be made?
TEE applicants must have their TEE application approved at least three months prior to their application for any College examination.

How do I apply for TEE?
You must apply for TEE using the application form below.  All documents requested must accompany the application.  Documents required on first application are:

• Proof of registration with the GMC or an overseas Medical Council
• Proof of attendance at or completion of anaesthetic training, including foundation training.

You will be asked to provide further documentation for exams such as OSCE/SOE to prove you have the UK Initial Assessment of Competency Certificate in Anaesthesia or an overseas equivalent.

The forms must be posted to the college and the fee must be paid by cheque, postal order, or bank draft drawn on a UK bank and made payable to the 'The Royal College of Anaesthetists'.  The current fee is £70 per year.  

When can I apply for TEE?
There are three TEE deadline dates per year.  This is designed to allow you maximum number of attempts at the Primary MCQ exam within your TEE year.  Your TEE will start from the date of the next TEE deadline.  Applications received after this date will start after the next TEE deadline. The upcoming dates are:

How do I apply for Exams?
Once you have secured your TEE you will be issued with a TEE number which you can use to apply for exams.  You should then apply for the exams in the same way as all other candidates. You must apply within the same timelines as other candidates and provide the same documentation and signatures.  Candidates who have secured their TEE will be subject to both the general exam regulations and the TEE regulations.

Language
All FRCA examinations are conducted in English. Where a candidate’s first language is not English, the College recommends that an applicant’s communication and written skills in English are at least equivalent to the level at which a doctor could successfully pass the PLAB (Professional Linguistics Assessment Board) tests or at a level where they would expect to gain an average score of approximately 7/10 across all bands of the IELTS (International English Language Testing System). We do not require you to provide us with a certificate proving competency in English. 

Exemptions

The College regularly sends FRCA Examiners to overseas examinations, which enables the college to align the quality assurance processes for qualifications which are presently given exemption status.

A candidate applying for the Final FRCA exams shall be exempt from passing the Primary FRCA exam if, within the seven years preceding the start date of the exam applied for, and only in such years as specified:

1. has passed the Primary examination of the Faculty or the College of Anaesthetists of Ireland (provided it was sat in Ireland).

2. has obtained any of the following qualifications:

1. Fellowship of the Faculty or the College of Anaesthetists of Ireland;
2. Doctor of Medicine (Anaesthesiology) of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka;
3. Master of Anaesthesia of the University of Khartoum, Sudan before December 2007;
4. Master of Medicine (Anaesthesia) of the National University of Singapore before October 2012;
5. Fellowship in Anaesthesiology of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan awarded in respect of success in the relevant examination from April 1998 to August 2011;
6. Doctor of Medicine (Anaesthesia) University of the West Indies since September 2003.
7. Fellowship of the College of Anaesthetists of South Africa;
8. Certificate of the American Board of Anesthesiology;
9. Fellowship in Anaesthesia of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
10. Fellowship in Anaesthesia of the Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons since July 1999;
11. Fellowship of the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists since January 2001
12. European Diploma in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care of the European Academy of Anaesthesiology or the  European Society of Anaesthesiology
13. Fellowship of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists.