Your registration assessment

The registration assessment tests your knowledge and understanding to ensure you are ready for professional practice. Here are some essential resources to help you prepare for your registration assessment.

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The assessment 

The next registration assessment sittings will take place on the following dates:

  • Tuesday 16 June 2026 – Summer assessment day
  • Tuesday 10 November 2026 – Autumn assessment day
     

Do check the GPhC website regularly for key updates and information for the assessment sitting and their ‘ready to apply’ guidance. There are certain dates that you’ll need to be aware of in terms of apply to sit and requests for reasonable adjustments. The GPhC have made available a section on Q&As which may help with some questions you may have around the logistics of sitting the assessment.

The following resources will help you prepare for your assessment:

  • The registration assessment framework covers what you are likely to be tested on in the registration assessment. It outlines the possible assessment topics and the weighting of the topic areas. We recommend that you work through this and use it to identify your knowledge or skills gaps.
  • The GPhC assessment explained information provides further detail on the assessment and assurance information.
  • Each year the GPhC publishes information about learnings from the most recent assessment. Have a read of the feedback from previous sittings, to find out about the common topics that individuals found difficult.

Read the GPhC  assessment framework

The registration assessment framework covers what the GPhC are testing in the assessment. Set aside time to read through the registration assessment framework thoroughly. Ensure you understand what each assessment topic means, and what you are expected to know. 

To help you understand the importance of each topic, the GPhC have provided a list of 15 core ‘clinical theraputic areas’. They have ordered these based on their prevalence of the assessment questions, as well as the prevalence in practice.

These are also colour coded, to help visualise each clinical area.

Work through the framework and make a list of all the topics you need to learn about for your assessment, highlighting any gaps in your knowledge and skills. 

Develop a list of SMART (Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) actions of your next steps. 

Devise a learning and revision plan of how you will address these gaps and increase your knowledge base in key areas.

Preparing for the assessment

It’s never too early to start planning for your GPhC assessment. 

We’ve put together some advice to help you prepare for your assessment and plan your revision accordingly.

Get familiar with the assessment format

Ensure you understand what the assessment is likely to cover but also what each question type looks like. 

The GPhC website is updated regularly, so check there for any changes – and follow the @TheGPhC on X too – they often share information there.

They have prepared a webinar about the Surpass platform which you will be using for your assessment.

The GPhC Foundation training manual contains everything you need to know about the training year and the assessment. It’s a good place for information about the assessment format, assessment resources, and details of calculators you can use on your assessment day. 

Consult and learn from your designated supervisor and designated prescribing practitioner

Set aside some time with your designated supervisor(s) in the run-up to your assessment to discuss your revision plan but also your development areas. 

  • Ask them for a view of what they see as your main development gaps
  • Ask for their advice on essential resources and how to approach learning in specific topic areas
  • Ask for their tips for revision but also how to approach assessment questions.

It might be useful to organise a weekly meeting in the last month or two before the assessment to go through any knowledge topics you may still be struggling with.

Preparing for the Assessment

Familiarise yourself with the assessment resources

You cannot take paper copies of reference sources to the assessment, therefore it is important to ensure you know what some of these resources look like, so you can find the required information quickly.

Extracts from a range of reference sources will be provided within the Pearson VUE online platform. GPhC examples are provided below, but this is not an exhaustive list.

Extracts from a British National Formulary (BNF)

The BNF website provides information on navigating the BNF. Please do use your copy of your BNF to familiarising yourself with the layout and structure.

A Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPCs)

You can access SmPCs from the Electronic Medicines Compendium (eMC). – perhaps pick a selection that you are not familiar with, for example a medicine that you have not come across in practice. Go through the layout and contents to familiarise yourself with what type of information is contained in each section. 

Develop a technique for locating key information quickly within, e.g. side effects, contra-indications, and storage instructions. 

It might be useful to print out or save some electronic versions of SmPCs (as a pdf), highlight key pieces of information, and use paper or electronic sticky notes attached to the SmPCs to summarise your learning points. 

Our overview of SmPCs provides further hints and tips on how to use SmPCs effectively.

Photographs

Find, print or save some photographs of common conditions and minor ailments, such as skin disorders, and eye conditions. Annotate and label these photographs noting key clinical manifestations and features. This will help you diagnose the suspected condition. 

NHS choices have photographs which might be helpful, and you can freely access Mind the Gap: A handbook of clinical signs in Black and Brown skin.

A medication chart

If you are unfamiliar with medication charts, link up with a colleague who has experience of using them and ask them to show you the format and how they are used for prescribing, dispensing, administration of medicines and making records. 

Make a list of all the resources you need to be familiar with for the assessment and ensure your revision plan includes sufficient time for these resources.

Wellbeing Tips

Check out our Trainee pharmacist resources to ensure that you are mentally and physically fit for assessment day.

RPS Resources

  • Our practice and guidance section gives you quick access to a range of guidance for practice but could also support your revision
  • Don’t forget the Medicines, Ethics and Practice, which provides you with up to date information about pharmacy law and best practice guidance
  • You can also access e-books from our e-library on a range of topics including clinical pharmacy and therapeutics, minor ailments and common conditions, prescribing guidelines, and law and ethics, all to support your revision. 
  • Get the edge when preparing for your assessment, with our online Revision Course with Mock Assessment Programme

Practice Questions

Practice, Practice, Practice

Doing practice questions is a great way to apply your knowledge and learning and highlight any areas you could develop on further. A good technique is key to ensure that you answer questions correctly but efficiently. 

Try to complete a set number of sample questions every week, perhaps every day as the assessment draws closer, under timed conditions. 

For part 1, you have 120 minutes to answer 40 calculation questions, which gives you roughly three minutes per calculation. Practice going through a calculation twice in three minutes to ensure you get the correct answer.

For part 2, you have 150 minutes to answer 120 questions (90 single best answer questions and 30 extended matching questions), giving you just over a minute per question. Practise attempting questions within this time, including time to read, absorb, and understand what is being asked of you.

It’s also a good idea to complete at least two complete online mock assessments under timed conditions as you would in the assessment, this will help you learn techniques to manage your time effectively. 

A note of caution that you should not simply rely on practice questions as your main form of revision. Performance in a mock assessment might not reflect your performance on the day.

Use the tools below to do assessment style questions.

  • The GPhC provides example Part 1 questions and example Part 2 questions. These are the only official set of GPhC questions available. 
  • Use ONtrack, a bank of over a thousand registration assessment-style questions, to test and build your knowledge. As an RCPharm member, you get 30 days free access (and 25% off further access)
  • Our e-library gives you access to a wealth of free e-books for revision and practice.
    • To brush up on calculations, take a look at:
      • Introduction to Pharmaceutical Calculations – 4th ed. (2015)
      • Drug Calculations for Nurses: A Step-by-Step Approach – 3rd ed. (2009)
      • Essential Math and Calculations for Pharmacy Technicians (2004)
  • Other useful publications available from our e-library are:
    • Law and ethics:
      • Case Studies in Pharmacy Ethics – 2nd ed. (2008)
    • Minor ailments and common conditions:
      • Symptoms in the pharmacy – 8th ed. (2018)
    • Clinical pharmacy:
      • Oxford Handbook of Clinical Pharmacy – 3rd ed. (2017)
      • Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics – 6th ed. (2019)
      • Prescribing Medicines for Children (2019)

PJ Learning resources

We have collated a list of learning articles from the Pharmaceutical Journal (PJ) aligned to the GPhC assessment framework to support you with your revision and knowledge development. The articles focus on three key areas:

  1. Specific Topics and Drugs
  2. Clinical Learning Areas
  3. Calculations and Exam Advice

Specific Topics and Drugs

MMR

Clinical Learning Areas

High rated therapeutic areas

Medium weighted therapeutic areas

Low weighted therapeutic areas

Calculations and exam advice

Preparing for your registration assessment

Four weeks before:

  • Develop your revision plan for the next four weeks – ensure you align this to the GPhC assessment framework
  • Use your results from the RCPharm mock assessment to identify any learning gaps
  • Familiarise yourself with all the GPhC assessment materials, including guidance about sitting the assessment remotely
  • RCPharm resource: Registration assessment website

Three weeks before:

  • Continue your revision: perhaps focus on calculations?
  • Book your test centre (using the details provided by GPhC)
  • RCPharm resource: Calculation e-Books

Two weeks before:

  • Continue your revision: perhaps focus on high-weighted clinical topics
  • See if you can replicate the assessment environment, as per GPhC guidelines, and complete some questions online
  • RCPharm resource: Clinical e-Books and BNF

One week before:

  • Continue your revision: perhaps focus on medium- and low-weighted topics
  • Make any adjustments to the room that you’ll be sitting the assessment in: ensure it’s comfortable but also meets the GPhC requirements
  • Create a list of items you’ll need for the day, e.g., a calculator, and your ID for the test center.
  • RCPharm resource: Clinical e-Books and BNF

The night before:

  • Revisit any final learning points as part of your revision
  • Prepare your list of items for assessment day – don’t forget lunch and any refreshments
  • Practice some relaxation exercises to relieve tension and anxieties; get a good night’s sleep the evening before your assessment
  • RCPharm resource: Contact our Support Team if you want to discuss anything about the assessment

Good luck

We’ll still be here to support you after assessment day, so contact the Support Team if you want to discuss anything.