What is the UKMLA? The 2026 content map explained

The UKMLA, which the GMC calls the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA), is the assessment that stands between medical school and the UK medical register. It has two parts: an applied knowledge test (AKT) and a clinical and professional skills assessment (CPSA).

Who sits it

• Every student graduating from a UK medical school passes the MLA as part of their degree before joining the medical register.
• International doctors who want to join the UK register take PLAB, which the GMC says meets its MLA requirements. Both groups are assessed on the same set of topics, set out in the MLA content map.

The applied knowledge test

The AKT for UK students is two papers of 100 questions, sat on consecutive days. Every question is single best answer with five options. The standard time is two hours per paper, and the AKT is not negatively marked, so never leave a question blank.

It is a university-led exam: your medical school decides most of how it is delivered. The Medical Schools Council publishes a free 200-question practice exam in the real format. Sit it under timed conditions before your exam.

The clinical and professional skills assessment

The CPSA tests the clinical and professional skills you use with patients. It is built on the same content map as the AKT, and your medical school will tell you how and when you sit it.

What the content map covers

The content map sets out the core knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for UK practice. It is the framework for both the AKT and the CPSA, and it is organised into six domains:

• Areas of clinical practice, from acute and emergency medicine to sexual health.
• Areas of professional knowledge.
• Clinical and professional capabilities.
• Practical skills and procedures.
• Patient presentations.
• Conditions, a core list rather than an exhaustive one.

Three themes run through all of it: readiness for safe practice, managing uncertainty, and delivering holistic, person-centred care. Expect questions that ask what you would do next, not just what the diagnosis is.

What changed in 2026

The GMC published a reviewed content map in October 2025, and it applies to every MLA exam and assessment taken from September 2026. It is a live document: in September 2026 the GMC replaced polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS).

How to revise for it

• Spread your practice across the whole map. The AKT samples every area, so a weak area costs marks however strong the rest is.
• Practise in the real format: single best answer, five options, one minute or so per question.
• Read the explanation for every question you miss, and come back to it a few days later.
• Little and often beats a late cram. A short set every day keeps every area warm.

That last one is what WardRun is built for. Every day there is a new run of questions mapped to the 2026 content map, free, with the key point to remember after every answer, and a ranking against your own medical school. Try ten questions first.

A new set every day

6,800+ questions mapped to the 2026 UKMLA content map, free every day with every answer explained. Climb your medical school's table.

Start today's run