Do I have to take the statutory membership examination if I want to work as a veterinary surgeon in the UK?

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.

The annual deadline for exam applications is 14 January.

Application forms will be provided to candidates who have submitted a declaration of intention to sit.

Yes, you must demonstrate that you can communicate in English at an appropriate level. If your primary veterinary degree was taught and assessed in English then you may be granted exemption from language testing.

Candidates whose primary veterinary degree was not taught in English can demonstrate their English skills by taking either the academic version of 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.

We only grant exemption from English language testing if a candidate’s primary veterinary degree was taught and assessed entirely in English. Pease refer to the guidance for how to apply for an exemption and what supporting evidence we accept.

The entry fee is £2,500.

This includes the £2,200 examination fee and a non-refundable £300 administration charge.

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.

You may be eligible for a discretionary refund of some or all of the exam fee (excluding administration costs).

You must submit your request in writing, along with documentary evidence to support the medical or compassionate grounds cited, no later than 6 days after the part of the examination that you missed.

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.

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. 

Confirmed exam candidates 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, this will be provided in the run up to the final exam dates.

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 and is strongly recommended. Further information about the regulations around ‘seeing practice’ can be found in the examination guidance and on the website.