FAQs about Paper B 2026-1

Here are the answers to questions about the Paper B 2026-1 exam diet on 12 February. If you have any further questions then please contact examinations@rcpsych.ac.uk

No. The resit is offered for free to all impacted and unsuccessful candidates. Please email us if you would like to enter for the resit exam by 20 March. 

If you are unable to sit the resit exam on 30 March, please email us as soon as possible and you will be offered a place to sit the Paper B 2026-2 exam on 19 May, free of charge. If you are unable to sit the March or the May exam, we will refund your exam fee.  

Yes. The scheduling has been planned to accommodate candidates who may be unsuccessful in the resit and wish to sit the Paper B 2026-2 exam on 19 May to facilitate two fair attempts at the exam. If you wish to apply for Paper B 2026-2, please email us at examinations@rcpsych.ac.uk. 

Yes. Those that are unable to sit the resit exam or sit the Paper B 2026-2 exam in May will have their validity period extended by 6 months. 

The resit will be counted as an attempt. A failed attempt at the Paper B 2026-1 exam will not be counted and will be nullified as per our previous advice.  

If you are unsuccessful in the 2026-1 exam but do not want to sit the resit exam or the May exam, we will refund your examination fee. Please email examinations@rcpsych.ac.uk to request this. 

Yes, the resit exam will be the same format and will assess the same specialty areas as per our syllabus. Please see the link to Preparing for exams. 

Yes, our resit exam will be delivered by Pearson as normal. Please be assured that the error you experienced has now been fixed and they have put in additional quality assurance checks for all our future exams, including the resit exam. 

Yes. The standard fee will apply to candidates who are unsuccessful in the resit.

The processing of results is a detailed procedure involving marking, standard setting, quality assurance verification and a formal sign-off process. These stages are scheduled well in advance to ensure accuracy, fairness and consistency for every candidate. Unfortunately, this means that we’ve been unable to bring the date as far forward as we would like, but we have worked on releasing them three days earlier than planned.  

We fully appreciate how important exam results are for your progression and we are fully committed to keeping you informed and supporting you throughout this process. 

Yes. You can book a place for the March resit before you have your 2026-1 result. This will help us secure your test centre appointment.

Yes. If you’re successful in the resit exam we will refund your Paper B 2026-2 fee, if you applied. Please email examinations@rcpsych.ac.uk to request this.  

Removing a section from the exam paper would impair the validity and standard of the exam and would not meet the regulatory requirements set out in the GMC’s Excellence by Design.  
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