In an announcement dated 6 May 2026, the GDC confirmed the first year of ORE sittings, capacity and fees under its new delivery contract with UCL Consultants Ltd. Fees changed sharply: the application processing fee rose from £96 to £115, Part 1 fell from £584 to £485, and Part 2 rose from £4,235 to £6,967 — a 65% increase driven by specialist clinical facilities, examiner costs, capital investment and newly applicable VAT.
Capacity in year one is 2,400 Part 1 places across four sittings of 600, and 944 Part 2 places across five sittings, with Part 2 planned to reach 1,500 places a year by year three. The first sittings under the new contract are 25–26 August 2026 for Part 1 and 10–13 September 2026 for Part 2. Booking now runs through MyGDC and opens eight weeks before each sitting, with priority for candidates near the five-year Part 2 limit and those with refugee status.
