The MRCP(UK) Part 2 written exam is two three-hour papers, each with 100 best-of-five questions. It is open to doctors who have passed Part 1, it is marked with no negative marking, and your result is reported as a scaled score with a pass mark of 444. This guide explains the MRCP Part 2 format, the specialty blueprint for the 2027 sittings and how the marking works, so you can plan your revision around the exam you will actually sit.
Exam information checked on 27 October 2026 against the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians.
Try the MRCP Part 2 Question Bank Free
Start a 72-hour free trial of our MRCP Part 2 course. The full bank has 4,278 exam-style questions mapped to the current blueprint, 400+ image questions (ECGs, clinical photographs, CT and X-ray), timed mocks in the official two-paper format and 24 case-based podcast episodes. No card needed.
Sitting in February 2027? Access for that exam is £35 until 10 January 2027, then £49. See what is in the course.
Who sits MRCP Part 2?
MRCP(UK) is a three-part diploma: Part 1, the Part 2 written exam and the Part 2 clinical exam (PACES). The Federation describes the Part 2 written exam as open to physicians in training who have passed Part 1. It builds on the knowledge tested in Part 1 and samples the medical knowledge, skills and behaviour set out in the Curriculum for Internal Medicine.
In practice, that means the content is familiar but the questions ask more of you. Part 2 cases are longer, they carry more investigation results, and many of them turn on a judgement about what to do next for this patient, today.
MRCP Part 2 format at a glance
| Feature | MRCP Part 2 written |
|---|---|
| Papers | Two papers of 100 questions each (200 in total) |
| Time | 3 hours per paper |
| Question type | Best of five: one best answer and four plausible alternatives |
| Marking | One mark per correct answer, no negative marking |
| Delivery | Computer-based, in a test centre (from the July 2026 sitting) |
| Result | Scaled score; current pass mark 444 |
Source: the Federation’s Part 2 format page and pass marks explained.
Since the July 2026 sitting (2026/2), Part 2 has been delivered in test centres rather than by remote online proctoring. The Federation lists Myanmar and Sudan as the exceptions, where the exam is still delivered online.
What the questions are testing
The Federation lists five things the exam tests your ability to do. They are worth learning, because the last line of almost every question maps to one of them.
- Prioritising a diagnostic or problem list. Which diagnosis best explains everything in the stem, or which problem matters most right now?
- Planning investigation. Which single test is the most appropriate next step, given what has already been done?
- Selecting a plan for immediate management. What do you do in the next hour for an unwell patient?
- Selecting a plan for long-term management. What should the patient take, or have, over the coming months and years?
- Assessing prognosis. Which finding best predicts outcome, or what is this patient’s most likely course?
Notice how these differ. A question asking for the most likely diagnosis and one asking for the most appropriate next investigation can share the same stem but have different correct answers. Reading the question line first, before the case, stops you answering the wrong question. Our guide to best-of-five technique for MRCP Part 2 covers this in detail.
What a typical question looks like
Most questions open with a clinical scenario. They often include investigation results, and some are illustrated with images. The Federation lists clinical photographs, pathology slides, inheritance trees, ECGs, X-rays, CT and MR scans, and echocardiograms. In an image question the picture is part of the data: read it as carefully as you would read a blood result. Our guide to MRCP Part 2 image questions sets out a systematic approach to each type.
Each question has five options. The Federation explains that the four distractors are closely related to the best answer but less correct. That is the heart of the exam: you are rarely choosing between a right answer and four absurd ones. You are choosing the best of several reasonable actions.
The MRCP Part 2 blueprint for 2027
The blueprint sets how many questions come from each specialty. It changes during 2027, so check which version applies to your sitting.
- February 2027 (2027/1) and July 2027 (2027/2): the current blueprint applies. The Federation states it applies up to and including the 2027/2 diet.
- November 2027 (2027/3) onwards: a revised blueprint applies.
| Specialty | Current blueprint (to July 2027) | Revised blueprint (from November 2027) |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiology | 19 | 20 |
| Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics | 18 | 12 |
| Dermatology | 9 | 10 |
| Endocrinology, diabetes and metabolic medicine | 19 | 20 |
| Gastroenterology and hepatology | 19 | 20 |
| Geriatric medicine | 9 | 10 |
| Haematology | 9 | 10 |
| Infectious diseases | 19 | 16 |
| Medical ophthalmology | 3 | 4 |
| Neurology | 17 | 16 |
| Oncology | 6 | 6 |
| Palliative medicine and end-of-life care | 3 | 4 |
| Psychiatry | 3 | 2 |
| Renal medicine | 19 | 20 |
| Respiratory medicine | 19 | 20 |
| Rheumatology | 9 | 10 |
| Total | 200 | 200 |
Source: the Federation’s Part 2 format page, which links both blueprint documents. The Federation notes that the numbers are an indication and the actual number per specialty may vary by up to 2%. A proportion of questions are on adolescent medicine.
What the blueprint means for your revision
Under the current blueprint, six specialties carry 19 questions each: cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, renal and respiratory medicine. Add clinical pharmacology at 18 and those seven areas make up 132 of the 200 questions, about two thirds of the exam. Neurology adds another 17.
Clinical pharmacology deserves a particular note for the February and July 2027 sittings. At 18 questions it is almost as large as the big organ specialties, and prescribing decisions also appear inside cardiology, renal and infection cases. Drug interactions, dosing in renal impairment, monitoring and adverse effects are worth regular, short practice rather than one block at the end.
If you are sitting in November 2027 or later, the shift is clear: pharmacology drops to 12, infectious diseases to 16, and the five largest organ specialties rise to 20 each. The smaller specialties still matter. Dermatology, haematology, geriatric medicine and rheumatology carry around 10 questions each, which is enough to change a borderline result.
How MRCP Part 2 is marked
You score one mark for each correct answer and lose nothing for a wrong one. There is no reason to leave a question blank. If you are unsure, make your best choice, flag it and come back if time allows.
Your raw score is not reported as a percentage. The Federation uses a statistical process called equating, based on item response theory, to convert the number of questions you answered correctly into a scaled score. Equating takes into account how difficult the questions in your papers were, so that comparable performance earns a comparable result whichever sitting you take. For most candidates the scaled score falls between 200 and 800.
The pass mark for the Part 2 written exam is a scaled score of 444. Because it is a scaled score, there is no fixed number of questions you need to get right, and the pass rate can vary slightly from one sitting to the next.
Revision tip
Practise in the real format early. A full 100-question paper in three hours feels very different from 20 questions on a lunch break, and pacing is a skill you can only build under timed conditions.
How Revision Pro mirrors the exam
Our MRCP Part 2 course has 4,278 exam-style questions mapped to the current blueprint, including 400+ image questions with ECGs, clinical photographs, CT and X-ray. You can sit timed mocks in the official two-paper format and listen to 24 case-based podcast episodes. You can see the access options here.
When you know the format, the next step is the calendar. Our MRCP Part 2 exam dates and fees guide lists every 2027 sitting and application window.
Try the MRCP Part 2 Question Bank Free
Start a 72-hour free trial of our MRCP Part 2 course. The full bank has 4,278 exam-style questions mapped to the current blueprint, 400+ image questions (ECGs, clinical photographs, CT and X-ray), timed mocks in the official two-paper format and 24 case-based podcast episodes. No card needed.
Sitting in February 2027? Access for that exam is £35 until 10 January 2027, then £49. See what is in the course.
Frequently asked questions
There are 200 questions, split into two papers of 100 best-of-five questions. Each paper lasts three hours.
No. Each correct answer scores one mark and wrong answers lose nothing, so you should answer every question.
The pass mark is a scaled score of 444. Scores are equated for the difficulty of each sitting, so there is no fixed number of questions you need to get right.
The current blueprint applies up to and including the July 2027 sitting. A revised blueprint applies from the November 2027 sitting onwards.
Since the July 2026 sitting, Part 2 has been delivered in test centres. Remote online proctoring continues only for candidates in Myanmar and Sudan.
