Irish Medical Council (IMC): Registration, Exams and Fees

• General Division: doctors who can practise independently without supervision, but who may not represent themselves as specialists. Non-EU/EEA graduates enter through the COE, HQ or PRES routes.
• Trainee Specialist Division: doctors on recognised training programmes who work only in posts allocated by the HSE. A doctor who holds, or is eligible for, general registration is automatically eligible; training post details are recorded on the HSE's DIME database, and registration defaults back to the General Division when the training post ends.
• Supervised Division: doctors who have been offered a post approved by the HSE as a supervised post. Registration is for an aggregate of two years in a supervised post. You must pass or be exempt from PRES, and you must stop practising if you leave the post early.
• Specialist Division: doctors recognised as specialists. Doctors trained in the EU/EEA or UK may be recognised directly; doctors trained elsewhere apply for an evaluation of existing training and experience (the Council's Category E fee).
• Internship registration: for graduates starting an intern year in Ireland.
• Visiting EEA registration: temporary registration for doctors visiting from EEA countries.

• A basic medical degree from a medical school listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools, verified through EPIC and sent to the Council before you submit your online application.
• COE route: an internship of at least twelve months, normally consecutive, with at least three months in medicine and three months in surgery, completed in a country on the Council's list (Australia, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sudan and the UK, each with conditions). From 1 December 2025, only certificates issued by the relevant competent authority are accepted, not certificates from hospital sites.
• HQ route: a postgraduate qualification on the Council's list of higher qualifications recognised for PRES exemption (for example MRCPI, MRCP(UK), MRCS, FRCR, MRCOG, MRCPCH, MRCPsych, MRCGP, FRACP, FRCPC or American Board certification), plus either a twelve-month internship with three months each in medicine and surgery, or at least three years in a single accredited training programme.
• PRES route: for applicants who do not meet the COE or HQ criteria. You pass PRES Level 2 (or an accepted alternative such as PLAB 1, USMLE Step 1 and 2 CK, MCCQE Part 1 or AMC MCQ) and then PRES Level 3. A PLAB 2 pass exempts you from PRES entirely.
• Internship timing: the Council says internships should normally start within two years of your medical degree and must be completed within 24 months of starting, including approved absences.
• English: OET Medicine at grade B or higher in each module, IELTS Academic at 7.0 overall with at least 6.5 in each module, or Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency, in a single sitting within the last two years. Graduates of medical schools in Ireland, the EU/EEA, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the USA are exempt.
• A certificate of good standing (current professional status), dated within the last three months, sent directly to the Council from every registration body you have been registered with in the past five years.
• A notarised or attested copy of your current passport, and evidence of professional indemnity cover where it applies.
• Supervised Division: an offer of an HSE-approved supervised post before you apply. The Council warns that application fees are non-refundable, so do not apply without the offer.

Check your route with the route finder

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   1. Work out your division and route

   Use the Council's eligibility chart and decide whether you fit the COE, HQ or PRES route to general registration, or whether you have an offer of a supervised or training post. Check your internship against the COE country list and your postgraduate qualification against the HQ list. If you apply through the wrong route, the Council closes the application and does not refund the fee.
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   2. Verify your documents through EPIC

   Open an EPIC account with ECFMG (Intealth) and have your basic medical qualification verified, together with your internship certificate, higher qualification or training programme letter, depending on your route. All EPIC reports must reach the Council before you submit your online application; the Council treats applications without them as incomplete and closes them. EPIC reports sent to the Council are available for only 12 months.
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   3. Get your English evidence

   Sit OET Medicine (grade B in each module) or IELTS Academic (7.0 overall, at least 6.5 in each module) in one sitting. Online versions of both tests are not accepted. Your certificate must be dated within two years of the date you submit your application and of the date of registration, so do not take it too early.
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   4. Sit PRES if your route needs it

   PRES Level 2 is a three-hour multiple choice exam held in Dublin and Dubai; you book by emailing the application form to the Council, and places go first come, first served. PRES Level 3 is a clinical exam of interpretation, practical and communication skills held at Irish universities and colleges. Results come about six weeks after each exam.
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   5. Create your Doctors Portal account and apply

   Register on the Council's online Doctors Portal, get your six-digit reference number and complete the application for your division. Pay the first-time application fee of €451 for the General or Trainee Specialist Division. You then upload your passport copy, English evidence and indemnity evidence through My Documents; the Council asks for all documents within 30 days of applying and does not accept them by post.
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   6. Arrange certificates of good standing

   Ask every regulator you have been registered with in the past five years to email a certificate of good standing directly to [email protected]. Each must be dated within three months and must still be in date when your registration is activated. Late or expired certificates are a common cause of delay.
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   7. Registration and annual retention

   Once the Council has assessed your file, you pay the registration fee for the period and your name is entered in the register. Registration runs from 1 July to 30 June, and you pay an annual retention fee to stay registered, with a late payment fee if you miss the 1 July deadline. Registered doctors must also keep up their professional competence.
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   8. Supervised or trainee specialist registration (if relevant)

   If you have an HSE-approved supervised post, you apply to the Supervised Division with proof of the offer, your English evidence and proof that you have passed or are exempt from PRES. If you join a recognised training programme, your training body and clinical site record your post on the HSE's DIME database, and you move to the Trainee Specialist Division for as long as the post lasts.
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   9. Specialist registration through evaluation (if relevant)

   If you completed specialist training outside the EU/EEA, ask the Council for the specialist application pack for your specialty through its online contact form. The relevant Irish postgraduate training body assesses your training and experience, and the Council decides. The evaluation fee is €4,086 and cannot be refunded once the assessment has started.

• PRES Level 2 (clinical knowledge)

  A written exam of multiple choice questions, each a short scenario followed by a question, answered in three hours. It covers obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, and medicine and general practice. In 2026 it is held in Dublin and in Dubai (6 August and 5 November 2026). Applicants are usually allowed two years or three attempts to pass. The fee is €352. PLAB 1, USMLE Step 1 and 2 CK, MCCQE Part 1 and AMC MCQ passes exempt you from Level 2.

  Read the guide

• PRES Level 3 (clinical skills)

  A clinical assessment in two parts: interpretation skills, examined in one paper-based or computer-based exam, and practical and communication skills, examined in one clinical exam in which you rotate through clinical scenarios or skill stations. 2026 sittings were held at University College Cork, RCSI in Dublin, and Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute with Tallaght University Hospital. The fee is €1,500, and you need a current certificate of good standing to sit it.

  Read the guide

• PLAB 2 exemption

  A pass in the GMC's PLAB 2 exempts you from PRES. The Council notes that there is no reciprocal arrangement: the GMC does not recognise PRES exams for UK registration.

• Specialist evaluation (not an exam)

  Doctors trained as specialists outside the EU/EEA are assessed on documents by the Irish postgraduate training body for their specialty, using a specialty-specific application pack. A review hearing is available if you disagree with the outcome, at a fee of €5,500.

• OET: the Medicine version, with at least grade B in each module, in a single sitting within the last two years. Online OET tests are not accepted.
• IELTS: the Academic version, with an overall band of 7.0 and at least 6.5 in each module, in a single sitting within the last two years. Online IELTS variants are not accepted.
• Cambridge English: C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency at level C1 or C2 within the last two years.
• Validity: the Council says all certificates must be dated within two years of the date you submit the application and of the date of registration.
• Exempt: graduates of medical schools in Ireland, the EU/EEA, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the USA, EU citizens, and applicants for the Specialist, Visiting EEA or Internship divisions.
• Also accepted: evidence that your basic medical degree and internship, or your higher qualification, were completed through English in a country on the Council's list where English is the predominant language.

Estimate your total cost

• PRES Level 2 runs several times a year (6 August and 5 November 2026 in Dublin and Dubai), with application deadlines about six weeks before each exam; the Council issues results about six weeks after the exam.
• PRES Level 3 had three 2026 sittings, in September, October and November; results also take about six weeks.
• Applicants usually have two years or three attempts to pass PRES Level 2, according to the Council.
• EPIC reports must reach the Council before you apply and stay available for 12 months; certificates of good standing must be dated within three months.
• Upload all documents within 30 days of submitting your online application.
• Supervised registration lasts for an aggregate of two years in a supervised post, and the registration year runs from 1 July to 30 June.