FRCOphth eligibility and number of attempts

Part 1 must be passed before Part 2 Written, and Part 1, the Refraction Certificate and Part 2 Written must all be passed before the Part 2 Oral.

The College's exams page says the Refraction Certificate can be taken before or after Part 1. Its Part 1 information pack says Part 1 must be the first exam taken. If you plan to sit the Refraction Certificate first, confirm with the College before you apply.

Yes. Part 1 can be sat before you enter ophthalmic specialist training, or outside it, and no previous ophthalmology experience is required.

Candidates registered with the GMC or the Irish Medical Council give their registration number. Everyone else uploads an attested copy of their medical degree through the online application form; the College does not accept it by email. The exams are held in English. The College does not ask for an IELTS or PLAB result, but expects English equivalent to IELTS level 7.

For UK training purposes, a pass taken before or outside training stays current as long as you enter, or re-enter, the training programme within seven years of passing and meet any other currency requirements the College sets. This applies to Part 1 and to the Refraction Certificate.

For the Refraction Certificate, the College says candidates are more likely to be ready after around 50 to 100 full clinical refractions. Optometrists registered with the General Optical Council within the last five years can be exempted from the certificate, but the exemption is not automatic: they apply to the GOC for a letter of good standing and send it to the College's Director of Examinations for approval.

Six attempts at FRCOphth Part 1 and at the Refraction Certificate; four at Part 2 Written and four at the Part 2 Oral.

Part 1 and Refraction Certificate attempts made before August 2013 do not count, and nor do Part 2 Written and Oral attempts made before 1 August 2014. A Part 2 Oral you begin and cannot finish counts as an attempt. For the online exams, the College will consider removing an attempt from your record if an unforeseen event, backed by written evidence, stopped you finishing.

After the limit, the College will consider one further attempt, and only one. Its criteria are:

• scores that improved with each attempt, preferably to within one standard error of measurement of the pass mark (this varies by exam and is commonly about 3%);
• a letter from your educational supervisor, or your department's education or training lead if you are outside UK training, confirming further educational experience and an improvement in knowledge and skill;
• a personal development plan aimed at your persistent weak areas, signed by your educational supervisor or training programme director where you have one;
• a last attempt within the past seven calendar years.

The plan is proposed on the application form, and the application goes to the College before the plan is finished. The attempt is approved once you send evidence that the plan is complete. Applying does not guarantee the attempt, and there is no appeal against the decision.

A pass in FRCOphth Part 2 Written is valid for seven calendar years.

If you have not passed the Part 2 Oral by then, you may re-sit the Written, provided you have not used all four Written attempts and still have at least one Oral attempt left.