If you trained under the previous GPhC standards — or if you are returning to pharmacy after a career break — you may be confused about the relationship between the old pre-registration exam and the current Common Registration Assessment (CRA). The names changed. The format evolved. The framework was rewritten. But the core question is simple: what actually changed, and does it affect how you prepare?
What Stayed the Same
The fundamental purpose is identical: to assess whether a trainee pharmacist has met the threshold of knowledge and skill required for safe and effective practice at the point of registration. Both the old exam and the CRA test applied clinical decision-making, not knowledge recall. Both require a pass in both the written and practical components. Both are criterion-referenced — the pass mark is set to reflect a consistent standard, not a fixed percentage.
What Changed
The name and governance. The assessment is now called the Common Registration Assessment (CRA), delivered jointly by the GPhC and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. It is "common" because it applies to all routes to registration — including OSPAP graduates.
The framework. The CRA is mapped to the GPhC Initial Education and Training Standards (IETS) — a revised competency framework that reflects contemporary pharmacy practice. The old exam was mapped to a previous set of standards. The CRA framework includes expanded coverage of clinical decision-making, person-centred care, and interprofessional working.
Part 1 format. Part 1 remains 40 numerical free-entry calculations in 120 minutes. The calculation types are the same (dose calculations, unit conversions, IV rates, displacement, concentrations, renal dosing, paediatric dosing). The format has not fundamentally changed — but the questions are mapped to the current framework.
Part 2 format. Part 2 is now 120 selected-response questions in 150 minutes: 90 SBAs and 15 EMQ sets. The inclusion of EMQs (extended matching questions) is a format addition — the old exam was predominantly SBA. EMQs present a shared option list with multiple clinical scenarios, testing pattern recognition and diagnostic reasoning differently from SBAs.
2026 specific changes. From 2026, all trainees take the same assessment regardless of training route (interim standards or 2021 IETP standards). Independent prescribing-specific content (Learning Outcome 37) is excluded from the 2026 CRA — this ensures fairness for trainees whose MPharm programme did not include prescribing training. The assessment remains computer-based via the Surpass platform at Pearson VUE centres.
The "common" element. OSPAP graduates, interim-standards trainees, and 2021-standards trainees all sit the same CRA. Previously, there were some variations. From 2026, one exam for everyone.
What It Means for Your Revision
If you trained under the old standards: The clinical content is broadly similar — the same therapeutic areas, the same calculation types, the same law topics. But the framework emphasis has shifted toward applied decision-making and person-centred care. Prepare using resources mapped to the current CRA framework, not old pre-registration exam materials.
If you are resitting after a previous failure: The CRA framework and question style may have evolved since your last attempt. Use the current Board of Assessors feedback to identify what current candidates get wrong. Use an adaptive Q-bank that targets your specific gaps — not the same static bank you used before.
If you are an OSPAP graduate: The CRA is the same exam UK MPharm graduates sit. There is no separate "international" version. Your preparation must include UK-specific pharmacy law, NHS structure, and NICE-aligned therapeutics — areas your international training may not have covered.
iatroX provides 1,000+ questions mapped to the current CRA blueprint, with BNF/NICE-integrated explanations and an adaptive engine that targets your specific gaps. Start at iatrox.com/quiz-landing?exam=uk-gphc.