The SCE exam fee is set by the Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians and is the same across all 13 specialties. The fee covers both papers (Paper 1 and Paper 2), which are sat on the same day.
Current pricing
For UK-based trainees who are members of a constituent Royal College, the fee is approximately £500 per attempt. For international candidates, the fee is approximately £700 per attempt. These figures are approximate and may vary slightly — check the Federation website for the exact fee at the time of your application.
The fee is payable at the time of application. Late applications may incur an additional surcharge. Cancellations after the application deadline may not be eligible for a full refund — check the Federation's cancellation policy.
What the fee includes
The fee covers the examination sitting — two papers of 100 best-of-five questions, delivered at a Pearson VUE test centre. It does not include revision materials, question bank subscriptions, travel, accommodation, or study leave arrangements.
The total cost of SCE preparation
The exam fee is only part of the total cost. Most candidates also invest in a question bank subscription. The cost varies by provider: StudyPRN charges £79 to £199 per specialty for three months, Pastest charges £60 to £150, and iatroX charges £29 per month or £99 per year for all specialties.
A typical total cost for a single SCE attempt is therefore approximately £579 to £700 for the exam fee plus £87 to £199 for question bank access — a total of £666 to £899. With iatroX's annual subscription, the question bank component drops to £99 regardless of how many specialties you access.
Resit costs
If you fail, the resit fee is the same as the initial attempt — approximately £500 for UK trainees, £700 for international candidates. You will also need to extend your question bank subscription. The total cost of a failed attempt and resit is therefore approximately £1,200 to £1,800.
This is the financial argument for structured preparation: investing in a comprehensive question bank that maximises your first-time pass probability has a direct financial return by avoiding the cost of a resit.
iatroX's SCE banks cover all 13 specialties with adaptive learning, full mock exams, and mobile app access. All included at £29 per month or £99 per year.