MedExamHelperWhat is the UKMLA? The AKT, the CPSA and the content map
In short: The Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA, often called the UKMLA) is the GMC's threshold for safe practice for doctors joining the UK register with a licence to practise. It has two parts: an applied knowledge test (AKT) and a clinical and professional skills assessment (CPSA). Both are built on the GMC's MLA content map. International doctors take PLAB, which is MLA-compliant.
Key points
- The MLA has two parts: the AKT tests applied knowledge and the CPSA tests clinical and professional skills.
- The MLA content map sets the content of both parts across six domains.
- Three themes run through it: readiness for safe practice, managing uncertainty, and holistic, person-centred care.
- UK medical students must pass the MLA to graduate, along with their university's requirements.
- International doctors take PLAB 1 and PLAB 2, which meet the AKT and CPSA requirements.
What the MLA is for
The GMC describes the MLA's purpose as making sure that doctors seeking registration with a licence to practise in the UK have met a threshold for safe practice appropriate to their point of entry to the register. The same expectation applies to UK graduates entering the Foundation Programme and to international doctors coming to work in the UK.
The two parts
The applied knowledge test (AKT) tests whether you can apply medical knowledge to clinical situations, rather than recall isolated facts.
The clinical and professional skills assessment (CPSA) tests what you do with patients: history, examination, communication, reasoning and professional behaviour. The GMC says Domain 4 (practical skills and procedures) and Domain 3 (clinical and professional capabilities) are particularly relevant to CPSAs.
Through both, the GMC says, candidates show they are ready for safe practice, can manage uncertainty and can deliver patient-centred care.
The content map
The MLA content map is the framework the AKT and CPSA are built on. It has six domains:
- Areas of clinical practice: the settings and specialties care happens in
- Areas of professional knowledge: the sciences, ethics, law and population health behind practice
- Clinical and professional capabilities: history and examination, reasoning, prescribing, communication, safeguarding, escalation and teamwork
- Practical skills and procedures: the GMC's list of practical skills new doctors must be able to do
- Patient presentations: symptoms, signs and results a patient might arrive with
- Conditions: core conditions, in a list the GMC says is not exhaustive
An updated version, published in October 2025, applies to MLA assessments in academic year 2026-27 and to PLAB from September 2026. What changed in the 2026 content map covers the differences.
The three themes
The GMC names three themes that thread through the map:
- Readiness for safe practice: managing emergencies and acute problems, as well as common chronic conditions and uncommon but critical ones.
- Managing uncertainty: working through uncertainty in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, and knowing when and how to seek help or escalate.
- Holistic, person-centred care: listening, supporting patients' decisions, recognising comorbidity, frailty and social context, and working well in teams.
These are worth reading closely. They describe what examiners want to see in a station as much as what you need to know for a paper.
Who sits what
UK medical students sit MLA assessments through their medical school. To graduate, they must pass the MLA and meet their university's academic requirements.
International doctors usually take PLAB. The GMC has made PLAB MLA-compliant: PLAB 1 meets the AKT requirements and PLAB 2 meets the CPSA requirements. PLAB 2 is 16 scenarios of 8 minutes each, taking about three hours. For full registration, both parts must be passed within the past two years, among other requirements.
The GMC's site has the current dates, fees and eligibility. Check it before booking anything.
How to revise with the map in mind
- For the AKT, use Domain 6 as a checklist and practise applying each condition to a clinical scenario rather than learning lists.
- For the CPSA, use Domain 5 as your station list and practise each presentation without knowing the diagnosis in advance.
- For both, read Domain 3. Escalation, shared decisions, safeguarding and communication are named capabilities, not extras.
- Practise out loud and under time. Clinical skills improve with repetition, and feedback is most useful when it is specific.
How MedExamHelper fits
MedExamHelper is built for UKMLA-style clinical assessment: timed stations with an AI patient, marked against each station's checklist. PLAB 1 and PLAB 2 candidates can use it too. It isn't mapped to or endorsed by the GMC.
Common questions
Is the UKMLA the same as the MLA? Yes. The GMC calls it the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA). "UKMLA" is the common shorthand.
What are the two parts of the MLA? The applied knowledge test (AKT) and the clinical and professional skills assessment (CPSA).
Do international doctors take the UKMLA? International doctors usually take PLAB, which the GMC has made MLA-compliant. PLAB 1 meets the AKT requirements and PLAB 2 meets the CPSA requirements.
What does the CPSA test? Clinical and professional skills with patients. The GMC says the capabilities domain and the practical skills domain are particularly relevant to it.
Where do I find the official content? The MLA content map on the GMC website sets out what the AKT and CPSA cover.