PLAB 1 in 2027: Fewer Centres, Fewer Sittings — What the GMC Announced

The GMC has announced the biggest change to international PLAB 1 delivery in years: from February 2027, four overseas test centres close — Dhaka, Alexandria, Accra and Chennai — and international sittings drop from four a year to three. If you're an IMG planning to sit PLAB 1 (or weighing PLAB against the MLA route), this changes your booking maths, and for many candidates it changes the sensible timeline too.

This post sets out exactly what the GMC announced, who it affects, and — the part most coverage skips — what it means for when you should be exam-ready.

Table of contents

1. What the GMC announced
2. Who is affected (and who isn't)
3. Why this is happening
4. The practical problem: seats, not standards
5. What to do if you planned to sit in a closing centre
6. How this interacts with the September 2026 content map
7. Booking checklist for 2026–2027
8. FAQ

1. What the GMC announced

The GMC has reviewed how it delivers PLAB 1 outside the UK and confirmed two changes taking effect from February 2027:

• Four international locations stop hosting PLAB 1: Dhaka (Bangladesh), Alexandria (Egypt), Accra (Ghana) and Chennai (India).
• The international exam schedule reduces from four sittings a year to three (outside the UK/EEA).

Candidates who would have used those centres are advised by the GMC to book an alternative location or a later exam date. The announcement is on the GMC's news pages ("Changes to international PLAB 1 exam locations following declining demand") — always treat the GMC's own site as the source of truth for anything booking-related.

2. Who is affected (and who isn't)

Affected:

• IMGs planning to sit PLAB 1 in Dhaka, Alexandria, Accra or Chennai from February 2027 onward — those seats won't exist.
• IMGs anywhere outside the UK relying on the fourth annual sitting: three international windows a year means longer gaps between attempts, which matters most if you might need a resit.

Not affected:

• Anyone sitting PLAB 1 during 2026 — the change starts with the February 2027 cycle.
• UK-based candidates sitting at UK centres.
• PLAB 2, which runs separately (in the UK).
• UK medical students — you sit the MLA AKT through your medical school, not PLAB. (If you're unclear how the two relate, start with our UKMLA vs PLAB explainer.)

3. Why this is happening

The GMC's stated reason is declining demand: international PLAB 1 bookings fell substantially between 2023 and 2025, and the GMC says there is no longer sufficient demand to keep delivering the exam in the closing locations.

There's a bigger backdrop worth understanding: the UK's assessment landscape for IMGs has been converging on the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA). PLAB 1 is already written to the same MLA content map that UK finals use — which is why the preparation overlap between PLAB candidates and UK students has never been larger.

4. The practical problem: seats, not standards

Nothing about the exam itself — format, standard, content — was announced as changing here. What changes is capacity and geography:

• Fewer centres means more candidates funnelled into the remaining locations, and travel becomes part of exam planning for anyone who would have sat in a closing city.
• Three sittings instead of four means each booking window matters more. Seats in high-demand regions already release in batches and go quickly; a missed window is now a longer wait.
• If you fail an attempt, the gap to your next realistic attempt grows. Your preparation plan should aim to make the first attempt count.

That last point is the real takeaway. When sittings were plentiful, "book first, cram after" was survivable. With three international windows a year and fewer centres, the cost of arriving underprepared has gone up.

5. What to do if you planned to sit in a closing centre

1. Check your GMC Online account for current availability and book the location that's realistic for you — earlier rather than later. The GMC has said affected doctors can choose an alternative location or a later date.
2. Decide your window now, then work backwards. If your target is a 2027 sitting, count back your preparation runway from the exam date — our IMG study plan walks through a realistic schedule around work.
3. Don't anchor on geography you no longer have. If the nearest centre is now a flight away, factor travel and visas into the same decision as the exam date.
4. Make attempt one the only attempt. A structured question-bank-first approach — practise, read the referenced explanation, track weak specialties — is the highest-yield way to be genuinely ready. Our guide to the best resources for IMGs compares the options.

6. How this interacts with the September 2026 content map

One more moving part: the updated MLA content map applies to exams from September 2026. Any PLAB 1 sitting you book from then on — including every 2027 sitting — is set against the updated map, not the version older resources were written for. The changes are meaningful (the mapping grid is gone, the condition list grew and is explicitly non-exhaustive); our breakdown of what changed in the September 2026 map covers it in detail.

So if you're preparing for a 2027 PLAB 1: check that whatever you revise from is aligned to the current map, not a 2024-era snapshot.

7. Booking checklist for 2026–2027

• Sitting in 2026? The four-sitting international pattern still applies this year. Book as early as your preparation honestly allows.
• Sitting from February 2027? Assume three international windows, no Dhaka/Alexandria/Accra/Chennai, and batch-released seats. Book the moment your window opens.
• Either way: your prep should be content-map-current, question-led, and tracked by specialty so you know you're ready before the fee leaves your account. You can gauge where you stand today with our free diagnostic — ten questions, no account needed, or the full 50-question diagnostic mock with a free account.

8. FAQ

Is PLAB being scrapped? No such announcement has been made. What the GMC announced is a reduction in where and how often PLAB 1 runs internationally from February 2027, citing declining demand.

Do the centre closures change the exam content? No. The announcement concerns locations and scheduling. Content continues to follow the MLA content map — the updated version of which applies to sittings from September 2026.

I already booked a 2027 seat in one of the closing centres. What happens? Follow the GMC's guidance directly — their stated position is that affected doctors can book an alternative location or a later date. Confirm your specific booking status through GMC Online.

Does this affect the MLA AKT for IMGs? The announcement is specifically about PLAB 1 delivery. The AKT for international candidates is booked through GMC Online as dates are released — see our UKMLA guide for IMGs for how that route works.

Three sittings a year — is that enough to plan a resit? It's enough, but the buffer is thinner. If your target job start date depends on passing, plan to be over-prepared for attempt one rather than relying on a quick second attempt.