Everything you need to pass the RCVS SME.
A complete guide to the RCVS Statutory Membership Examination: who has to sit it, how it is structured, the dates that matter, and a UK specific question bank built to get your written exams solid.
What is the RCVS SME?
If you qualified as a vet outside the UK and your degree is not recognised by the RCVS (that is, it is not from an EAEVE accredited or AVMA approved university, or from a specified Commonwealth institution) you will need to sit and pass the Statutory Membership Examination (SME) before you can register and practise in the UK.
Held under Section 6 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, the SME tests whether you meet the RCVS Day One Competences: the same minimum standard expected of every vet graduating from a UK degree. It is widely considered one of the more demanding professional exams in veterinary medicine, not because the material is unfamiliar, but because it tests UK specific clinical logic, legislation and practice norms that your original training may not have covered.
Format at a glance.
The SME has three components, and candidates must clear each one before moving to the next. There is no compensating for a weak domain with a strong one elsewhere; every domain has its own pass standard.
Written Clinical Exams
367 multiple choice questions across three domains: Companion Animal (175), Production Animal and Public Health (105), and Equine (87). You must meet the pass standard in all three.
Code of Professional Conduct
60 open book multiple choice questions testing your ability to apply, not just recall, the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct in practice.
OSCE (Practical)
An in person, multi station Objective Structured Clinical Examination at a UK veterinary school, covering the same three domains through real and simulated scenarios.
You must pass every written component (all three clinical domains plus the Code of Professional Conduct) before you are eligible to sit the OSCE, and you must then pass all three OSCE domains to qualify for registration. The full exam, written and OSCE together, must be completed within an 18 month window.
The exam year at a glance.
One exam diet runs each calendar year. Candidates are encouraged to declare their intention to sit around five months ahead of the March written exams.
Declare your intention to sit, and begin seeing practice at UK veterinary practices.
Deadline to declare intention to sit in time for the next exam, and to apply for an English test exemption.
Application and written exam fee deadline.
Written clinical exams and Code of Professional Conduct exam, held online and remotely proctored.
Written exam results issued; candidates who pass can now apply for the OSCE.
Written resits, for any domain not passed in March.
OSCE entry deadline, for candidates who have passed all written components.
OSCE, held in person at a UK veterinary school.
OSCE results issued.
Registration for successful candidates.
Dates are subject to change year on year; candidates are advised to check the RCVS website to ensure accuracy.
Why VetTutor.
The RCVS publishes a reading list and the Day One Competences framework, but very little practice material of its own: candidates get just 110 formative questions, with three attempts at the same fixed set. Everything else, working through hundreds of pages of UK specific reading, is left to you. VetTutor was built to close that gap: a single home for your revision that shows you exactly how ready you are, and exactly what to work on next.
Personalised revision
Accuracy, streak, questions answered and mocks sat, all in one dashboard. Resume your last session in a single tap.
Optimise exam strategy
Your weakest topics surface automatically, so revision time goes where it is needed most, not just where you feel like starting.
See how you stack up, anonymously
Compare your accuracy against others preparing for the same exam, with no names and no leaderboards. See the peer answer split on every question you attempt.
Revise in any country at any time
The installable app carries nearly all the features of the main website, with no login walls and no session timeouts, and your sessions sync across every device.
How VetTutor maps to the exam.
Mapped to the exam's own domains.
Your dashboard breaks readiness down exactly the way the SME does, so you always know which domain needs the most attention before exam day, not after.
Practice at the volume the exam needs
With 367 clinical MCQs across three domains on exam day, question volume matters as much as content depth. VetTutor's question bank, with 11,000+ questions, goes well beyond the RCVS's 110 formative questions, giving you enough genuine practice to build real pattern recognition, not just memorise one fixed set.
Built for how you will actually revise
Whether that is a full mock between shifts or five questions on a commute, the installable app and multi device sync mean your progress travels with you. Sessions do not time out, so a question does not have to be finished in one sitting.
Where VetTutor does not replace prep
The OSCE is a hands on, in person exam, and no question bank can substitute for time spent seeing practice or rehearsing stations. What VetTutor can do is get your written exams solid, and done efficiently, so you have more time before September to spend on exactly that. VetTutor offers separate 1 to 1 mentoring by veterinary surgeons, contact us for pricing.
Choose your plan.
Every plan unlocks the full question bank, mock exams, knowledge base and analytics. Start free, upgrade when you are ready.
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- 11,000+ vet reviewed questions
- 50+ university style mock exams
- 10+ RCVS style mock exams
- Full access to all study notes
- Detailed progress tracker
- Evidence based answers
- Study on any device
- Cancel anytime
Works out at £13.99 a month, billed twice a year.
- 11,000+ vet reviewed questions
- 50+ university style mock exams
- 10+ RCVS style mock exams
- Full access to all study notes
- Detailed progress tracker
- Evidence based answers
- Study on any device
- Cancel anytime
Works out at £8.33 a month. Best value.
- 11,000+ vet reviewed questions
- 50+ university style mock exams
- 10+ RCVS style mock exams
- Full access to all study notes
- Detailed progress tracker
- Evidence based answers
- Study on any device
- Cancel anytime
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