ORE 2026: The Complete Guide for Overseas Dentists — Part 1, Part 2, Fees & What's Changing

1. What Is the ORE and Who Needs to Take It?

The Overseas Registration Examination is the principal assessment route through which dentists who qualified outside the UK demonstrate that their knowledge, clinical skills, and professional understanding meet the standards required to practise dentistry safely in the United Kingdom. It is set and overseen by the General Dental Council — the statutory regulator for dental professionals in the UK.

Most applicants whose primary dental qualification was awarded outside the UK and is not on the GDC's list of recognised diplomas will be required to sit the ORE. This includes graduates from countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America, and parts of Europe whose qualifications do not benefit from automatic mutual recognition. You can check your qualification's status on the GDC's registration guidance pages.

The ORE is not the only route. The Licence in Dental Surgery (LDS), administered by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, is an alternative pathway — though it operates with significantly fewer places per year. This guide focuses on the ORE.

2. ORE Part 1: The Written Examination

Part 1 is a computer-based written examination currently administered by King's College London. It consists of two papers — Paper A and Paper B — each containing 100 single best answer (SBA) questions. Candidates sit both papers within one sitting. You must pass both papers to proceed to Part 2; a pass in one paper alone is not carried forward.

The content domains tested in Part 1 span the full breadth of dental practice and underpinning science. These include clinically applied dental science and human disease; clinical dentistry across restorative, surgical, paediatric, and orthodontic disciplines; law, ethics, and professionalism in UK dental practice; health and safety, infection control, and radiography regulations; pharmacology and prescribing; and public and population health. Questions are referenced against the GDC's Preparing for Practice learning outcomes document.

Part 1 is held at King's College London at £584 per sitting. Under the current schedule, there are three sittings annually with 600 places each, totalling 1,800 Part 1 places per year. The April 2026 sitting ran from 7–10 April 2026 and is now fully booked. Booking typically opens eight weeks before the sitting date through candidates' eGDC accounts.

3. ORE Part 2: The Practical Clinical Examination

Part 2 is the hands-on component of the ORE. It is a one-day practical examination currently administered by a consortium that includes the Royal College of Surgeons of England and UCL Eastman Dental Institute, among others. Each Part 2 sitting accommodates a maximum of 144 candidates. There are typically four sittings per year, providing up to 576 Part 2 places annually under current arrangements.

Part 2 comprises four assessed components. The Dental Manikin (DM) operative test requires candidates to perform three restorative or surgical procedures on a manikin over three hours. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) circuit puts candidates through a series of stations testing clinical skills including history-taking, examination, treatment planning, and clinical communication with actor patients. The Diagnosis and Treatment Planning (DTP) exercise presents candidates with clinical scenarios requiring structured diagnostic reasoning. The Medical Emergencies (ME) exercise tests recognition and initial management of acute medical scenarios in a dental setting.

All four components carry independent pass/fail thresholds. A candidate who passes three components but fails only the Medical Emergencies exercise may retake ME alone at a subsequent sitting for £566, without repeating the whole exam. A fail in any other component requires a full Part 2 resit. The total Part 2 fee is £4,235, payable at the time of booking and non-refundable in ordinary circumstances.

4. Eligibility and the 1,600 Clinical Hours Requirement

Before the GDC will approve your ORE application, you must satisfy the eligibility criteria. The core requirements are: a primary dental qualification from a recognised institution; sufficient clinical experience — defined as a minimum of 1,600 hours of hands-on patient care post-qualification; a Certificate of Current Professional Status (CCPS) from your current or most recent dental regulator, dated no more than three months before your application; satisfactory evidence of English language proficiency; and valid identity documentation.

The 1,600-hour threshold is a common point of uncertainty for applicants. Clinical hours accrue from supervised and unsupervised direct patient care post-qualification. This typically includes your mandatory internship or housemanship, employment as a dentist, and any postgraduate clinical training. Voluntary clinical work may count if it was structured and supervised. Non-clinical duties — administrative work, study time, or passive observation — do not count towards the total.

Documentation of clinical hours is critical. The GDC requires written evidence from your employer or supervising clinician confirming the dates, setting, and nature of your clinical work. Incomplete or unverifiable hour logs are a leading cause of application delays. Candidates who are refugees or displaced dental professionals may access the GDC's alternative evidence policy, introduced in November 2025, which allows substitute documentation where original records cannot be retrieved.

5. The Application Process

The ORE application is submitted online through your eGDC account. The process begins with creating or logging into your account on the GDC website and initiating an overseas registration application. You will be required to upload your supporting documents, pay the application fee, and await GDC review before you are approved to book an exam sitting.

The document checklist includes: your primary dental qualification certificate and academic transcript; Certificate of Current Professional Status (not older than three months at time of submission); evidence of clinical hours with employer confirmation; English language test results (IELTS Academic with 7.0 overall and no band below 6.5, or OET Dentistry with Grade B in all components); valid passport or national identity document; and evidence of any additional postgraduate qualifications if applicable. Missing a single document is sufficient to delay or reject your application.

Once submitted, the GDC assesses your application against its eligibility criteria. Processing times have historically been variable — in periods of high demand, initial assessment alone has taken several months. As of early 2026, the GDC has expanded its registration casework team specifically to reduce this backlog. Only after your application is approved will you receive access to the exam booking system through your eGDC account.

6. The UCLC Transition: What Is Changing in 2026

The most significant development in the ORE's recent history is the transfer of the examination contract from its current consortium to UCL Consultants Ltd (UCLC). The GDC confirmed UCLC as its preferred bidder in November 2025 following a competitive UK-wide procurement process. First sittings under the new contract are expected from September 2026.

UCLC is a subsidiary of University College London. The consortium delivering the new ORE will be led by UCL Eastman Dental Institute and includes University College London Hospitals, Queen Mary University London, Alphaplus, and — notably — the Royal College of Surgeons of England. This is significant because the RCS England currently co-administers Part 2 under the existing contract, providing some continuity.

The capacity implications of the transition are substantial. Under current arrangements, approximately 1,800 Part 1 and 576 Part 2 places are available annually. The GDC has confirmed that Part 1 places will increase to 2,400 per year in the first year of the new contract, while Part 2 places will rise from 720 to 944 in year one, scaling further to reach 1,500 per year by the third year of the contract. The GDC's stated ambition is that the new arrangements could eventually support up to 1,500 candidates completing both parts annually — compared with around 354 in 2024.

7. Costs, Timeline, and What to Expect From Start to Finish

Planning your ORE journey requires understanding both the direct costs and the realistic time commitment involved. The table below summarises the principal fees you should budget for. Note that GDC registration fees apply after passing both parts and are separate from the examination fees.

On timeline: from initial application submission to completion of Part 2, the journey routinely takes two to four years for most candidates when accounting for application processing times, the limited number of exam sittings, and the real possibility of resits. The 5-year rule — which requires both parts to be passed within five years of your first Part 1 attempt — means time management is critical. Under the UCLC contract, the GDC expects increased sitting frequency and better scheduling predictability, which should reduce the average time to completion.

At present, approximately 5,000 candidates are on combined waiting lists for Parts 1 and 2, with only around 354 completing both parts in 2024. The scale of the backlog explains why booking reform, increased capacity, and the UCLC transition are among the most discussed topics in international dental registration right now.

Related ORE articles

References

• General Dental Council — ORE Part 1 | Official GDC page confirming Part 1 fee (£584), sitting structure, King's College London as current provider, and booking information.
• General Dental Council — ORE Part 2 | Official GDC page confirming Part 2 fee (£4,235), maximum 144 candidates per sitting, component structure, and ME retake fee (£566).
• General Dental Council — Preferred bidder for ORE confirmed | GDC announcement confirming UCLC as preferred bidder (November 2025), the application surge, and first sittings expected from 2026.
• General Dental Council — ORE booking dates | Current booking status, refugee priority booking policy, and booking opening times through eGDC.
• General Dental Council — ORE results | Historical pass rate data for Part 1 and Part 2 across sittings.
• UCL Consultants Ltd — GDC confirms preferred bidder for ORE | UCL Eastman-led consortium confirmation and capacity expansion details.