Changes to the Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS) Exam

The Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS) qualification will be changing over 2026 and 2027.

For up-to-date information about what these changes mean for you, visit the Dental Specialty Fellowship Examinations website.

What is changing?

The new MFDS exam will provide a single, gold-standard assessment of a primary or secondary dental professional’s knowledge and skill, as well as serving as an entry point for specialty assessments.

There are two key changes to the exam:

1. Unified tri-collegiate exam:
   
   The three UK Surgical Royal Colleges (the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow) will now offer a unified MFDS. This will provide a clearer, more straightforward postgraduate assessment pathway relevant to careers in both primary and secondary care. It will also serve as an entry requirement for the dental specialty fellowship exams.
   
   
2. Higher level of assessment:
   
   The new MFDS will assess competence at the level of a General Dental Council (GDC) registered dentist completing the third year of Dental Core Training (DCT3), equivalent to four years of postgraduate experience.
   
   It is mapped to the relevant learning outcomes of the DCT programme syllabus years two and three, representing a different standard to the current exam. This change allows candidates to demonstrate a higher level of competence at the point of progressing to specialty training.

The exam will still be available to both UK and internationally-trained dentists. Successful candidates will remain eligible for membership of the college they choose to affiliate with.

When will the new exam format start?

The first MFDS Part 1 exam in the new format will be held in Autumn 2026.  

The first MFDS Part 2 exam in the new format will be in early 2027. 

You can book the new exam formats through the Dental Specialty Fellowship Examinations website. Dates of the first MFDS Part 1 exam in Autumn 2026 will be published there in the next few weeks.

Final dates for the current exam format

The final exam for MFDS Part 1 will be held on 20 October 2026.
 
The final exam for MFDS Part 2 will be held in March 2027.

To book the current MFDS exams with RCS England, visit Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery. Read below for more information about the final exam sittings.

MFDS Part 1

The current MFDS Part 1 exam will be held twice more, on: 

• 13 May 2026, and
• 20 October 2026.  

If you wish to complete the existing MFDS exam, you are expected to sit the May 2026 diet. This will give you the opportunity to re-sit on 20 October 2026 if required.    

Failing the final MFDS Part 1 exam in October 2026 will mean moving to the new exam format.

MFDS Part 2

The current MFDS Part 2 exam will be held three more times in: 

• March 2026 in the UK (open for bookings)
• November 2026 in the UK
• March 2027 (to be scheduled).

If you do not pass the final sitting of MFDS Part 2, you will be required to take both Part 1 and Part 2 of the new MFDS exam syllabus. No exemption is available from the old syllabus to the new syllabus as this is set at a different level.  

Please note: Places on the March 2027 exam will be capped and allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

Should I sit the existing exam or the new exam?

If you have not started studying for the current MFDS, we recommend preparing for the new exam, which will be available from 2026.

If you have started studying, or taken an existing MFDS exam, you should use the information on Dental Specialty Fellowship Examinations to help with your decision.

Please note: part-completion of the existing MFDS will not offer exemption from any part of the new MFDS, given that the new exam is set at a different level. If you only complete Part 1 of the current MFDS and do not pass Part 2 before the current exam format ceases, you will be required to sit both Part 1 and Part 2 of the new MFDS exam.

I have enrolled for an existing exam, but would like to withdraw and wait for the new exam. Is this possible?  

Yes. A full refund will be available if the request to withdraw is made before the closing date of the exam.

More information

For information about the new exam, visit the Dental Specialty Fellowship Examinations website. 

For advice and information about the RCS England MFDS exam:

• visit Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS), or 
• email us at mfdsexam@rcseng.ac.uk.