Doctors hoping to start NHS specialty training in August 2027 have under two weeks left to apply, with Round 1 applications closing at 4pm on Thursday 19 November 2026. All applications must be submitted through the Oriel recruitment system, and NHS England says it cannot accept applications made any other way.

The round covers core and specialty training posts across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Applicants must check their eligibility against the person specification for their chosen specialty before applying, and anyone required to submit a Certificate of Readiness to Enter Specialty Training, known as a CREST, must do so before the deadline or the application will be withdrawn. For 2027 recruitment, both the 2024 and 2027 versions of the CREST form are accepted.

This is the first recruitment round run under the new prioritisation rules. Regulations laid on 14 September 2026 under the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 will apply at both the interview shortlisting stage and the offer stage, and each applicant's priority status will be shown on Oriel the day after the application deadline. Requests to review a priority status decision must be made by 5pm on Tuesday 24 November.

Eligible applicants will then sit the Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment, the MSRA, in January, followed by online interviews. The MSRA counts for 40% of the final ranking score and the interview for 60%. Offers will be made through Oriel no later than 5pm on Tuesday 6 April 2027, and candidates will have 48 hours to accept, reject or hold an offer.

Competition is intense. In the 2026 round, around 37,689 applications met the appointable standard for about 9,520 advertised posts, according to recruitment figures reported this autumn. The agreement that ended the resident doctors dispute in June 2026 committed to up to 4,500 additional specialty training places over three years. Full guidance is on the NHS England Medical Hub, and applications are made on Oriel.