FAQ 03 · What is a sponsor, and how do I apply?

The application itself is simple, but it runs to a strict deadline and it depends on someone else doing their part in time. That's what makes it easy to get wrong. Here's what a sponsor actually does, who can be one, and how I'd get the form in without a last-minute scramble.

What a sponsor does

Don't let the word put you off: a sponsor isn't funding you. They're vouching for you. Your sponsor confirms, on your application, that you meet the eligibility requirements for the CASC. They pay for nothing and take on no cost.

You'll need one whatever your post. The College requires sponsorship from every candidate, trainee or not.

It has to last, too. Your sponsorship must stay valid up to and including the exam date, and if it's withdrawn before then, you become ineligible. The College may also check with your sponsor, and it rejects an application it can't verify.

One thing I'd want you to know before you ask anyone: they may see a poor result. If you fail having passed four or fewer stations, or with two or more severe fails, the College sends a copy of your results letter to your sponsor or supervisor.

Who can sponsor you

The regulations' list of authorised sponsors (Appendix A) names:

• College Tutor

• Training Programme Director

• Educational Supervisor

• Head of School

• Director of Medical Education (or equivalent)

• Head of Department of Psychiatry

• the consultant responsible for your appraisal as an employee, resident or trainee.

The College's applying page words the list slightly differently: it also names a clinical supervisor and, for overseas candidates, someone responsible for your appraisal. If the person you have in mind appears on only one of the two lists, I'd confirm with examinations@rcpsych.ac.uk before the window opens.

When to ask

I'd ask your sponsor months before the window opens, ideally while you're still building your portfolio. Leave it until the week the window opens and you put both of you under pressure you don't need.

Choose someone who knows your work, and who can verify your posts and your months of experience.

Then agree what they need to see. Ask what evidence they expect, and book a time to go through it together before the window closes.

What to send them

Make it easy for them. I'd put all of this in one place:

• your portfolio, or access to it, with a summary of assessments against the HLOs;

• a list of your psychiatry posts, with dates and whole-time equivalent;

• your psychotherapy evidence: the short and long cases, SAPE and PACE;

• your child and adolescent or learning disability experience, and any ECT evidence;

• your Paper A and Paper B results;

• links to the eligibility regulations and the core curriculum, so they can check you against the same standard.

The application, step by step

1. Check the dates. Applications open only during the published window and close at 3.30pm UK time on the closing date. Late applications are not accepted.

2. Log in. You need a College web login to reach the form.

3. Enter your training. Choose your status (UK trainee, UK non-trainee or overseas) and enter your current and previous psychiatry posts. If you leave out your current post, your sponsor cannot reach the sponsorship page.

4. Choose your sitting. The form shows your validity period and previous attempts.

5. Name your sponsor. Enter their title, forename, surname and email address.

6. Your sponsor authorises. The College emails them a link, and they confirm that you meet the requirements.

7. Confirm and pay. Once they have authorised, you receive a confirmation email from the College, then complete the application and pay by card. If no email arrives, follow it up with your sponsor.

8. Watch your inbox. You should get two emails, one from the exams team and one confirming payment. If either has not arrived within 24 hours, contact the exams team. A separate email after the deadline tells you whether you have a place.

The thing trainees most often get wrong is assuming that filling in the form is enough. It isn't. Your sponsor's authorisation and your payment must both be done before the window closes, or you're not entered. If you need reasonable adjustments, that request goes in by the close of the window too.

Sittings and windows

The College publishes sittings and windows on its Applying for your exam page, under Dates of exams. They change, so I'd always check there rather than going by past patterns.

The UK sitting is in Sheffield. The College also lists sittings abroad, with their own dates.

Places are limited. If a sitting is oversubscribed, the regulations give priority groups, then first come, first served within each group, by the time of submission. That's one more reason to apply early.

Fees are on the same page. If you're a Pre-Membership Psychiatric Trainee or an affiliate, you'll pay less.

Official sources

• [Applying for your exam](https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/training/exams/applying-for-your-exam): How to apply for CASC, Fees and Dates of exams

• [FAQs about applying for exams](https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/training/exams/faqs-about-applying-for-exams)

• [Eligibility Criteria and Regulations, MRCPsych Exams](https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/training/examinations/exams-eligibility-criteria-and-regulations---may-2025.pdf?sfvrsn=83f28e63_62): Section 1, Sponsorship Requirements; Section 2, Application Procedure; Appendix A, Authorised Sponsors