european psychiatric association

European Board Examination in Psychiatry

The next European Board Examination in Psychiatry will be conducted fully online on Friday, 25 September 2026.

Registration opens: Sunday, 29 March 2026
Registration deadline: Friday, 29 May 2026

General Information

The European Psychiatric Association (EPA), the European Union of Medical Specialists – Psychiatry Section (UEMS-PS), and the European Federation of Psychiatric Trainees (EFPT) have joined forces to develop the European Board Examination in Psychiatry (EBEP), a crucial benchmarking step to harmonise psychiatric training and professional standards in Europe.

The purpose of the EBEP is to influence the learning outcomes of future psychiatric specialists, and to harmonize professional standards across Europe. The EBEP is a supplemental examination designed as a mark of excellence for psychiatrists, with a threefold goal to:

  • Promote the establishment of a strong base of essential knowledge in psychiatry
  • Support the mobility of healthcare professionals throughout Europe
  • Ensure high-quality mental healthcare

The EBEP is not designed to replace national qualifications and should not be regarded as a licence to practice in Europe.

Find more information on the development of the exam in the paper “Benchmarking Psychiatry in Europe and beyond: The European Board Exam of Psychiatry” published in European Psychiatry in April 2024.

Format, structure and delivery of the examination

Date and exam duration: The examination will be held fully online on Friday, 25 September 2026, via a dedicated and secure platform. The time allocated for question-answering is three hours. Including break and check-ins, candidates will be logged in from 12:00 to 16:45 CEST.

Exam format: The European Board Examination in Psychiatry is a written, knowledge-based exam with no oral component.

Language: The examination is conducted in English.

Questions format: The examination consists of 120 items. The majority of items will be in the single best answer format in which candidates are presented a vignette, followed by a question and a list of possible answers, of which they must choose the best one. There will be some single best answer questions which do not include a vignette. There may be a small number of short answer questions.

Pass mark: The pass mark is determined for each EBEP sitting using an internationally recognised criterion-referenced standard-setting method, ensuring that candidates are evaluated against a fixed standard of professional competence.

Candidates with special needs: Candidates who require special adjustments to the exam processes should get in contact with epa.ebep@europsy.com at least two weeks in advance of the exam, allowing the Programme Board to explore possibilities to accommodate these requests.

Eligibility criteria

The EBEP is a voluntary, supplemental examination that can be taken by candidates who hold a Primary Medical Qualification and have experience of Postgraduate Training in Psychiatry. Candidates will be required to have completed a minimum of four years of psychiatry training. In cases where the training duration is shorter than four years, the candidate will be asked to demonstrate continuous professional practice as a psychiatrist for four years, including the training period, at the time of application

Full payment of the fees must be received by the deadline communicated to candidates.

Eligibility to the EBEP is strictly personal and non-transferrable.

Successful candidates are awarded with a certificate giving the title of “Fellow of the European Board of Psychiatry”.

Registration fees

To sit the examination, a registration fee is required for participation:

*EPA member refers to an individual/international individual/associate/fellow EPA member, who has paid their annual membership fees for the year 2026. Find more information about membership here: https://www.europsy.net/memberships/

Take note: Rates provided above exclude VAT. All bank charges or transfer costs are the responsibility of the payer only.

Cancellation Policy

Candidates who withdraw their applications due to unforeseen circumstances before the deadline of 11 September 2026 (two weeks prior to the exam) are eligible to:

  • Receive a refund of 50% of their registration fees, or
  • Postpone their participation to the examination held the following year, subject to an administrative fee for processing and transferring their registration.

Please note: Candidates who cancel their application after 11 September 2026 or fail to attend the examination will not be eligible for a refund or to defer their participation.

How to register to the EBEP?

Registrations for the 2026 EBEP will open on Sunday, 29 March 2026, through a secure online platform. The registration deadline is Friday, 29 May 2026.

The link to register and all details about the registration process will be published on the EPA website on 29 March 2026.

How to prepare for the EBEP?

To prepare effectively for the EBEP, candidates should carefully review the list of psychiatry topics, which covers both clinical and non-clinical areas:

→ The topics are organised into five overarching themes:

  • Basic sciences as applied to psychiatry
  • Clinical topics
  • Non-clinical topics
  • Special topics
  • Organisational models of care

All of these areas are covered in the examination and candidates are expected to have extensive knowledge of these topics, consistent with the needs of independent practice as a psychiatrist in Europe. The scope of the exam is strictly limited to these topics.

→ The topic list maps onto the knowledge elements described in the UEMS European Training Requirements for Psychiatry (ETR). The ETR consists of the learning outcomes that a specialist psychiatrist should demonstrate organised around the CanMEDS framework:

→ The EBEP is a knowledge-based exam only. With regards to reading references, candidates are encouraged to consult standard international postgraduate psychiatry textbooks, as no specific reading list is provided for this exam.

→ Below are two sample questions that reflect the level of knowledge expected from candidates:

Organising Committees

The Examination Programme Board is the body mandated by the EPA, the UEMS-PS and the EFPT to be responsible for overseeing the examination development, along with the following committees responsible for all operational aspects : the Examination Committee, the Quality Assurance Committee, the Business Working Group.

Contact

For any queries, please contact epa.ebep@europsy.net .