General application guidelines

It is only possible to submit one application and apply under one criterion. Applicants who believe they meet more than one of the criteria should discuss their circumstances with their medical school before applying. Applicants who apply via the Eligibility route can contact the UKFPO to discuss their application.

The circumstances for pre-allocation application must be current at the time of application but they must also be expected to still be in place when the applicant begins their foundation training programme and to continue during foundation training. If the circumstances are temporary, an applicant may not require pre-allocation to a foundation school.

Pre-allocation applications must be to the foundation school area within which the applicant’s circumstances are already taking place at the time of application and for some of the pre-allocation criteria, pre-allocation can only be to the foundation school which is local and linked to the applicant’s UK medical school. Refer to the individual pre-allocation criteria guidance to understand the eligibility criterion for each of these.

The applicant must provide proof of address in their name for that same area, and the proof of address must match the address provided on their application form. Refer to the proof of address guidance.

Applicants whose circumstances do not meet one of the national criteria should not apply under criterion 4 Extraordinary Circumstances if they do not truly have extraordinary circumstances.  There is not a criterion for all personal circumstances and in the absence of one that fits, applicants should not use criterion 4 unless their circumstances really are extraordinary.

Applicants who select the wrong criterion for their Pre-allocation application may have their application rejected for this reason.

Pre-allocation applications and the required supporting evidence must be submitted at the same time that the main FP application is submitted on Oriel during the advertised application timeline.

It is not possible for any part of the pre-allocation application form or the required supporting evidence to be submitted after submission of the main FP application on Oriel or after the application window has closed.

Pre-allocation applications can only be submitted through the Oriel application system and there is no opportunity for applicants to submit an application via any other method.

Applicants who do not submit their pre-allocation application on Oriel by the national application deadline will not be granted an extension to do so under any circumstances. This includes partially completed applications.

Any supporting supplementary documentation/evidence that is provided must be dated/issued within the last 12 months prior to the close of the national application window, unless stated otherwise (refer to application timeline for the application closing date).

Pre-allocation does not apply to the Specialised Foundation Programme (SFP) Pathway 1 selection process managed by England medical schools. It only applies to the main Foundation Programme.

Applicants are permitted to apply for pre-allocation for the main Foundation Programme and apply to their England medical school via Pathway 1 for a Specialised Foundation Programme if they wish to.

If their SFP Pathway 1 application is successful, they will automatically be removed from the main Foundation Programme allocation process and their pre-allocation application will no longer be required.

If their SFP Pathway 1 application is not successful or the applicants chooses to reject the offer, they will automatically be included in the main Foundation Programme allocation process and if their pre-allocation application was approved, this will still carry forward and they will be pre-allocated to the requested foundation school.

Refer to nation specific websites for full information about the different recruitment processes for the Specialised Foundation Programme.

If an applicant has chosen to link their application to another applicant and has their pre-allocation application approved, the link with the other applicant will be broken and will not be honoured on Oriel.

Applicants are encouraged to check the cities and towns that fall under each foundation school prior to completing the application form. If an applicant is unsure which foundation school they should request on their application they should contact the foundation school to check. This is particularly important if their home address is on the border between two foundation schools.

Review the list of foundation schools and the towns and cities that fall under each of them.