ORE Part 1 pass mark, pass rates and results

The pass mark is a normalised 50% on each paper

Results are decided through standard setting and an Examination Board. The marks are then normalised so that the pass mark is 50% on each paper. The standard-setting method and the raw cut score behind the 50% are not published.

The practical consequence is that 50% on the normalised scale is not the same as 50% of the questions answered correctly. A site that quotes a raw percentage you need to score is guessing.

The GDC's results sheets report each paper's normalised marks in bands:

Pass rates by sitting

The GDC publishes a results sheet for each sitting. The pass rates below are the percentage of candidates who passed each paper, and who passed both, at every sitting with a published sheet.

Source: the GDC's ORE results sheets, listed under Sources below. The sheets label the papers Part 1(a) and Part 1(b), taken here to be Paper A and Paper B. Neither paper is consistently harder. Paper B had the lower pass rate at six of these sittings, and Paper A at five. Past pass rates describe earlier cohorts and do not predict a result.

What is being marked

Part 1 is two papers, and both count.

A strong paper cannot carry a weak one. In April 2026, 79% of candidates passed Paper A, 73% passed Paper B and 69% passed both.

At 54 seconds a question, pace matters as much as the standard, because a paper left unfinished loses marks that knowledge would otherwise have earned. The exam format guide covers pacing in detail.

Why a percentage in practice is only a guide

A percentage from a question bank comes from a different set of questions, and no practice percentage converts to a normalised ORE mark. It is useful for three things and misleading for a fourth.

• It shows which subjects are weak relative to your other subjects, which is what a study plan needs.
• It shows whether a subject is improving as you work on it.
• It shows whether you can hold a score together at exam pace over a full paper.
• It does not predict a pass, and treating it as a prediction is the mistake to avoid.

How to use a mock result

A full mock is the closest thing to a rehearsal because it reproduces the length and the pace. Use it for the pattern more than the number. A mock that ends with twenty questions unanswered is telling you about timing. A mock with a consistent run of errors in one subject is telling you where the next fortnight goes. The free ORE Part 1 mock test sets out how to read a timed result.

A reasonable position to reach before a sitting is a full paper in each of Paper A and Paper B completed within the time, with no subject scoring far below the others, and a second mock that repeats the first rather than improving only because the questions were familiar.

What the result tells you

The GDC sends results by email within 30 working days of the exam; the provider's results policy says within 30 days of the exam completion date. No release date is published in advance, and the ORE Part 1 exam dates page estimates a results window for each sitting. The result gives a mark out of 100 for each paper and an overall pass or fail.

About 21 working days after the results, candidates receive a percentage for each paper and for each blueprint topic. That breakdown uses the same topic names as the blueprint, so practice is worth tracking in the same detail. The GDC does not accept appeals against academic judgement.

After a pass

A candidate must pass both papers to progress to Part 2, which has four components: a dental manikin exercise, an objective structured clinical examination, a diagnosis and treatment planning exercise, and a medical emergencies component. Part 2 must be passed within five years of the first attempt at Part 1.

The clinical subjects of Paper B carry directly into Part 2, so the clinical reasoning built for Part 1 is worth keeping up between the two.

After a fail

The GDC allows four attempts at Part 1, and a candidate who fails either part four times cannot sit the ORE again. The useful response to a fail is a diagnosis rather than a repetition of the same preparation.

1. Read the topic breakdown when it arrives, and identify whether the problem was coverage, accuracy or time. These need different remedies.
2. Rank every subject again from fresh practice, rather than returning to the subjects you find most comfortable.
3. Rebuild a plan around the next sitting you intend to book, using the ORE Part 1 study plan guide as a structure.
4. Count the attempts you have left and the time remaining before your five-year limit before booking again.

Where to check

The GDC's ORE pages carry the current position on results, attempts, time limits and the progression to Part 2, and the provider's results policy sets out what the result and the topic feedback contain. Read them before making any decision that depends on them. The free diagnostic asks 13 questions in about 15 minutes and gives a first read on every subject.