Check admissions-test requirements while you are still choosing courses: some booking and support deadlines arrive before the UCAS deadline, and missing one can remove a course from your realistic options.
An admissions test belongs to the course, not to UCAS as a whole. Two courses in the same subject can have different requirements, and the test timetable can close before the UCAS application deadline. Check the exact course and entry year while you are still building your shortlist.
For 2027 entry, the main tests covered here are UCAT for relevant Medicine and Dentistry courses, LNAT for participating Law courses, and the UAT-UK tests ESAT, TMUA and TARA for selected courses at participating universities. Some universities also use their own assessments later in the selection process.
Registration, booking, access arrangements and bursaries are handled by the test providers rather than through UCAS. UCAS Application Timeline and Key Deadlines covers the application timetable; the test timetable has to be planned alongside it.
Check the course before you commit to the shortlist
Start with the admissions or entry-requirements page for the exact course and entry year. Then confirm the current test cycle on the provider's website. Requirements can change between years, and an old prospectus or another applicant's timetable is not enough.
The timing can affect whether a course remains a realistic option. If a required test closes for booking before you discover it, submitting UCAS on time does not compensate for the missed test. How UCAS Choices Work explains the five-choice rules, but those choices should not be treated as final until any test requirements are known.
UCAT: know the score before the October UCAS deadline
UCAT is used by consortium universities for specified medical and dental programmes. Match the exact course against the consortium's current list before registering.
For 2027 entry, booking opened on 23 June 2026 and testing runs from 13 July to 24 September. Access-arrangement applications close at 15:00 UK time on 10 September, while registration and booking close at 15:00 on 16 September.
Candidates receive their UCAT result on the day of the test, or shortly afterwards for online testing. That means Medicine and Dentistry applicants know the score before the 15 October UCAS deadline and can check how intended universities use UCAT before finalising their four restricted-subject choices. The official result is sent directly to chosen UK universities in early November.
The last test date is several weeks before the UCAS deadline. Treat the UCAT booking date, the test date and the UCAS submission date as three separate commitments.
LNAT: the deadline depends on where you apply
LNAT is required for specified undergraduate Law courses at participating universities, but the test deadline is not the same for every institution.
For 2027 entry, registration and booking opened on 1 August and testing began on 1 September. Oxford and Cambridge applicants have to book by 15 September and sit the LNAT no later than 15 October. King's College London, LSE and UCL require the test by 31 December. Bristol and Durham use 13 January 2027. For the other participating LNAT universities, the published timetable gives 20 January as the booking deadline and 25 January as the final test date.
Do not read the final permitted date as the ideal booking target. LNAT warns that test-centre appointments become harder to secure close to university deadlines, so late booking can leave you with fewer venues and sitting times.
The LNAT can be taken before or after the UCAS application is sent as long as both deadlines are met. Add your UCAS Personal Identifier to the LNAT profile before submitting UCAS. Participating universities receive the score and essay through the LNAT system; you do not upload the result yourself.
ESAT, TMUA and TARA: choose the sitting that fits the course and your preparation
UAT-UK runs ESAT, TMUA and TARA for selected courses at Imperial, Cambridge, Durham, LSE, Oxford, Warwick and UCL. The course page determines whether a test is required and, for ESAT, which modules you need.
For 2027 entry, the October sitting runs from 12 to 16 October 2026 and the January sitting from 4 to 8 January 2027. Most Oxford and Cambridge applicants whose course requires a UAT-UK test have to use October, with published exceptions for certain Cambridge mature applicants and relevant Oxford Astrophoria Foundation Year applicants.
Applicants to other participating institutions can choose between October and January, and UAT-UK states that neither sitting has an admissions advantage. The useful choice is the sitting that gives you enough preparation time without creating avoidable pressure elsewhere in the application.
If the course is still a serious possibility when booking approaches, UAT-UK advises registering even if the final course choice is unsettled. A booking cancelled at least 48 hours before the test receives a full refund.
For the October sitting, booking opened on 20 July. Access-arrangement requests close at 18:00 UK time on 14 September, bursary requests on 21 September and booking on 28 September. For the January sitting, support applications reopen on 5 October and booking opens on 26 October. Access-arrangement requests close on 7 December, bursary requests on 14 December and booking on 21 December at 18:00.
Oxford and Cambridge applicants using the October UAT-UK sitting have the test window and the 15 October UCAS deadline in the same week. Neither process completes the other, so both need their own preparation time.
Access arrangements have earlier deadlines than ordinary booking
If you need adjustments, start with the provider's access process rather than the ordinary booking route. The systems covered here require arrangements to be approved in advance.
For UCAT, access-arrangement applications close six days before registration and booking. UAT-UK also requires the access request before test selection and booking. LNAT candidates with examination access requirements register for an account, submit the access-requirements form and evidence, and then follow the booking instructions issued after approval. Some LNAT arrangements take at least three weeks to organise.
Bursaries also follow provider-specific processes. UCAT offers support for eligible UK candidates; UAT-UK bursaries cover the full test fee for eligible UK candidates; and LNAT offers bursaries for eligible UK and EU applicants at UK or EU test centres. None is arranged through the UCAS application.
You usually do not enter these test scores into UCAS
UCAT sends results directly to chosen UK universities. LNAT makes the score and essay available to participating universities. UAT-UK matches results to the UCAS application for courses that use the test and sends them to the relevant institutions.
The universities then decide how the result is used. UAT-UK has no universal pass mark, LNAT universities set their own weighting for the score and essay, and UCAT universities publish their own selection policies. A score that is competitive for one course does not create a universal threshold for every university using the test.
Some assessments happen after you apply
Not every admissions assessment requires you to register in advance. Cambridge, for example, uses College admissions assessments for a number of 2027-entry courses after shortlisting, with the interviewing College arranging the assessment.
When a course page mentions an assessment, identify whether it is something you must book before applying or something the university arranges later. University Interviews: What Happens After You Apply? covers that post-application selection stage.
