Fitness to Test Policy
The UCAT Fitness to Test Policy states that:
- Candidates who attend their test are declaring that they are fit to test.
- Candidates experiencing illness/injury or personal circumstances that might adversely affect their performance on the day, should not sit the test. This applies even if they fall ill or experience issues on the day of their test.
- Candidates unable to declare themselves fit to test, must contact the UCAT Office for advice and support before sitting their test.
- If a candidate chooses to sit their test against this advice, UCAT will not normally take any action.
Candidates are informed of this policy in their appointment confirmation email and the Test Rules.
Candidates who are or were not fit to test, should refer to the advice on this page before contacting the UCAT Office.
Candidates who are not fit to test
Candidates experiencing illness/injury or personal circumstances who are unable to declare themselves fit to test, must contact the UCAT Office for advice and support before sitting their test.
Below is a list of circumstances that may affect fitness to test declarations. This list is not exhaustive.
- Candidate illness or injury at or near the time of testing.
- Flare-up or significant worsening of a candidate’s existing disability or medical condition (i.e. difficulties over and above those related to any previously approved access arrangements) at or near the time of testing.
- Death of a member of the candidate’s immediate family (parent/carer, spouse, sibling or child), usually within 6 months of the latest test date.
- Death of a member of the candidate’s extended family (grandparent, aunt/uncle, cousin) or close friend, usually within 2 months of the latest test date.
- A member of the candidate’s immediate family (parent/carer, spouse, sibling or child) or extended family (grandparent, aunt/uncle, cousin) is affected by a significant illness at or near the time of testing. This would normally involve a recent diagnosis of a life-threatening illness or the family member being towards the end stage of a terminal illness.
- Serious crisis/incident leading to distress at or near the time of testing.
- Safeguarding concerns at or near the time of testing.
Circumstances which are foreseeable or preventable are not considered.
Contact the UCAT Office for advice and support
Candidates contacting the UCAT Office should provide the following information in order that appropriate advice and support can be offered:
- Candidate ID
- Full name
- Test date
- The precise nature of the circumstances affecting them, including when the circumstances first began to affect them and when they are likely to end or if they are ongoing.
- The impact these circumstances are having on their ability to test.
- Independent supporting evidence such as one of the following:
- a letter from their school/college/university;
- a doctor’s letter or fit note or evidence related to hospital treatment;
- a statement from a mental health or disability adviser;
- a death certificate.
On occasion, UCAT may permit a candidate to self-certify a sudden but minor illness that prevents them from attending their test appointment but does not require immediate medical attention.
Candidates should contact the UCAT office in a timely manner (before testing) unless there are exceptional mitigating circumstances which prevent this. Lack of evidence should not delay candidates making contact.
If a candidate chooses to sit their test against this advice, UCAT will not normally take any action.
Outcomes
- If the UCAT Office supports the candidate's claim that they are not fit to test, they may be offered one (or more) of the following options:
- deferring their test until the contingency test window.
- an annotation to their test result, to inform their university choices of their circumstances.
- If appropriate, they may also be advised to make a separate application for access arrangements.
- If the circumstances are so significant that the candidate is unable to test during the testing window, the UCAT Office will advise them in line with the Fitness to Test Policy.
- If the UCAT Office decides a candidate is fit to test, their claim will be rejected and they will receive a written explanation of the decision.
Withdrawal of a Fitness to Test Declaration
If a candidate has sat their test, UCAT will not normally take any action.
On occasion, UCAT may allow a candidate to withdraw a fitness to test declaration after testing if they experienced exceptional mitigating circumstances very close to their test where their judgement was impaired, and they were unable to make a rational decision about whether they were well enough to test.
Below is a list of circumstances that UCAT consider exceptional mitigating circumstances for the purposes of this policy. This list is not exhaustive.
- If a candidate receives a notification about a significant bereavement immediately before their test it could reasonably be considered to result in a temporary lack of capacity to determine if they should take the test or not.
- If a candidate experiences a mental health crisis such as a psychotic episode that leads to them lacking the capacity to make decisions in their best interest.
- A candidate witnesses or is involved in a serious or fatal accident immediately before their test which seriously impacts on their capacity to make decisions.
- The candidate takes a new type of medication on the morning of the test, and they do not immediately recognise that the side effects have had an impact on their cognitive function.
- The candidate is a victim of a crime, such as theft and assault, immediately before their test and this has a severe impact on their mental state.
Candidates should make contact in a timely manner after testing unless there are exceptional mitigating circumstances which prevent this. Cases will not normally be considered more than 5 working days after a test date
Contact the UCAT Office to request a withdrawal of a fitness to test declaration
Candidates contacting the UCAT Office to request a withdrawal of their fitness to test declaration should provide the following information in order that their case can be considered:
- Candidate ID
- Full name
- Test date
- The precise nature of the circumstances affecting them, including when the circumstances first began to affect them and when they are likely to end or if they are ongoing.
- An explanation of how the circumstances impaired their judgement regarding their fitness to test and why they appeared for testing and made the fit to test declaration.
UCAT will normally require independent supporting evidence to support their claim. This will be discussed with the individual candidate. Evidence must be supplied by the stipulated deadline.
Outcomes
- If a candidate is permitted to withdraw their fitness to test declaration, they will be offered the opportunity to retest. If the candidate is unable or does not wish to retest, an annotation can be added to their result, to inform their university choices of their circumstances.
- If the UCAT Office decides a candidate does not meet the requirements to withdraw their fit to test declaration, their claim will be rejected and they will receive a written explanation of the decision.
