2027 exam fees explainer
The 2027 exam prices have now been published, and this page provides important information on the fee increases. We understand that exams are a significant cost to candidates and we want to be as transparent as possible.
The cost of running exams (including venues, travel costs and the volume of reasonable adjustments) has gone up significantly in the past year as inflation has risen. However, there is also historical context to the exam price uplift this year which is explained below.
UK Resident exams do not generate a surplus for the College; in fact, they have been subsidised for many years. Global exams generate a small surplus. This subsidises exams for UK residents and contributes to the wider running of the College and other college activities.
Our aim is for UK resident exams to cover their costs. However, because of the way the CR2B exam is delivered (the viva component requiring examiners to commit their time to assessment, as well as the new Risr platform and significant increases in hotel costs for examiners), the cost of running the exam is much greater than the fee charged. In fact, this exam typically runs at an annual deficit of around £650,000. This is not financially sustainable, and the fee increase is reflective of the need to start to correct this imbalance. We appreciate that the increase is substantial, but if we do not make the exam financially viable, we will be unable to continue delivering it to a world-class standard.
Historically, we have subsidised the cost of delivering CR2B through other exam fees. However, we have moved past the point where such an approach is sustainable. We cannot share the CR2B fee increase across all the exams either, because this would mean that certain written exams would generate significant surpluses, while CR2B would be no closer to breaking even. Ultimately, our aim is for each exam to cover its costs.
We have increased other exam fees by 5%, reflecting inflation. It is only CR2B which is seeing a larger increase, reflecting our need to start to make this exam financially sustainable.
Bringing exams to a break-even position is not something we expect or want to achieve with fee increases alone. We have worked hard to reduce our costs, including:
Renegotiating our contracts with external venue providers, and reprocuring arrangements where we believe we can get better value for money.
Making maximum possible use of the RCR offices for exam delivery, reducing the need to buy space at external venues.
Having RCR staff carry out invigilation work in addition to their normal duties during exams.
The above cost-saving measures have been successful in reducing our annual cost base by around £80,000-90,000. We know there is more to do, and further changes will be implemented where we can ensure a meaningful saving at no detriment to the candidate experience. At the same time, it must be emphasised that cost-cutting alone cannot bring the CR2B exam to a break-even position.
We are fortunate that our exams are in high demand – in the UK but also globally – and the large number of candidates brings the cost per candidate down. If we reduced our volumes, the fee increase would need to be even higher to break even.
Based upon expected volumes, we would have needed to increase all fees by 45%, and it would have meant CR1 and CR2A would heavily subsidise CR2B.
It costs nearly £1,800 per candidate to deliver CR2B; this covers staff time, venue hire, examiners, and licences.
Between 2020 and 2024, the College made significant losses which it funded by using its reserves. During this time, we kept exam fee increases to a minimum. Our current aim is to deliver a very small surplus of around 1% of income. We need to replenish reserves and run a financially sustainable organisation, but our intention remains to do this only increasing fees where absolutely necessary.
Like most organisations, our costs are increasing. Our commitment is to keep fees as affordable as possible whilst trying to maintain financial stability and ensuring the exam prices fairly represent the cost of delivery.