LEK in English is the English version of Poland’s Medical Final Examination (Lekarski Egzamin Końcowy, LEK), meant for people who studied medicine in English – typically final-year students and graduates of English-taught programmes at Polish universities. It is the Polish LEK in translation, with 200 questions and the same February and September sessions, and it is run by the Medical Examinations Center (Centrum Egzaminów Medycznych, CEM) in Łódź. A pass is a key step towards a Polish licence, but the internship and proof of Polish remain separate requirements.
Who can sit LEK in English
LEK is open to doctors and to anyone who has completed 10 semesters of the six-year medical programme at a university based in Poland – so you can sit it in your sixth year, once your university has confirmed those semesters in SMK (System Monitorowania Kształcenia Pracowników Medycznych), the online system for all applications. CEM’s English application page still says students cannot sit the exam, but Art. 14a(3) of the Act on the professions of physician and dentist (ustawa o zawodach lekarza i lekarza dentysty) and CEM’s Polish page allow it. No diploma or licence is needed, and you choose the exam language when applying.
For a Polish licence, Art. 5(4) of the Act accepts a foreign-language LEK from Polish and EU citizens only if they studied in that language. Non-EU citizens fall under Art. 7, which likewise requires a LEK pass, the internship and Polish.
What a pass gives you – and what it does not
A licence to practise in Poland
The full right to practise (prawo wykonywania zawodu) is granted by a regional medical council (okręgowa rada lekarska). Besides a diploma and conditions on health, legal capacity and ethics, it requires:
- a LEK pass – in Polish, or in English if you studied in English;
- the postgraduate internship (staż podyplomowy), currently 13 months for doctors, for which you receive a licence limited to the internship;
- confirmed Polish at the level needed to practise.
LEK in English never covers the last point. Under Art. 6(2a) of the Act, Polish is confirmed by passing the language examination held by the Supreme Medical Council (Naczelna Rada Lekarska), which includes dictation, listening, reading aloud and a simulated consultation. You are exempt only if you studied medicine in Polish, or if you are a Polish or EU citizen with a document from the Health Minister’s list – such as a secondary-school leaving certificate (świadectwo dojrzałości) or a LEK certificate, each obtained after exams in Polish. For these citizens, sitting LEK in Polish can cover two requirements at once.
Your score also counts in recruitment for specialty training in Poland.
Working in another EU country
The Supreme Medical Council certifies full Polish qualifications – those subject to automatic recognition in other EU member states – only once you have passed LEK and completed the internship (or training the Minister of Health has recognised as equivalent). Otherwise it can only certify that your studies met the minimum training requirements of Art. 24 of Directive 2005/36/EC, a certificate that, as the Supreme Medical Chamber (Naczelna Izba Lekarska, NIL) notes, does not confirm you have met all Polish requirements. Check what your target country accepts before skipping LEK or the internship.
Exam format and pass mark
| Feature | LEK in English |
|---|---|
| Questions | 200 multiple-choice questions, five options, one correct |
| Time | 4 hours, starting at the same time across Poland |
| Scoring | 1 point per correct answer, no deduction for wrong answers |
| Pass mark | 56% of valid questions (112 points if all 200 stand) |
| Sessions | 1–28 February and 1–30 September |
| Fee | 400 zł for every application |
The subject structure is set in § 2 of the Health Minister’s regulation of 12 August 2025, in force since 1 September 2025:
| Field | Questions |
|---|---|
| Internal medicine | 39 |
| Paediatrics (incl. neonatology) | 29 |
| Surgery | 27 |
| Obstetrics and gynaecology | 26 |
| Family medicine | 20 |
| Emergency medicine and intensive care | 20 |
| Psychiatry | 14 |
| Bioethics and medical law | 10 |
| Public health | 8 |
| Medical certification | 7 |
At least 30 of the questions in internal medicine, paediatrics, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology and family medicine concern oncology (CEM’s English structure page still gives the earlier minimum of 20). Objections to a question can be lodged only during the exam or right after it, before you leave the room. If CEM’s committee accepts one, the question is cancelled and the maximum score falls.
Dates, deadlines and fees
Applications go only through SMK, by deadlines fixed in law: 30 November of the previous year for the February session and 15 July for the September session. Late applications are not accepted. CEM’s Polish LEK page currently gives 20 February 2027 (Saturday) as the next exam date, so apply by 30 November 2026. The date may change, and CEM’s English page showed a different one when we checked, so rely on the Polish page and SMK.
How to register
- Create an account at smk.ezdrowie.gov.pl.
- Have your identity and account permissions confirmed at your regional medical chamber (okręgowa izba lekarska) or at NIL, well before the deadline.
- Students: check that your university has confirmed your 10 semesters in SMK.
- Apply for LEK, choosing English and a preferred exam location; if no city is available, CEM advises choosing “no preference”.
- Pay 400 zł straight after applying (CEM’s cut-off is five days after the application deadline) to the individual account number shown in SMK, with your name and the session (February/September) in the transfer title. Without payment you cannot sit the exam, and the fee is not refunded if you withdraw.
- CEM sends the venue, start time and your code number through SMK or by e-mail at least 14 days before the exam.
Bring a physical identity document (CEM advises against electronic ones), a sharpened 2B or 3B pencil, an eraser and a pen. Using a phone or any device for copying or transmitting information leads to disqualification, which counts as a fail and bars you from the next session.
Results and certificate
Results arrive through SMK and are published on CEM’s website. Since 1 September 2025 certificates are electronic: you download them from SMK. You may resit in a later session after a fail or to improve your score.
The public CEM question bank in English
Under current law, every LEK consists of 70% questions from CEM’s public bank and 30% new ones. CEM publishes the bank in English as “Database of questions for the Medical Final Examination (LEK)”: PDF files for each of the ten fields, most last updated on 21 May 2026.
The bank files have no answer key. Correct answers are published for questions already used in exams: CEM’s “Task content” section holds LEK papers from 2013–2015 and from 2021 onwards, with a warning that some content may not reflect current medical knowledge. CEM’s recommended textbook list is published in Polish only, and its English pages have no reading list.
Changes ahead
The bank-based format may not last. A Ministry of Health draft amendment (project UD384) would, among other things, make the whole LEK consist of secret questions, multiply results from the public-bank period by 0.7 in specialty recruitment and cut the internship to six months from October 2027. It is only a draft: in public consultation since June 2026, it had not moved further by early October, and the government’s work plan lists its adoption in the fourth quarter of 2026. Until an amendment takes effect, the rules above apply.
How to prepare
- Plan by weight. Internal medicine, paediatrics, surgery and obstetrics and gynaecology make up 121 of the 200 questions. Bioethics and medical law, medical certification and public health add 25 more, built on Polish law and the Polish health system.
- Work through the bank by section, learning why each answer is right: 30% of every exam is new, and the bank may be scrapped.
- Check older questions against current guidelines: CEM itself warns they may be out of date.
- Practise under exam conditions: 200 questions in 4 hours means 72 seconds per question.
- Answer every question: a wrong answer costs nothing.
- Start Polish early if you plan to practise in Poland.
MedMigrant’s LEK (ENG) question bank contains the public CEM bank in English by section, with hints, explanations and a note on every answer option, and its LEK (ENG) practice tests include a 200-question, 4-hour mock exam and a review of your mistakes. A free account is enough to start. MedMigrant is independent and not connected with CEM or NIL.
Frequently asked questions
Is LEK in English easier than the Polish version?
It is the same exam: the English test is a translation of the Polish one for that session, with the same structure, time limit and 56% pass mark.
Can I sit LEK before graduating?
Yes, once your Polish university has confirmed in SMK that you have completed 10 semesters.
Does LEK in English let me work in Poland?
Not on its own: you also need the internship, confirmed Polish and the other conditions of the Act.
Does the CEM question bank include answers?
No. Answers appear only for questions already used in exams, in CEM’s “Task content” section.
Will the public bank still be used in 2027?
Under current law, yes. A draft amendment would make all questions secret, but it had not been adopted by 28 October 2026, so check CEM before your session.
Sources
- CEM: LEK information (English)
- CEM: LEK information (Polish)
- CEM: application (English)
- CEM: test structure (English)
- CEM: question database (English)
- CEM: task content (English)
- CEM: notice on past questions
- CEM: recommended textbooks (Polish)
- CEM: FAQ (Polish)
- Regulation on LEK and LDEK of 12 August 2025 (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1132)
- Act on the professions of physician and dentist (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 37); text of Art. 14a, 14c, 14d, 14e and 16c (Standardy Prawa)
- NIL: Certificates issued for medical doctors
- Health Minister’s list of documents confirming Polish (M.P. 2023 poz. 524)
- Regulation on the Polish language exam for doctors (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 446)
- OIL Łódź: internship rules
- Gov.pl: draft amendment UD384
- Rynek Zdrowia, 2 October 2026: draft status
Last updated: 28 October 2026. Rules, dates and fees change – the official pages of CEM, NIL and the Ministry of Health are decisive.