HCPC: allied health professions OET requirements: scores and application checks

Use the profession row and the total together

HCPC’s OET route covers the professions named in its table, with a matching test version. Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, radiography, dietetics and podiatry share the general profile. Speech and language therapy has its own higher profile. The certificate must be current when HCPC receives the application, and the test must be taken at a centre. The page does not establish an OET combining rule. Its separate IELTS retake and TOEFL superscore statements should not be copied across to OET.

For the general group, every component must reach 300 and the total must reach 1400. For speech and language therapy, every component must reach 400 and the total must reach 1800. A component floor is therefore only part of the requirement. Add the scores on your actual statement and compare the total separately. A strong result cannot cancel a component below its floor; a set of components at the floors does not automatically meet the total.

Receiving-body source · Checked 30 Oct 2026.

Make an application note before choosing a test

Write down the professional title you intend to register under, the corresponding OET version, the receiving body and the stage of your application. Keep this beside your booking confirmation. A course advertised as suitable for healthcare workers does not establish that your test version matches the HCPC row. If the professional title on your qualification differs from the title in the table, ask HCPC to identify the applicable row before paying for a test.

Keep a separate question list for items that remain unclear. Ask whether the exact delivery arrangement on your booking is acceptable, whether previously completed sittings can be used, and what result-verification evidence should accompany your application. We have not confirmed an additional OET comparability-letter requirement from the cited HCPC certificate page. Treat claims about such a letter as a question to resolve with HCPC and OET, rather than an extra document that this practice site can issue.

OETAce study and application-planning suggestions; no additional registration conditions.

Choose practice that matches your professional reader

In physiotherapy, practise explaining functional change and the reason for further review. A referral should connect the patient’s current limitation with the assessment being requested. In occupational therapy, select the home, work or daily-living details that change the next professional’s plan. A long list of observations is less useful than an organised account of the support that is needed now.

Radiography practice should make the reason for the investigation and the relevant preparation clear without inventing findings. Dietetics practice should distinguish intake, progress and the requested nutritional support. Podiatry practice should preserve the sequence of symptoms, treatment and foot-risk findings. Speech and language therapy practice needs careful separation of what the patient reported, what was observed and what remains to be investigated. These are study suggestions using our original cases, not additional HCPC registration conditions.

OETAce study and application-planning suggestions; no additional registration conditions.

Turn a difficult task into a repeatable study session

Start with an original task for your profession and identify who will read the letter or hear the explanation. Before writing, say aloud what that person needs to do next. Select the notes that support that action, compress background that only provides context, and omit incidental details. After writing, check whether the request appears early enough and whether the supporting evidence is easy to find.

For speaking, rehearse a conversation in which a patient asks why an assessment matters. Explain the purpose in ordinary language, ask what concerns them and check understanding before moving on. Review your practice feedback for an observable change you can make in the next attempt. Save your actual test results separately from practice estimates. Use the profession links below to start; if continued feedback would help, the practice-pass page explains the available access. Neither a practice score nor a purchased pass provides evidence of registration eligibility.

OETAce study and application-planning suggestions; no additional registration conditions.

Practise for your profession

Use original cases to select notes, write and revise, or rehearse a conversation with an AI patient or client. Marking uses the existing practice allowance; continued access is available through our practice passes.

• Physiotherapy Writing · Speaking
• Occupational therapy Writing · Speaking
• Radiography Writing · Speaking
• Dietetics Writing · Speaking
• Podiatry Writing · Speaking
• Speech pathology Writing · Speaking

View practice passes · Compare receiving bodies and download the CSV

OETAce is an independent practice platform, not affiliated with OET or any receiving body named on this page. Practice feedback is not a registration decision.