Recruitment to specialty training posts takes place through a national selection process led by various local teams.

Key dates

Adverts for most specialty training posts, which will commence from September 2026, will appear on Oriel on Tuesday 6 January 2026. The application portal will then open at 10am on Thursday 8 January 2026. Late applications will not be accepted.

Please note that Dental Public Health recruitment timeline and Orthodontics ST4 recruitment timeline are different from other specialties.

Recruitment timelines for 2025

For further information on the ACF recruitment process, please visit the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) website.

All times are in UK local time (GMT or BST).

September 2025

Applications open between

Date: Monday 29 September 2025

and

Date: Tuesday 21 October 2025

Applications close between

Date: Monday 27 October 2025

and 

Date: Tuesday 18 November 2025

October 2025

Interview window opens

Date: Wednesday 29 October 2025

January 2026

Interview window closes

Date: Friday 9 January 2026

Initial offers released from

Date: Wednesday 14 January 2026

Hold deadline

Date: Wednesday 21 January 2026

Time: 4pm

National Certificate of Dental Core Equivalence (NCDCE) timelines

This process has now closed.

A process has been developed to facilitate applications to Specialty Training posts from individuals who have not followed a standard UK training pathway.

For further information on the NCDCE process, please visit the NHS Education for Scotland website.

NHS Education for Scotland website - NCDCE 1

All times are in UK local time (GMT or BST).

July 2025

Applications open

Date: Monday 7 July 2025

Time: 10am

September 2025

Applications close

Date: Monday 1 September 2025

Time: 23:59pm

Evidence upload window closes

Date: Wednesday 3 September 2025

Time: 4pm

Applications will be considered by the Panel

Date: 16 - 17 September 2025

Appeals window opens

Date: Thursday 18 September 2025

Time: 12:00pm

Appeals window closes

Date: Thursday 25 September 2025

Time: 12:00pm

Outcome of appeals process

From 3 October 2025

Page last reviewed: 25 July 2024
Next review due: 25 July 2025