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FCOG Part 1 Guide 2027: Format, Blueprint and How to Pass

By Certiva · Updated 1 October 2026 · ~10 min read

The FCOG Part 1, officially the FCOG(SA) Part I (Primary), is the first examination of the Fellowship of the College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of South Africa, run by the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA). It is one 3-hour digital paper of 150 single-best-answer questions testing the basic sciences behind obstetrics and gynaecology.

If you are a community service doctor, a medical officer in O&G or a doctor between posts with your sights on a registrar post, the FCOG primaries is the exam to plan around. This guide covers the official format, the December 2024 blueprint, the references worth owning and a 12-week plan that fits around calls. Everything about the exam itself comes from the CMSA's own pages, checked on 1 October 2026.

FCOG Part 1 key facts

Here is the FCOG(SA) Part I at a glance, as published by the CMSA.

What is the FCOG Part 1 exam format?

The FCOG Part 1 is a single 3-hour digital paper of 150 single-best-answer questions, with no oral.

Each question gives you a stem, often a short clinical or laboratory scenario, and a set of options. You choose the one best answer. Several options may be partly true; the skill is recognising which is most correct. That rewards understanding mechanisms over memorising lists.

The arithmetic matters for pacing: 3 hours for 150 questions gives you 72 seconds per question. That is enough time if you know the material, and not much if you have to reason every question from first principles. Timed practice is how you close that gap.

What does the FCOG Part 1 cover?

The FCOG Part 1 covers 14 basic-science areas, weighted by the CMSA's December 2024 blueprint.

The official blueprint (PDF) tells you how many of the 150 questions come from each area, and the syllabus (PDF) sets out the content. The table below lists the blueprint counts alongside the matching section of Certiva's question bank.

Shares are rounded. Exam counts are from the CMSA blueprint (December 2024); bank counts are Certiva's.

Three things stand out. First, anatomy is the single biggest area. Second, six areas (anatomy, physiology, endocrinology, pathology, pathophysiology and microbiology) make up 92 of the 150 questions, about 61% of the paper. Third, the small areas are not optional: public health, statistics and bioethics together carry 18 questions, which is more than anatomy.

What each area looks like in practice

• Anatomy: the bony and obstetric pelvis and fetal skull, pelvic floor and perineum, pelvic organs, urinary tract and bowel, blood supply, lymphatics and nerves.
• Physiology and endocrinology: the maternal adaptations to pregnancy, labour and lactation, the menstrual cycle, puberty and menopause, placental hormones and the thyroid, adrenal and pancreas in pregnancy.
• Pathology and pathophysiology: cell injury, inflammation, thrombosis and neoplasia, then their application to pre-eclampsia, haemorrhage, diabetes in pregnancy, trophoblastic disease and gynaecological neoplasia.
• Microbiology and immunology: genital tract and sexually transmitted infections, viruses in pregnancy, perinatal infection, the immunology of pregnancy and red cell alloimmunisation.
• Physics and technical gynaecology: ultrasound principles and safety, Doppler, radiation, lasers and MRI.
• Statistics, bioethics and public health: study design and diagnostic tests, consent and confidentiality under the HPCSA guidelines, the Children's Act and termination of pregnancy law, and maternal and perinatal care in South Africa.

How many questions are in the FCOG Part 1?

There are 150 questions in the FCOG Part 1, all single best answer, in one 3-hour paper.

The count comes from the December 2024 blueprint, which allocates every question to one of the 14 areas in the table above. Because the blueprint is fixed and public, you can plan your revision time in proportion to it rather than guessing what is "high yield".

When is the FCOG Part 1 written?

The FCOG Part 1 is written in one of the CMSA's two examination semesters each year.

First-semester written papers are usually in February or March, and second-semester papers around July or August. The exact dates, and the registration deadlines that come before them, are published in the CMSA written examination timetable. Check the timetable on the CMSA website when you start planning, then work backwards to set your 12-week start date.

Who can write the FCOG Part 1?

The CMSA sets the eligibility rules for the FCOG(SA) Part I, so confirm them on the official page before you register.

Entry requirements can be updated between sittings, and your own situation (where you are in your training, your registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and any department-specific expectations) may matter. Read the current regulations on the CMSA FCOG(SA) page and speak to the O&G department you hope to join.

Are there FCOG Part 1 past papers?

No. The CMSA no longer publishes past papers.

All CMSA examinations have been written on an online platform since 2021, and the questions now stay in a secure bank. Any "FCOG past papers" you find online will be old, unofficial or reconstructed from memory. The practical alternative is a question bank mapped to the current blueprint, so the mix of topics you practice matches the mix you will face.

Which textbooks should I use?

Start with Bennett & Williamson (4th edition), which anchors almost every section of Certiva's bank, and add the subject texts below where you need more depth.

These are the references used in Certiva's bank. They are not a CMSA prescribed list, so check the official syllabus for the College's own guidance.

• Bennett & Williamson (4th edition): genetics, embryology, fetal and placental physiology, anatomy, pathology, microbiology, immunology, physiology, endocrinology, pharmacology, physics, statistics and research methodology.
• Gray's Anatomy for Students: the pelvis and perineum.
• Langman's Medical Embryology: gametogenesis, early development, the placenta, the urogenital system, birth defects and prenatal diagnosis.
• Guyton & Hall: pregnancy and lactation, fetal and neonatal physiology, reproductive hormones, immunity, blood groups and shock.
• Robbins & Kumar Basic Pathology: cell injury, inflammation, haemodynamic disorders, genetic disease, neoplasia, the immune system and the female genital tract and breast.
• HPCSA Ethical Guidelines (Booklets 1, 4 and 5), the Children's Act 38 of 2005 and the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act 92 of 1996: bioethics and medico-legal questions.
• SA National Integrated Maternal and Perinatal Care Guideline (2024): public health and women's health.

Fewer books, read well, beats a shelf of half-read ones. Use Bennett & Williamson as your spine and dip into the others when a topic needs it.

How should I study for the FCOG Part 1?

Give yourself 12 focused weeks, spend time in proportion to the blueprint, and practice questions from the first day.

The plan below front-loads the heavy areas, pairs the 8-question areas, groups the three 6-question areas into one week and keeps the last two weeks for timed mocks and targeted revision. Each week: read the reference chapter, then do that section's questions and read every explanation, right or wrong.

Make the plan work around a clinical job

• Practice questions every day, even on call. Ten questions on a post-call morning keep the momentum going when reading is impossible.
• Read every explanation. A question you got right for the wrong reason is a question you will get wrong in the exam.
• Track subtopics, not just totals. A good overall score can hide a weak spot in Doppler or alloimmunisation. Fix the weak spots, not the comfortable ones.
• Rehearse the clock. 72 seconds per question is a pace you build by doing it under timed conditions.
• Don't skip the small sections. Statistics, bioethics and public health are compact, learnable and worth 18 questions together.

How Certiva helps

Certiva's FCOG Part 1 question bank has 1,000 single-best-answer questions across 14 sections mapped to the FCOG(SA) Primary blueprint.

• Explained, referenced answers. Every question has a teaching explanation and the textbook or source reference, and every answer is checked against the textbook.
• Practice by topic. Work through any of the 14 sections, from anatomy to public health, in the order your plan needs.
• Weakness tracker and smart revision. See the subtopics where your accuracy is lowest, with the reference to go back to, and revise those first.
• Two timed mocks. Each is 150 questions in 3 hours, the same length and timing as the real paper.
• A free 5-question sample. Try the FCOG sample questions with full explanations, no account or card needed.
• Refund or more time. If you complete the full bank and every mock before your exam and don't pass, you can choose a refund or more time, claimed within 30 days of your result. Conditions apply: read the refund terms.

You can also take free ethics CPD courses and use the free CV builder for your registrar applications. See the Exam Pass options and pricing, or read more on the FCOG Part I exam page.

Frequently asked questions

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