The EBN exam, 2027: format, dates and how to prepare.

The final grade combines four components: the written examination (70%) and three oral workpieces (10% each). Successful candidates are awarded the title Fellow of the European Board of Neurology (FEBN); the EAN reports more than 1,000 since the examination began in 2009. Both parts are held online.

Key dates for 2027

16 Nov 2026	Registration opens
24 Jan 2027	Early-bird application deadline
7 Mar 2027	Final application deadline
14 Mar 2027	Essay and CAT due
21–22 May 2027	Oral examination, online
28 May 2027	Written examination, online

Part 1 · Written examination (70%)

• About 100 multiple-choice questions on general neurology, in three sessions over four hours, online, on 28 May 2027.
• Closed-book section: 40 questions in one hour, without references.
• Open-book sections: 60 questions in three hours; you may use your own reference sources.

Open-book does not mean easy: three minutes a question leaves little time to search. Know where things are in your sources before the day. The closed-book hour rewards knowing the core papers and guidelines cold.

Free here: The Neurology Tract (74-page board review) · Reference Papers Digest (the 2026 reading list, for the closed-book section) · 500-question bank with timed mode.

Part 2 · Oral examination (30%)

Three workpieces, each on a different field of neurology, presented and defended online on 21–22 May 2027.

• Essay (10%): a public-health or ethics topic, at most 800 words; a five-minute presentation followed by five minutes of questions. Due 14 March.
• Critical appraisal of a topic, CAT (10%): an original, non-plagiarised appraisal of the evidence on a clinical question; five minutes plus five minutes of questions. Due 14 March.
• Clinical case (10%): a case from your own practice, presented and discussed.

One-to-one help: mentoring for the oral part, with a free 15-minute first call.

A month-by-month plan

Our suggestion, not an EAN requirement.

1. November–December. Register when it opens. Choose three different fields for the essay, CAT and case, and settle the CAT question early: it takes the longest. Start the first pass of a board review.
2. January. Apply before the early-bird deadline (24 January). Draft the essay; search and appraise the CAT evidence.
3. February–mid-March. Finish and polish the essay and CAT; submit by 14 March. Keep a few question sessions a week going.
4. Late March–April. Build the case presentation. Make slides for all three; rehearse each to five minutes and practise the questions.
5. May. Timed mock presentations in the first weeks; after the oral (21–22 May), one focused week on timed question blocks and the reference papers before the written exam on 28 May.

Questions people ask

Is it one exam or two? One examination with one final grade, taken in two parts a week apart.

Can the essay, CAT and case be on the same subject? No: each must be in a different field of neurology.

Are there past papers? No official ones are published, and nothing on The Tract is exam recall. Our questions are written as clinical vignettes and checked against current sources.

Independent of the EAN, EBN and UEMS. Corrections: contact@thetract.org.