Saudi Board Neurology Exams

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Next registration and exam dates

Next dates not yet published

SCFHS does not post neurology exam dates publicly; they are in the SCFHS portal. Ask your programme or SCFHS.

Roadmap to neurology in Saudi Arabia

  1. After medical school: internship and the SMLE

    12-month internship

    MBBS (or equivalent), then a 12-month rotating internship, finished before the programme starts.

    Pass the Saudi Medical Licensure Exam (SMLE), the general-medicine exam needed for residency. A pass is valid for 5 years, there are up to 4 sittings a year, and the score feeds matching.

    Register with SCFHS through Mumaris+.

  2. Neurology residency: the Saudi Board programme (medicine included)

    5 years (R1 to R5)

    Apply once, through the SCFHS Matching and Admission portal: you rank programmes and programmes rank applicants. Check the portal each year for the matching dates.

    Adult neurology: R1 is a year of internal medicine inside the programme (with psychiatry and neurosurgery blocks), then R2 to R5 are neurology. It is not a separate step.

    Paediatric neurology: PN1 is a year of general paediatrics, then PN2 to PN5 are paediatric neurology.

    The training year runs 1 October to 30 September in 13 four-week blocks.

  3. In-training exams: end-of-year promotion exams

    End of R1 to R4 (paediatrics PN2 to PN4)

    A written promotion exam at the end of each year, held at least once a year: at least 100 four-option MCQs.

    Part One (below) is also taken during training. In paediatric neurology it is sat at the end of PN2 or PN3, and passing it is needed for promotion to PN4.

    Saudi Board promotion exams

  4. Board exams: Part One, Final Written, Final Clinical

    Each held at least once a year

    Part One is taken during training. The Final Written and Final Clinical come at the end: eligibility needs the completed rotations and a passed final in-training evaluation (FITER), and in paediatrics a research project.

    SCFHS publishes the months and application windows each year; they are not posted publicly for neurology. Check with SCFHS or your programme.

Where the exam fits

Part One is taken during the five-year Saudi Board programme (in paediatric neurology at the end of PN2 or PN3). The Final Written and the Final Clinical come at the end of training.

Residents also sit a written promotion exam at the end of each training year.

Saudi Board exams: the details

All Saudi Board written exams are computer-based, single-best-answer MCQs with four options (one best answer of four). Official materials are in English.

Part One (written)

Applications and datesNot posted publicly for neurology; the schedule is in the SCFHS portal. Check with SCFHS.
StructureOne paper of single-best-answer MCQs, plus up to 10% unscored items.
Number of questions150
Options per question4
Pass rule65%; it may be lowered to give a 70% pass rate, with a floor of 60%.
FeeNot published online; check with SCFHS.

Final Written

Applications and datesNot posted publicly for neurology; check with SCFHS.
StructureTwo papers, each of 100 to 125 single-best-answer MCQs, plus up to 10% unscored items.
Number of questions200 to 250 across the two papers
Options per question4
Pass rule70%; it may be lowered, with a floor of 65%.
FeeNot published online; check with SCFHS.

Final Clinical

Structure (adult)8 graded stations of 10 minutes: 2 OSCE stations and 6 structured oral stations, with 1 or 2 examiners per station.
Structure (paediatric)8 stations of 10 minutes: 1 OSCE station and 7 structured oral stations.
ResultsWithin 14 business days.

All registration and exam dates

Next dates not yet published. SCFHS does not post neurology exam dates publicly; they are in the SCFHS portal. Ask your programme or SCFHS.

Dates are set by the board and can change. Always check the official page before you apply.

Curriculum and blueprint

Saudi Board adult neurology blueprints (2024–2027)

Part One and the Final Written have separate blueprints with different domain groupings. Each domain may vary by ±5%; research, ethics, professionalism and patient safety are spread across the domains.

Part One

Subtopics from the SCFHS Adult Neurology curriculum (September 2025), grouped under the nearest blueprint domain. They show scope, not an exam outline.

Cerebrovascular diseases — 16%
  • Ischaemic stroke: atherothrombotic, embolic, lacunar
  • Arterial dissection and prothrombotic states
  • CNS vasculitis
  • Cerebral venous thrombosis
  • Acute ischaemia management and secondary prevention
  • Intracerebral haemorrhage
  • Subarachnoid haemorrhage and aneurysms
  • Vascular malformations and AV fistulae
  • Spinal cord vascular disease
  • Stroke in children and neonates
Epilepsy, psychiatry, sleep and paediatric neurology — 16%
  • Seizure and epilepsy syndrome classification
  • Epilepsy in adults and children
  • Antiseizure drug pharmacology and teratogenicity
  • Somatoform (functional) neurological disorders
  • Sleep disorders: intrinsic, extrinsic, parasomnias
  • Sleep disorders linked to neurological disease
  • Neural tube defects and malformations
  • Developmental delay and regression
  • Neurocutaneous syndromes
Neuromuscular and related — 16%
  • Peripheral neuropathies: hereditary, inflammatory, metabolic
  • Radiculopathy and plexopathy
  • Neuromuscular junction: myasthenia, LEMS, botulism
  • Muscle disease: dystrophies, myotonias, inflammatory, metabolic
  • Motor neuron disease and ALS
  • Autonomic disorders
  • EMG/NCS interpretation
Demyelinating disease / MS and spinal cord — 11%
  • Multiple sclerosis: diagnosis and treatment
  • ADEM and transverse myelitis
  • Optic neuritis and neuromyelitis optica
  • Neurosarcoidosis and MS mimics
  • Spinal cord disease
Movement disorders and neuro-ophthalmology — 11%
  • Parkinsonism and atypical parkinsonian disorders
  • Chorea and Huntington disease
  • Dystonia, tremor, tics, myoclonus
  • Drug-induced and paroxysmal movement disorders
  • Inherited and acquired ataxias
  • Optic nerve and visual pathway disorders
  • Ocular motor disorders
  • Pupillary disorders and ptosis
  • Orbital disorders
  • Neuro-otology: vertigo and hearing loss
Dementia, neoplasia and paraneoplasia — 11%
  • Mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease
  • Frontotemporal dementia and Lewy body dementia
  • Vascular and secondary dementias
  • Delirium and acute confusional states
  • Aphasia, apraxia, agnosia
  • Primary brain and spinal cord tumours
  • Meningioma and skull-base tumours
  • Brain, spinal and meningeal metastases
  • Paraneoplastic syndromes
  • Neurological complications of cancer treatment
Pain, headache and neurology of systemic diseases — 11%
  • Migraine and variants
  • Tension-type headache and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias
  • Secondary and thunderclap headache
  • Cranial neuralgias and facial pain
  • Neuropathic pain, CRPS, post-herpetic neuralgia
  • Neurological complications of diabetes and endocrine disease
  • Cardiac, hepatic, renal and haematological disease
  • Rheumatological disease and vasculitis
  • Pregnancy and transplant complications
  • Neurotoxicology and drug effects
CNS infection — 8%
  • Bacterial and viral meningitis and encephalitis
  • Brain abscess and empyema
  • CNS tuberculosis, neurosyphilis, Lyme
  • Fungal and parasitic CNS infection
  • HIV and opportunistic infections
  • Prion disease
  • CSF interpretation

Final Written

Subtopics from the SCFHS Adult Neurology curriculum (September 2025), grouped under the nearest blueprint domain. They show scope, not an exam outline.

Neuromuscular and related — 14%
  • Peripheral neuropathies: hereditary, inflammatory, metabolic
  • Radiculopathy and plexopathy
  • Neuromuscular junction: myasthenia, LEMS, botulism
  • Muscle disease: dystrophies, myotonias, inflammatory, metabolic
  • Motor neuron disease and ALS
  • Autonomic disorders
  • EMG/NCS interpretation
Cerebrovascular diseases — 12%
  • Ischaemic stroke: atherothrombotic, embolic, lacunar
  • Arterial dissection and prothrombotic states
  • CNS vasculitis
  • Cerebral venous thrombosis
  • Acute ischaemia management and secondary prevention
  • Intracerebral haemorrhage
  • Subarachnoid haemorrhage and aneurysms
  • Vascular malformations and AV fistulae
  • Spinal cord vascular disease
  • Stroke in children and neonates
Epilepsy, psychiatry and sleep — 12%
  • Seizure and epilepsy syndrome classification
  • Epilepsy in adults and children
  • Antiseizure drug pharmacology and teratogenicity
  • Epilepsy surgery, ketogenic diet, VNS
  • Status epilepticus
  • Somatoform (functional) neurological disorders
  • Sleep disorders: intrinsic, extrinsic, parasomnias
  • Sleep disorders linked to neurological disease
Demyelinating disease / MS and spinal cord — 10%
  • Multiple sclerosis: diagnosis and treatment
  • ADEM and transverse myelitis
  • Optic neuritis and neuromyelitis optica
  • Neurosarcoidosis and MS mimics
  • Spinal cord disease
Movement disorders — 10%
  • Parkinsonism and atypical parkinsonian disorders
  • Chorea and Huntington disease
  • Dystonia, tremor, tics, myoclonus
  • Drug-induced and paroxysmal movement disorders
  • Inherited and acquired ataxias
Pain and headache — 8%
  • Migraine and variants
  • Tension-type headache and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias
  • Secondary and thunderclap headache
  • Cranial neuralgias and facial pain
  • Neuropathic pain, CRPS, post-herpetic neuralgia
  • Back pain
Dementia — 7%
  • Mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease
  • Frontotemporal dementia and Lewy body dementia
  • Vascular and secondary dementias
  • Delirium and acute confusional states
  • Aphasia, apraxia, agnosia
  • Transient global amnesia
CNS infection — 7%
  • Bacterial and viral meningitis and encephalitis
  • Brain abscess and empyema
  • CNS tuberculosis, neurosyphilis, Lyme
  • Fungal and parasitic CNS infection
  • HIV and opportunistic infections
  • Prion disease
  • CSF interpretation
Neuro-ophthalmology — 5%
  • Optic nerve and visual pathway disorders
  • Ocular motor disorders
  • Pupillary disorders and ptosis
  • Orbital disorders
  • Neuro-otology: vertigo and hearing loss
Neoplasia and paraneoplasia — 5%
  • Primary brain and spinal cord tumours
  • Meningioma and skull-base tumours
  • Brain, spinal and meningeal metastases
  • Paraneoplastic syndromes
  • Neurological complications of cancer treatment
Trauma and neurology of systemic diseases — 5%
  • Head and spinal cord injury
  • Concussion and return to play
  • Neurocritical care and brain death
  • Neurological emergencies
  • Neurological complications of diabetes and endocrine disease
  • Cardiac, hepatic, renal and haematological disease
  • Rheumatological disease and vasculitis
  • Pregnancy and transplant complications
  • Neurotoxicology and drug effects
Paediatric neurology, nutritional and metabolic diseases — 5%
  • Neural tube defects and malformations
  • Developmental delay and regression
  • Neurocutaneous syndromes
  • Chromosomal and genetic syndromes
  • Inborn errors of metabolism
  • Mitochondrial, peroxisomal, lysosomal disease
  • Nutritional deficiencies and copper/iron disorders

Paediatric neurology has its own blueprints (Part One 2026–2029, Final Written 2024–2027); see the official links below.

Source: Adult Final Written blueprint (2024–2027)

Eligibility

  • Training in a Saudi Board neurology programme, entered through the SCFHS matching portal after the internship and the SMLE.
  • Final Written and Final Clinical: the required rotations completed and a passed final in-training evaluation (FITER); in paediatric neurology, a research project too.
  • Paediatric neurology: passing Part One is needed for promotion to PN4.

How HighYieldNeuro helps

Our 1,443 high-quality questions span every area of neurology, each with a detailed explanation and a summary of the key points, and are reviewed and updated every year.

Our comprehensive study notes cover every area of neurology for every part of the exam, with a Last Minute Review series for the final few days before the test. Your personalised study plan sets out week by week what to cover before your exam date.

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