Registration, licence to practise and revalidation legislation
One of the four main functions of the GMC described in the Medical Act concerns the registration and licensing of doctors. This includes the arrangements for granting registration and licences to doctors, the erasure from and restoration of names to the register, and revalidation. It also covers the day to day maintenance of the information the register contains.
Our Registration and Licensing legislation page includes the rules and regulations which describe in detail how these functions must be carried out. The relevant rules, regulations and guidance are detailed below.
Registration and Certification Fees Regulations
Registration Fees Regulations
Registration Fees Regulations contain the fees charged by the GMC to doctors for the grant of registration and the 'annual retention fee' payable by doctors for maintaining their name in the register.
Full details of all registration fees can be viewed in our Registration section.
The General Medical Council Registration Fees Regulations 2012 (40kb, pdf)
Certification Fees Regulations
The Certification Fees Regulations set out the fees charged by the GMC for the award of certain certificates relating to eligibility for, and inclusion in, the specialist register and the general practitioner register. These regulations also cover the fees for appealing against certain registration decisions.
Full details of all certification fees can be viewed in our Registration section.
The General Medical Council Certification Fees Regulations 2011 (pdf).
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The form and content of the registers
The Medical Act requires the GMC to keep the register of medical practitioners. It also gives the GMC powers to make regulations covering the content and maintenance of the registers.
The General Medical Council Form and Content of the Registers Regulations 2010 (pdf)
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Licence to Practise and Revalidation Regulations
Doctors wishing to practise medicine in the UK are required to hold a licence to practise. The Licence to Practise and Revalidation Regulations govern the granting or refusal of applications for a licence to practise, the withdrawal of licences and the restoration of licences after withdrawal. They also set out the arrangements for doctors to maintain their licence through revalidation.
The General Medical Council (Licence to Practise and Revalidation) Regulations Order of Council 2012 (pdf)
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Registration decisions and procedures
The Registration Decisions – Arrangements of Procedures document differs from the other rules and regulations listed on these legislation pages in that it is not actually a piece of legislation or made under the express authority of the Act.
Instead, it is a GMC policy document which describes the procedures and processes that we will follow when considering whether to grant a doctor registration or, in some cases, withdraw registration.
The document is consistent with our legal obligations under the Act concerning doctors’ registration. It is included on these pages to help provide a complete picture of how we fulfil our registration and licensing responsibilities.
Registration Decisions – Arrangements of Procedures (86kb, pdf)
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Registration appeals
The Medical Act gives doctors a right of appeal against decisions by the GMC to refuse to grant registration or a licence to practise or to withdraw registration or a licence to practise. It also covers doctors' rights of appeal against decisions to grant, refuse or withdraw certain certificates. The circumstances in which doctors are permitted to appeal are set out in the Act.
The Act provides for the details of the appeal process to be described in separate statutory rules. These rules were originally made in 2005. The current rules are:
The General Medical Council (Registration Appeals Panels Procedure) Rules 2011. (pdf)
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Voluntary erasure from the register and restoration following voluntary erasure
Doctors who no longer wish to practise medicine can apply to the GMC to have their names removed from the register. This is known as ‘voluntary erasure from the register’.
The Medical Act contains provisions which enable the GMC to make regulations covering the arrangements for considering applications for voluntary erasure and for the subsequent restoration to the register of a doctor whose name has been voluntarily erased.
These regulations include details of the procedures to be followed in cases where a question arises concerning the fitness to practise of a doctor seeking voluntary erasure or restoration.
The General Medical Council (Voluntary Erasure and Restoration following Voluntary Erasure) Regulations Order of Council 2004 (OPSI website) (opens in a new window).
Minor amendments to these regulations were made on 16 November 2009 by The General Medical Council (Voluntary Erasure and Restoration following Voluntary Erasure) (Amendment) Regulations Order of Council 2009. The amendments are below:
The General Medical Council (Voluntary Erasure and Restoration following Voluntary Erasure) (Amendment) Regulations Order of Council 2009 (pdf)
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Restoration to the register following administrative erasure
The Medical Act gives the GMC powers to erase a doctor’s name from the register for various administrative reasons. These reasons include the failure to pay the required registration fees Fees Regulations 2011 (pdf) and the failure to respond within a specified period to a letter sent by the Registrar of the GMC.
The Act also provides for regulations to be made covering the arrangements for restoring a doctor’s name to the register where it has previously been erased for administrative reasons.
These regulations include details of the procedures to be followed in cases where a question arises concerning the fitness to practise of a doctor applying for restoration to the register following administrative erasure.
The General Medical Council (Restoration following Administrative Erasure) Regulations Order of Council 2004 (OPSI website) (opens in a new window).
Minor amendments to these regulations were made on 16 November 2009 by The General Medical Council (Restoration following Administrative Erasure) (Amendment) Regulations Order of Council 2009. The amendments are below:
The General Medical Council (Restoration following Administrative Erasure) (Amendment) Regulations Order of Council 2009 (pdf)
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The specialist register and the general practitioner register
The GMC maintains three registers.
- a. The register of medical practitioners includes all doctors registered with the GMC.
- b. The specialist register includes the names of those doctors on the register of medical practitioners who are eligible to be considered for appointment as consultants in the NHS.
- c. The general practitioner register includes the names of those doctors on the register of medical practitioners who are eligible to work as general practitioners in the NHS.
The GMC’s main legal powers for maintaining the specialist register and the general practitioner register are contained in the Medical Act.
In addition, there is a suite of subordinate legislation which describes how these powers are to be carried out.
- The Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Order 2010
- The Applications for General Practice and Specialist Registration Regulations 2010.
- The Marking of the General Practitioner Register Regulations 2010.
- The Award of Certificates Rules 2010.
The Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Order 2010
The Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Order 2010 (OPSI website) sets out the categories of registered doctors who are eligible for inclusion in the specialist register and the general practitioner register.
The Schedule to the 2010 Order was updated in 2012 by the Postgraduate Medical Education & Training (Amendment) Order of Council 2012. No 344.
Applications for General Practice and Specialist Registration Regulations
The Applications for General Practice and Specialist Registration Regulations 2011 sets out the legal framework for how applications for inclusion in the specialist register and general practitioner register are made and assessed.
The Marking of the General Practitioner Register Regulations 2010
The Marking of the General Practitioner Register Regulations provide for the general practitioner register to distinguish between different categories of doctors eligible for inclusion in that register by virtue of their 'acquired rights'.
The term acquired rights derives from the European Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications (2005/36/EC). This Directive sets out the minimum training requirements for doctors across the EEA and provides for their qualifications to be recognised by other EEA countries. Having an acquired right means that a doctor who was eligible to work as a general practitioner does not lose that eligibility simply because the eligibility criteria have subsequently changed.
The Award of Certificates Rules 2010
The Award of Certificates Rules describe the procedures to be followed and the evidence that doctors must provide before the GMC can issue a certificate of acquired rights or a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT).
A CCT confirms that a doctor has completed UK specialty or GP training. A doctor awarded a CCT is eligible for inclusion in the general practitioner register or the specialist register. Inclusion in the relevant register is a prerequisite for consideration for appointment to a consultant post in the NHS, or, in the case of a general practitioner, for work as a general practitioner.
Specialist Register Scheme for Existing Specialists
On 16 March 2009, legislation was introduced to permit medical practitioners who were not on the GMC's specialist register, but who were employed as consultants in the NHS or the UK armed forces before 1 January 1997, to apply to have their names included on that register.
The legislation (now contained in section 34D of the Medical Act) requires the GMC to publish a scheme setting out the criteria for including such doctors in the specialist register. Specialist Register Scheme for Existing Specialists.
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