General information about registration

This guidance provides general information about registration with the GMC. This guidance was updated in February 2008.

1. Why register?

You need to be registered with us if you wish to practise medicine in the UK.

The activities that require GMC registration include:

• working as a doctor in the National Health Service (NHS) or in private practice
• prescribing drugs, the sale of which is restricted by law
• signing certificates required for statutory purposes (death certificates, etc.)

For more information about this please see our complete list of the legal privileges and obligations of registration.

2. Who can register?

Your eligibility for registration with us and the process for gaining registration generally depends on

• the place where you obtained your primary medical qualification and
• your nationality
• the nature and extent of your postgraduate experience

Registration routes are described in our registration flowchart.

3. Types of registration

You must ensure that your registration is appropriate for the type of post or practice that you will be undertaking. You can check the type of registration that you have and the date from which it is effective on the List of Registered Medical Practitioners.

• Provisional registration
• Full registration
• Specialist registration
• GP registration

Provisional registration

Provisional registration allows newly qualified doctors to undertake the general clinical training needed for full registration. A doctor who is provisionally registered is entitled to work only in Foundation Year 1 (F1) posts in hospitals or institutions that are approved for the purpose of Foundation Year 1 (F1) service.

Provisional registration is available to doctors with the following nationality, rights and qualifications

• UK medical graduates who have completed their medical degree at a UK University recognised in the Medical Act 1983
• International medical graduates who have an acceptable primary medical qualification and who have passed the PLAB test but who have not completed an internship
• Nationals from the EEA, Switzerland and other countries with EC rights who qualified outside of the EEA and Switzerland
• Nationals from the EEA, Switzerland and doctors who have EC rights who qualified at EEA or Swiss medical schools

Doctors who have qualified in an EEA member state can apply to do their practical training (internship) in the UK if the practical training counts towards a medical degree which requires this for compliance with Directive 2005/36/EC.

Full registration

You need full registration for unsupervised medical practice in the NHS or private practice in the UK. Generally speaking, doctors who have undertaken a satisfactory period of experience under provisional registration may apply to move to full registration. Some doctors qualifying from outside the UK may be eligible to apply directly for full registration.

EEA and Swiss nationals and other doctors with EC rights who graduated at EEA or Swiss medical schools

Only doctors holding all the titles of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in medicine listed in Annex V of the Directive 2005/36/EC will benefit fully from EU legislation on mutual recognition.

Nationals from the EEA, Switzerland and other doctors with EC rights who qualified outside of the EEA and Switzerland

Doctors applying through this route must have completed a 12 month internship undertaken in a resident medical capacity in posts approved for internship training.

International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who have completed an internship

IMGs applying for full registration must hold an acceptable primary medical qualification and will be required to submit evidence that they have satisfactorily completed either Foundation Year 1 in the UK or a period of clinical experience that provides an acceptable foundation for future practice as a fully registered medical practitioner.

In addition, they will be required to demonstrate their medical knowledge and skills in one of the following ways:

1. A pass in the PLAB test
2. Sponsorship
3. Possession of an acceptable postgraduate qualification
4. Eligibility for entry in the specialist or GP register

IMGs new to full registration and taking up a new job (except for those eligible for entry in the specialist or GP register) will be required to work initially in an approved practice setting.

IMGs who meet the criteria for full registration will not be eligible for provisional registration.

Specialist registration

The GMC maintains a specialist register. Since 1 January 1997 it has been a legal requirement that, in order to take up a consultant post (other than a locum consultant appointment) in a medical or surgical specialty in the NHS a doctor must be included in the specialist register.

The only exceptions are doctors who held a consultant post (other than a locum consultant post) in oral and maxillo-facial surgery in the NHS immediately before 1 January 1997.

It is not possible to hold specialist registration without also holding full registration.

You should be aware that doctors wishing to work unsupervised in private practice in the UK will also need to hold specialist registration. This is because the major private health providers and insurance companies only recognise doctors whose names are included in the specialist register.

GP registration

Since 1 April 2006, all doctors working in general practice in the health service in the UK - other than doctors in training such as GP Registrars - are required to be on the GP Register.

See our information about the GP register.

4. How to register

To apply for registration, you will need to complete an application, provide evidence of your identity, qualifications, and good standing and attend an identity check.

The requirements are different for each route to registration. You can find detailed guidance on how to make your application, specific to your route to registration, in our registration applications section.
We may independently verify some of your documents at their source.

We may also seek advice from a panel of experts about whether or not to grant registration.

You should not assume that registration has or will be granted. Before taking up any employment you must check with us that you are registered and that you hold appropriate registration for your post. If we grant your application we will send you a certificate to confirm your registration and your name and details will appear in the list of registered medical practitioners.

5. Returning to your home country

If you want your UK training to count towards a specialist or GP award in your home country, you should contact PMETB (opens in a new window).

If you have completed your internship under provisional registration in the UK and you need the GMC to confirm that your training meets the required standards under European law, please contact us.

If you are a Polish doctor and you have completed your internship in the UK, you should contact the Polish Medical Chamber about recognition of your qualifications in Poland if you plan to return there. The website for the Polish Medical Chamber is at http://www.nil.org.pl/xml/index (opens in a new window).