Certification appeals fee guidance

This section provides guidance on fees and refunds relating to written and oral appeals.

Contents

1. 1. Appeal fees
2. 2. How to pay 
3. 3. Appeal deadlines
4. 4. Withdrawing an appeal
5. 5. Successful appeals

1. Appeal fees

You can find out the current fee for an appeal in our fees page.

2. How to pay

You will need to submit the appropriate payment with your ‘notice of appeal’ form. An appeal will not proceed if the fee has not been paid. We accept cheques, bank drafts and postal orders, made payable to the General Medical Council. Please write your full name and GMC reference number clearly on the back of the cheque or bank draft. Please note that we only accept bank drafts which are drawn on a UK bank and in pounds sterling. We are unable to accept post-dated cheques.

3. Appeal deadlines

There are strict deadlines for lodging a notice of appeal; you should read the appeal page for further guidance. If a notice of appeal is lodged after the deadline and as such is not eligible for appeal we will return the entire fee paid. Likewise, if the appeal fee is not submitted within the deadline, an appeal will not proceed.

4. Withdrawing an appeal

You may apply in writing to withdraw your appeal at any time before the appeal is determined. However if you withdraw your appeal less than 21 days before the date of the hearing there will be no refund of the appeal fee paid.
If your appeal is withdrawn more than 21 days before the hearing the amount of refund will be at the discretion of the Assistant Director, Finance and Procurement, taking into account the costs incurred.

5. Successful appeals

You may apply for a refund of your fee within three months of a successful appeal decision. Any refund is at the discretion of the Assistant Director, Finance and Procurement, unless:

• the appeal panel explicitly orders a full or partial refund, or
• the Specialist and GP Certification team decides not to defend your appeal

If the Specialist and GP Certification team decides not to defend an appeal because new evidence has been submitted which could have been submitted earlier, a full refund is unlikely. You may still get a partial refund but the amount you get back will take into account the work and expense incurred by the GMC as a result of the appeal, and the lateness of the evidence submitted.