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- Frequently asked questions about licensing
Frequently asked questions about licensing
1. What is the licence to practise?
To practise medicine in the UK all doctors are required, by law, to be both registered and hold a licence to practise. This applies whether doctors practise full time, part time, as a locum, privately or in the NHS, or whether they are employed or self-employed.
The licence to practise gives a doctor the legal authority to undertake certain activities, for example prescribing and signing statutory certificates, which the law restricts to doctors registered with a licence to practise.
Licences to practise are generic and do not restrict doctors to work in a particular specialty or field of practice.
2. What does holding a licence mean?
Doctors who hold registration with a licence to practise will be subject to the requirements of revalidation, when it is introduced. This means they must undertake the periodic renewal of their licence by demonstrating that they are up to date and fit to practise. They will also be required to maintain a link with a Responsible Officer for the purposes of revalidation.
Taking a licence also means that it remains a doctor's responsibility to be familiar with Good Medical Practice and to follow the guidance it contains.
3. What is the link between the licence to practise and revalidation?
The licence to practise is the first step towards the introduction of revalidation. This new approach to medical regulation will give patients and employers regular assurance that their doctors are up to date and fit to practise.
Licences will require periodic renewal by revalidation. When revalidation begins licensed doctors will be required to demonstrate to the GMC that they are practising in accordance with the generic standards of practice set by the GMC (as described in Good Medical Practice).
Licensed doctors on the Specialist or GP register will in addition be required to recertify against the standards that apply to their specialty or area of practice, set by the relevant medical Royal College or Faculty and approved by the GMC.
Read more about Revalidation.
4. What does registration without a licence allow doctors to do?
Remaining registered without a licence may suit doctors if they are not practising medicine but nevertheless want to retain GMC registration.
Holding registration without a licence allows doctors to show to employers, overseas regulators and others that they remain in good standing with the GMC. It remains a doctor's responsibility to be familiar with Good Medical Practice and to follow the guidance it contains.
Doctors can, of course, undertake activities not legally dependent on holding a licence. For example, they can continue to sign passport photographs and use the title 'Doctor'.
Doctors must however be explicit and proactive about their GMC status. They must make it clear whether they are registered with or without a licence to practise. To present themselves as registered with or without a licence when they are not, is a criminal offence.
The lack of a licence does not prevent doctors from providing assistance in emergencies - sometimes referred to as 'Good Samaritan' acts. Any concerned citizen is able to perform such acts, with or without registration or a licence to practise.
Doctors should check with their medical defence organisation or insurer if they are concerned about any potential liabilities arising from performing such acts or whether their present arrangements will cater for such acts if they are registered without a licence.
Good Medical Practice states: 'In an emergency, wherever it arises, you must offer assistance, taking account of your own safety, your competence, and the availability of other options of care.'
Doctors holding registration without a licence, will not be subject to the requirements of revalidation because they will have no licence to renew.
Remember: Doctors need a licence if they want to practise in the UK
5. When will revalidation begin?
The first revalidations will not happen before 2011. These are likely to be pilots with volunteers. From there the roll-out of revalidation will be incremental so that we can build on the early learning. At this stage, it is not possible to say when each doctor will be expected to revalidate.
The GMC introduced licensing on 16 November 2009. Licensing is the first practical step towards revalidation. Only when we are sure that the necessary systems and arrangements to support doctors are in place, will we begin to implement revalidation.
Once revalidation is introduced, licences will be subject to periodic renewal, probably every five years.
More information about the timetable for revalidation is available in our Revalidation FAQ section.
6. How will I know if I have been granted a licence?
We will notify doctors in writing when their licence has been granted. We will not, however, issue certificates or cards.
Instead, a doctor's status as registered with a licence to practise will form part of their electronic record held on the GMC registration database. Anyone can check whether a doctor is registered with or without a licence by accessing our online List of Registered Medical Practitioners.
7. Can I restore my licence if I have relinquished it?
Yes. If you have voluntarily given up your registration or your licence to practise, or both, or they have been withdrawn for reasons unconnected with fitness to practise, you can apply for them to be restored.
Read about how to apply for a licence
Read about how to apply for restoration to the register
8. I have no direct clinical contact with patients but I occasionally write medical reports and do some medico-legal work. Do I need a licence?
Doctors should check this out with those who instruct them. There may be a contractual requirement but, if not, they may still want doctors to hold a licence to show that they are up to date and fit to practise.
If doctors do not have a licence or registration, they must not claim or imply that they do.
9. Does my GMC reference number change if I hold a licence?
No, your GMC reference number does not change if you hold a licence; no other number will be issued in respect of the licence to practise.
We expect you to continue using your unique seven digit GMC reference number in all your professional dealings. This number was issued to you when you first registered with the GMC. This number will remain with you throughout your career, regardless of the type of registration you hold, whether you relinquish and then subsequently restore your registration, and whether or not you hold a licence to practise.
The reference number is a unique identifier which enables anyone to confirm a doctor's GMC status via the online Register or by telephoning the GMC.
10. I work overseas: do I need a licence?
Unless required by an overseas employer, there is no need for doctors to maintain a licence to practise if they are not practising in the UK.
Doctors will need a licence before they can practise again in the UK, even for a short period.
Doctors who decide to hold a licence while working overseas will be expected to take part in revalidation when it is introduced. For further information, please read our frequently asked questions about revalidation and working overseas.
11. I am an international medical graduate and have not previously held registration with the GMC. Can I apply for registration without a licence?
No. If doctors have not been registered before, they have to apply for a licence. It is not be possible to apply for registration without a licence. This applies to all doctors who are registering with the GMC for the first time.
12. How much does it cost to hold a licence?
There is an annual fee for registration with a licence to practise.
See our fees section for a full list of current fees.
13. Do I have to pay to remain registered without a licence?
Yes. Doctors who remain registered without a licence will also pay an annual fee. See our fees section for a full list of current fees.
14. How could the GMC's Fitness to Practise actions affect a doctor's licence to practise?
The GMC's Fitness to Practise sanctions will, continue to attach to a doctor's registration. Where a doctor's name is suspended or erased from the Register by a Fitness to Practise Panel, we will automatically withdraw a doctor's licence.
Where a doctor's registration is subject to conditions or undertakings which restrict their practice they will still be entitled to hold a licence but must continue to adhere to any conditions or undertakings imposed on their registration. If they do not, their licence and registration will be at risk.