Information for registered doctors

Contents

1. GMC Online
2. Maintaining your registration
3. Working in an approved practice setting (APS)
4. Coming off the Register
5. Licence to practise
6. Certificates of proof of entry on the Register
7. Certificates of Good Standing
8. Insurance and Professional Indemnity

1. GMC Online

If you hold registration with us, or if you have previously held registration or applied to take the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test, you will have a GMC reference number.

With your GMC reference number, you can use our secure web portal, GMC Online, to manage your registration and licence to practise.

You can use GMC Online to apply for different types of registration, pay your fees, set up a Direct Debit, choose to have your annual bills sent by email, update your contact details and apply to relinquish your registration and/or your licence to practise among other things.

To log into GMC Online you will need to visit the GMC Online page on the full website. Please note that some smart phones do not support full website functionality and you may need to use a computer.

2. Maintaining your registration

To maintain your registration and licence to practise, you need to abide by the principles set out in Good Medical Practice, keep your contact details up to date and pay your annual retention fee.

Revalidation

If you hold a licence to practise, you will need to revalidate, usually every five years, by having a regular appraisal that is based on our core guidance for doctors, Good Medical Practice.

Successful revalidation means that you can continue to hold a licence to practise.

Revalidation will give your patients greater confidence that you are up to date in the area of medicine in which you practise. It will also support you in maintaining and improving your practice throughout your career in medicine, by ensuring that you have the opportunity to reflect regularly on your practice and how it could be changed and improved.

Over time, revalidation should help to improve the quality of care that patients receive by driving improvements in clinical governance.

You can find more information on the .

Fees

If you have full registration you must pay an annual retention fee to maintain your registration. The annual retention fee is usually due on the anniversary of the date on which you were granted full registration.

If you hold provisional registration you must pay a provisional registration fee for the first two years of your registration. From the second anniversary of your provisional registration onwards, you must pay an annual retention fee.

We recommend that you pay your annual retention fee by Direct Debit. You can set up a Direct Debit through GMC Online or by calling us.

If you do not pay your annual retention fee, we will remove your name from the Register and you will no longer be able to practise medicine in the UK.

For more information about fees, how to pay by Direct Debit, other ways to pay, and current fee levels, please see our guidance on fees on the full website.

Updating your details on the Register

Changing your address

It is important for you to make sure that your registered address continues to be reliable and effective throughout your professional life.

The best way to keep your address and other contact details up to date is to change them in our secure web portal, GMC Online, in the My Details section.

To log into GMC Online you will need to visit the GMC Online page on the full website.

Alternatively, you can update your registered address and other contact details using the enquiry form or the phone number on the contact us page. 

Please note that some smart phones do not support full website functionality and you may need to use a computer.

Remember that if you do not maintain a reliable address your name may be removed from the Register.

Changing your name

If you have changed your name (for example on marriage) and you wish to be registered in a different name to the one in which you are currently registered, please download and complete a change of name form from the Updating your details on the Register page on the full website.

3. Working in an approved practice setting (APS)

All UK and International Medical Graduate doctors granted full registration for the first time, and all doctors restoring to full registration after a break in UK practice, are required to work in an APS until their first revalidation. You can read more on the full website.

4. Coming off the Register

If you are not engaged in medical practice or in other work that does not require you to be registered with a licence to practise you can choose to either:

• Relinquish your licence to practise
  The main advantages of relinquishing your licence to practise are that you will pay a reduced annual retention fee during periods when you do not need to be licensed to practise, and you will not be charged a fee if you apply to have your licence to practise restored.
• Relinquish your registration (voluntary erasure)
  The main advantages of voluntary erasure are that you will not have to pay an annual retention fee during periods when you do not need to be registered and you will not be charged a restoration fee if you subsequently apply to have your name restored to the Register.

If you intend to apply to relinquish your licence to practise or take voluntary erasure while employed or contracted as a medical practitioner in the United Kingdom we advise you to discuss the matter with your employer or contracting authority.

You should not assume that your licence to practise has been removed from the Register until you have received confirmation from us.

There is no fee for relinquishing your licence to practise or removing your name from the Register. However if your annual retention fee is overdue on the date we receive your complete application for voluntary erasure, you are required to pay any arrears owing at that time.

Please see our guidance on relinquishing your licence to practise (full website) or guidance on voluntary erasure (full website) for information about how to apply.

5. Licence to practise

If you are currently registered but do not hold a licence to practise you can apply for one. There is no fee to apply for a licence, but the annual retention fee for registration with a licence to practise is higher than for registration only.

Please see our guidance on applying for a licence to practise on the full website.

6. Certificates of proof of entry on the Register

If you lose your registration certificate (or you are planning to work overseas and you are required to provide evidence of your entry on the Register as part of the process), you can view and print a copy of your current entry on the Register through your GMC Online account, or you can contact us and we will provide evidence of your entry on the Register. Please note that we will only send these to your registered address, or to another registration authority. There is no charge for this service.

Please note, printed certificates do not guarantee that a doctor's status on the Register has not changed, nor are they proof of identity. We strongly recommend that employers or other contracting authorities check our online Register for up to date information, or contact us.

7. Certificates of Current Professional Status (Good Standing) (CCPS)

We can issue a CCPS if you intend to work overseas in the near future. You should check whether you need one with the relevant overseas authorities. The CCPS shows that no fitness to practise proceedings are at present in progress or contemplated. A CCPS will not be issued if there is a current or intended investigation in relation to your fitness to practise or if there are any current or past sanctions on your registration.

We will only send the CCPS to another appropriate body – for example, a healthcare regulator or employer. There is no charge for a CCPS. We process requests for a CCPS as quickly as possible, usually within one day. Sometimes we are extremely busy and delays are possible. It is therefore wise to allow as much time as possible for the CCPS to be delivered. If we have your email address or contact numbers we will contact you to let you know when we have processed your CCPS.

CCPS issued by the GMC are only valid for three months from date of issue.

To obtain a CCPS complete the online form which is available on the after registration page on the full website.

8. Insurance and Professional Indemnity

In the performance of all your professional duties, you should abide by the principles set out in Good Medical Practice. Even so, you could become the subject of a complaint or an allegation of negligence during the course of your professional employment. The protection that comes from employment in the UK Health Services is by no means sufficient to cover all situations in which you may find yourself.

There are professional organisations which undertake to protect, support and safeguard the character and interests of registered medical and dental practitioners in the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.

Members receive advice and assistance on legal, ethical and other problems arising from the practice of their profession, including problems that may arise with the GMC itself as the result of allegations of failure to abide by the principles set out in Good Medical Practice. Members may also receive indemnity for damages and costs arising from judicial decisions or settlements out of court and in medico-legal cases undertaken on their behalf, notably accusations of professional negligence.

Further information about the benefits of membership and organisations that offer this service can be found on our Medical Defence Organisations page on the full website.