Applying for specialist or GP registration

Certificate of completion of training (CCT)

A certificate of completion of training confirms a doctor has completed an approved UK training programme and is eligible for entry onto the Specialist Register or GP Register.

If you have completed approved UK training you should read our CCT guidance.

Portfolio pathway

This guide explains the process for making an application to join the Specialist Register or GP Register through the portfolio pathway.

Each curriculum has its own specialty specific guidance (SSG), which gives details about the evidence you need to send us. The application form gives a brief overview of what’s needed for each area, but the SSG has much more information.

Make sure your CV meets our guidance for specialist applications and accurately reflects your employment history.

Starting your application

We’ve created an interactive application user guide which will show you the steps you will go through in the online application.

When you start your application, we will send you guidance and support for your specialty.

If you have a question which isn’t covered in our guidance, you can contact our specialist applications team via 0161 923 6602 or portfolio@gmc-uk.org. Our core office hours are 8 am–5 pm.

Building your application

You should submit evidence to us, which shows how you meet the specialty specific guidance (SSG).

A successful application:

• groups evidence together
• contains evidence which meets the requirements of your specialty
• has clear descriptions of any documents
• has titles which match what is written on the proforma.

Reflect the specialty specific guidance

It’s important to make your evidence easy to follow. If your evidence isn’t clearly labelled, we will return it to you. Be sure to follow any naming conventions provided in the SSG (these may vary between specialties).

Don’t provide the same piece of evidence more than once. You can cross-reference evidence in the summary you provide.

Bear in mind that reviewers will be looking to see how your evidence meets the SSG and high level outcomes for your specialty.

Verification

You must have a verifier for the evidence you submit. A verifier is someone in a position of clinical leadership who can confirm that the information in a document reflects what you have done. Make sure your verifiers see the guidance when they agree to be your verifier, so they know what will be expected of them.

Referees

Make sure you nominate appropriate referees for your application. Requirements can vary, so check the SSG for your specialty for more information on who you should nominate.

Guidance on choosing referees.

Anonymisation

It’s important that you anonymise your evidence. We have a responsibility as an organisation that handles data to make sure that information about patients and trainees isn’t shared. As such, we can’t share any evidence that doesn’t meet anonymisation requirements with the royal college or faculty who assess your application.

Authenticate certificate

If you have certificates from overseas, make sure you get them authenticated by a solicitor or the awarding body.

Working with your adviser

The clearer your evidence, the easier it is for your adviser to make sure it meets the requirements.

Improving your application

Your adviser will be an expert in this process. You have a better chance of getting a positive response where you take advice and use this as an opportunity to improve your application.

We’ve created an interactive application user guide which will show you the steps you will go through in the online application.

Submitting your application for evaluation

Once you and your adviser are happy with your application, you’ll need to close the application. We then prepare it to be submitted for evaluation.

Based on the recommendation of your assessors, we’ll either add you to the Specialist or GP Register or inform you why you haven’t been successful.

If your application is unsuccessful

If you are unsuccessful or you believe your evidence hasn’t been appropriately assessed, you can either:

• appeal the decision within 28 days of the decision being made
• resubmit an updated application, which you can do working with our advisers. You have 12 months in which to resubmit your application and in the majority of cases is successful.

Find your application route and apply 

For more detailed, step by step guidance on submitting your application or if you’re ready to apply you should use our application route finder.

Recognised specialist qualification (RSQ)

If you have a question which isn’t covered in our guidance, you can contact our specialist applications team via 0161 923 6602 or rsqapps@gmc-uk.org. Our core office hours are 8 am–5 pm.

To be eligible to apply for this route your qualification must be listed on our recognised specialist qualification list. If your specialist qualification is listed, but you do not already hold full registration you should apply for full registration with a licence to practise and entry onto the Specialist Register at the same time.

If your qualification was awarded more than three years ago, you’ll also need to provide us with some additional documentation:

CV and professional experience

You should submit a full CV in line with our CV guidance. This should match the information provided in the ‘work experience’ section of your application.

Any gaps in employment of more than 28 days should be recorded in your application.

Structured reports

Please make sure you’ve read the guidance for you and your referees.

You should provide a structured report that:

• covers your most recent period of practice in the specialty you have applied in
• is completed by a colleague at consultant level in the specialty.

If you have not practised in the specialty you have applied in for more than three years, you may also wish to provide a structured report from a colleague who has worked with you more recently. An example of this would be if you have sub-specialised your practice since being awarded your recognised Specialist qualification.

You should also check if any additional references are required as listed for your recognised specialist qualification.

You should ask the referee to complete our reference form. You will need to provide their contact information in the ‘Referee details’ area of your online application and upload a copy of the reference in ‘Your evidence’.

We will contact your referees to verify the reports as part of the application process. If they are registered with the GMC, we will contact them by their registered email. You should provide a professional contact email for overseas referees who are not registered with the GMC.

Evidence to show you’ve maintained your practice in your specialty

As well as your CV and references we’ll need to see evidence of maintained practice in the specialty you were awarded your RSQ. You can do this in a number of ways:

Relevant postgraduate qualifications

• Have you passed a UK royal college exam since being awarded your RSQ?
• Have you completed a postgraduate fellowship/subspecialty training since being awarded your RSQ?

Postgraduate qualifications will need to be verified by our third party provider.

Appraisal and revalidation

If you’re working in the UK health services, you can submit evidence of UK appraisal. We hold a record of your revalidation history.

If you have only worked outside the UK, you can submit appraisal or similar system showing the breadth of your practice. If you are subject to a reaccreditation or process similar to revalidation in an overseas system, you may wish to provide evidence of this if it shows you have maintained practice in your specialty.

Evidence of this kind needs to be sent to RSQapps@gmc-uk.org by your appraiser from their GMC registered email address or a professional email address if not registered with the GMC. They should clearly state your name and GMC number in any correspondence.

Continuous professional development (CPD)

CPD is another way to demonstrate you have maintained your practice in the specialty you were awarded your RSQ. The most relevant evidence of CPD will be from the most recent three years of your practice, and we suggest a mix of the following:

• Clinical credits any event in which the educational content directly relates to clinical topics in the specialty you were awarded your qualification. These could include:
  • Completing training courses
  • Completing online and E learning
  • Other structured, formal forms of learning
• External credits given for events outside your hospital such as attending workshops, conferences, seminars and study days. These may be regional, national or international meetings, and are often held by specialist societies, or are meetings that attendees pay for.
• Internal credits are events within or organised by the hospital/trust, or provided solely for local clinicians. Eg hospital grand rounds, journal clubs, clinico-pathological conferences, local evening medical meetings, etc.
• Personal credits relate to study such as private reading, lecturing, researching etc.

To demonstrate this, you could submit: 

• Certificates relating to CPD activity with accompanying event programmes (if applicable)
• Records of CPD activity. This could be in the form of:
  • a personal log of CPD activity
  • a CPD diary from a royal college or faculty CPD system
• Reflections on significant CPD activity which demonstrates your maintained practice.

We have guidance on CPD which may help you decide what is relevant for your RSQ application.

We will then consider this evidence along with your CV, work experience and references to confirm if we can grant your specialist or GP registration. If the decision maker on your application is unable to make a decision based on the evidence submitted, they may ask you to provide further documentation before making a final decision on your application. 

Primary source verification

You’ll need to have your recognised Specialist or GP qualification independently verified by our provider before we can grant your application. Read about what primary source verification means for you.