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Revalidation for responsible officers and suitable persons

Every licensed doctor who practises medicine must revalidate. Revalidation helps to develop better practice, drives improvement in clinical governance and give patients confidence that doctors are up to date. This page provides responsible officers, suitable persons and their teams with step-by-step guidance and resources to support your connected doctors to revalidate. Patients and members of the public can also find out more about revalidation.

More information about revalidation for doctors

A Responsible officer and doctor sitting talking at a desk

Find your connection for revalidation

Use this tool to find out your revalidation connection or to support doctors to find their connection. You will be supported to step-by-step information on how you should revalidate based on the answers you give.

Find my connection

Your responsibilities in relation to revalidation

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Responsible officers

See the steps you need to take as a responsible officer.

1

Understand your responsibilities

Read our detailed checklist of revalidation and information sharing responsibilities for responsible officers, designated bodies and locum agencies.

Preparing for revalidation

2

Manage your connections

Maintain your list of connected doctors. If you're unsure about a doctor’s connection, ask them to use our connection tool.

Connection tool

3

Manage appraisals

Make sure connected doctors have access to appraisals which fulfil our requirements below.

The Good medical practice framework for appraisal and revalidation (pdf)

Supporting information guide

4

Make recommendations

Read our step-by-step guide to when and how to make recommendations.

Making recommendations

Suitable persons

See the steps you need to take as a suitable person.

1

Understand your responsibilities

Find out how to become a suitable person and read our detailed checklist of your revalidation and information sharing responsibilities.

Guide to preparing for revalidation

2

Manage your connections

Maintain your list of connected doctors. If you're unsure about a doctor’s connection, ask them to use our connection tool.

Connection tool

3

Manage appraisals

Make sure connected doctors have access to appraisals which fulfil our requirements below.

The Good medical practice framework for appraisal and revalidation (pdf)

Supporting information guide

4

Make recommendations

Read our step-by-step guide to when and how to make recommendations.

Making recommendations

You can download our full guide for responsible officers and suitable persons as a PDF.

The GMC protocol for making revalidation recommendations: Guidance for responsible officers and suitable persons

Effective governance to support medical revalidation: A handbook for boards and governing bodies

Doctors with a connection to a designated body

See the steps you need to take to revalidate.

Doctors with a connection to a suitable person

See the steps you need to take to revalidate.

Doctors without a connection

See the steps you need to take to revalidate.

Doctors in training

See the steps you need to take to revalidate.

A Responsible officer and doctor sitting talking at a desk

Revalidation resources

These resources support you and your connected doctors with revalidation.

Revalidation resources

Quick links

Useful links

Responsible officer hub

Access everything you need as a responsible officer or suitable person.

Monitoring and evaluating revalidation

See our work to monitor the implementation and impact of revalidation.

Managing and responding to concerns about revalidation

See how we respond to concerns about revalidation recommendations.

Guidance for decision makers

See how we make decisions relating to revalidation.

Contact us

If you have any further queries about revalidation, you can call us: 0161 923 6277 (+44 from outside the UK). Or you can email us.

The General Medical Council

We help to protect patients and improve medical education and practice in the UK by setting standards for students and doctors. We support them in achieving and exceeding those standards, and take action when they are not met.

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