• working in the National Health Service (NHS)
• prescribing drugs, the sale of which is restricted by law
• signing medical certificates required for statutory purposes (e.g. death certificates)

The process for gaining registration with the GMC is dependent on the country where you obtained your primary medical qualification and your nationality. There are four main groups of doctors for the purpose of registration which determines the type of registration with the GMC they are eligible for:

• doctors qualifying from a UK medical school are eligible for provisional and full registration
• doctors qualifying in another EEA country who are EEA nationals are eligible for full registration and are also eligible for provisional registration if their medical education includes a period of postgraduate clinical training
• doctors qualifying in the following countries: Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the West Indies may be eligible for provisional and full registration
• doctors who qualify in a non-EEA country may be eligible for limited and full registration

There are various categories of registration. The main ones are:

• full registration - for doctors who have completed a period of supervised training
• limited registration - for doctors from outside the EEA who come to the UK for supervised postgraduate training
• provisional registration - for doctors from the UK and EEA in their first year of supervised postgraduate training
• specialist registration - for doctors who wish to take up a consultant post in a medical or surgical specialty

Doctors need full registration for unsupervised medical practice in the NHS or private practice in the UK. Overseas qualified doctors (except EEA) should note that there will be language test requirements, and work permit regulations to be met if the post is not a hospital training post. There are also additional regulations for entering general practice.

Doctors who hold a primary medical qualification recognised by the GMC for the purpose of full registration may apply for full registration. These are doctors who have obtained their primary medical qualification in the UK, in the EEA (provided they are also EEA nationals), or at selected medical schools in the following countries: Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, West Indies and Malaysia before 1990.

Please note that overseas qualified doctors who are applying for full registration are required to sit the IELTS test (Academic module) and score 7.0 or above in each band before they can be granted registration. Please note that UK nationals with overseas/EEA medical qualifications are required to sit the IELTS Test.


Doctors applying for limited registration will need to check that they have a primary medical qualification that is recognized by the GMC. For details of overseas primary medical qualifications accepted by the GMC, please refer to the World Health Organisation web site on our Useful Links page. At least one year's acceptable pre-registration (internship) training is required and should be completed overseas preferably. Doctors must also pass, or be exempt from, the PLAB test.

Limited registration may be granted only for employment supervised by a fully registered medical practitioner in training posts in hospitals or other institutions, which have been educationally approved by a Royal College or Faculty (or in Scotland by one of the Regional Postgraduate Committees). Limited registration is granted for up to a total of five years of training (not necessarily five continuous years).

In certain circumstances limited registration may be granted for pre-registration house officer posts in the UK, but this is uncommon.

It may be possible to transfer from limited registration to full registration if a doctor has demonstrated the ability to practice satisfactorily as a Senior House Officer (SHO) in the UK. A doctor may also be able to transfer to full registration if he or she has 're-qualified', i.e. has taken a University or alternative primary medical qualification in Britain administered by the United Examining Board.


This is given to UK doctors who hold qualifications recognised by the GMC for full registration and who are undertaking their pre-registration (internship) year in the UK. After successful completion of their pre-registration year these doctors may convert to full registration. For EEA nationals who have qualified in an EEA member state this type of registration is known as 'pre-registration limited registration'.


The GMC also maintains a specialist register. Since 1 January 1997, it has been a legal requirement that any doctor wishing to take up a consultant post (other than a locum consultant assignment) in a medical or surgical specialty must be included in the specialist register.

It is not possible to hold specialist registration without also holding full, limited or temporary registration.

Although it is not a legal requirement, doctors wishing to work unsupervised in private practice in the UK will also need to hold specialist registration as many major private health insurers only recognize doctors who are included in the specialist register.

	Annual Retention fee1	£290.00
	Restoration fee2	£290.00
	Limited registration (initial application for 12 months)	£390.00
	Limited registration (initial application for 18 months)	£535.00
	Limited registration (renewal application for 12 months)	£290.00
	Limited registration (renewal application for 2 years)	£580.00
	Limited to full registration	£390.00
	Full registration for EEA, Swiss & UK qualified doctors	£290.00
	Full registration for doctors holding overseas qualifications	£390.00
	Visiting overseas doctors	£390.00
	Provisional registration for UK & EEA qualified doctors	£100.00

¹ This fee is an annual renewal payment once a candidates' registration application has been granted.

² A restoration fee is applicable when a doctor has previously held GMC registration and has been erased from the register for non payment of fees or has voluntarily withdrawn their membership and now wishes to return to the GMC register.


Please read the pages concerning professional requirements and the required language testing before proceeding. For further information on the GMC and the registration procedure, please visit the GMC web site on our Useful Links page.