The day after your PLAB 2 result, the GMC will email you to congratulate you and inform you that you can begin your process for GMC registration.
How to Begin the Process
- Log in to your GMC Online account.
- Click on My Registration.
- Go to My Applications.
- Click on Apply.
- Click on Continue with application
- Click on No (click on Yes if you have EC right).
- Click on No (click on Yes if you want to register as a specialist or a GP).
- If you have completed an acceptable pattern of internship, click on Yes.
- Click on Apply.
The above 9 steps will lead you to the GMC registration form.
GMC Registration Form
This form has 8 sections. Make sure the details that you enter here are correct, as they will stay on your record forever.
1. Internship
Here you will provide details of your internship. You will include the dates and specialty for each rotation separately. Do not put your whole period of internship on one line.
Make sure the details that you enter in this form correlate with the details on your internship certificates.
2. Name Details
Write your full name.
3. Recent Professional Experience
Here you have to provide details of your work experience in the last five years. You also have to account for any gaps between your employment.These gaps include holidays and study breaks.
Each and every single day has to be accounted for. You can not have a gap even for a single day in this section. If applicable, you also have to provide documentary evidence for your activities during these gaps.
4. Registration and Licensing
Here you will provide details of your registration with the local medical authority from the country where you have practiced medicine.
I entered details of my registration with Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.
5. Fitness to Practice – Your Health
Here the GMC wants to know if your health can affect your fitness to practice.
I checked all five boxes with No. But make sure you read properly before answering these questions.
6. Declaration of Fitness to Practice
Here the GMC wants to know if you have had any problems with any law enforcement authorities.
I checked all 12 boxes with No. But make sure you read properly before answering these questions.
7. Final Declaration
Here you will sign a declaration, agreeing to GMC’s rules and regulations.
8. Payment
You have to make an online payment of £425 for your application to proceed.
Providing Documents
As soon as you fill the form and make the payment, GMC will send you an email. In this email, the GMC will ask you to send a PDF file to them, containing scanned copies of the following documents:
- Passport.
- Primary medical qualification certificate (MBBS degree).
- Certificate(s) of good standing.
- Evidence of your knowledge of English (IELTS).
- Evidence of completion of an acceptable pattern of internship (House Job certificates).
. - Employer reference form (only for candidates who have worked without registration).
The GMC will give you 28 days, to send these documents. Otherwise, they will close your application and send you a full refund of your application fee. You would then need to start the application process again.
Application Processing
In the next few days, the GMC will do the following:
1. Check the information that you have provided in your application.
2. Contact you and let you know if they need more information.
3. When you have sent them all the information that they need, and they have checked it, they will give you a decision on your application.
4. If they decide to grant your registration, they will ask you to come for an identity and evidence check. You will be asked to take your original documents with you. You can attend this check only if you have pre-booked an appointment.
ID Check
When to Book Your ID Check?
You can book your ID check appointment even before your result comes out. I booked mine as soon as I took my PLAB 2 exam. It’s best to book your appointment as early as possible, because the dates are booked a few weeks or months in advance.
How Long Would I Have to Complete My ID Check?
You will need to have the ID check completed within three months of your application being approved. If you have not attended the check within three months, you will have to complete a new application.
When to Book Your ID Check For?
If all of your documents are in order, it might be ideal to schedule your ID check appointment 4 or 5 weeks after your PLAB 2 result, just to be on the safe side.
Since I had started my internship in Karachi before I got my PMDC registration, I knew my GMC registration process was going to take slightly longer. So I scheduled my GMC ID check appointment 6 weeks after my PLAB 2 result.
What If My Application Has Not Been Approved By The Time I Have My ID Check?
In this case, you would have to book a new ID check appointment. This is why it’s best to book your ID check appointment 4 to 5 weeks after your PLAB 2 result, just to be safe. And if you know there can be an issue with your documents, it’s best to have even more time before your ID check.
How to Make an Appointment?
Go to your GMC Online account. Click on My Appointments. Book and appointment from here.
Which Documents are Needed at the Appointment?
The GMC will send you a list of documents that you need to take with you. This list contains the documents that you had sent to the GMC earlier via email (except for the IELTS certificate – they do not check IELTS certificate at the ID check).
What Happens at the Appointment?
- You sign a declaration form.
- GMC checks original documents.
- GMC takes a photograph of you, for their records.
How Long Does it Take?
The appointment usually lasts for 20-30 minutes.
When Will I get the Licence to Practice?
If everything checks out, the GMC will award you GMC registration and the licence to practice right there and then. You can check this on the Online Register.
When Will I get the GMC Registration Certificate?
It usually takes the GMC 3-10 days to send your GMC registration certificate at the address specified by you.
Summary of GMC Registration Process
- Fill your online application.
- Send your scanned documents to the GMC.
- Wait for the GMC to process your information.
- Attend your ID check appointment.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How long does the registration process take?
It usually takes 2 to 5 weeks. But it depends on individual cases. My process took 36 days. But out of these 36 days, 26 days were taken by my university to reply to GMC’s email. So if they had replied earlier, I would’ve been free from GMC’s processing in less than 2 weeks.
2. When should I book my GMC registration ID check?
This is a personal choice. I made a good estimate of how long it would take for my application to get approved and I booked my ID check a day after I took PLAB 2.
3. For when should I book my GMC registration ID check?
I start my House Job without registration in my home country; I knew that would require an explanation and it would take time. So I booked my ID check for 6 weeks after my result. And my application was approved only 2 or 3 days before my ID check date.
4. What is a Certificate of Good Standing?
It is a certificate issued by your local medical authority to show that, at the time of issuing the certificate, there are no fitness to practise proceedings in progress against you.
5. If I started my internship in my home country without getting registered with the local medical body, what should I do?
First of all, do not panic. You will get your GMC registration. 🙂
Secondly, ask your employer to fill the employer reference form. Bear in mind that the GMC will email your employer to confirm the details provided in this form.
Lastly, the GMC will email you and ask you for an explanation for this unregistered period of work. You should contact your local medical body. They will issue you a letter which might look like this.
Can you please tell me that since we now have to make an EPIC account and verify our documents throught that, can we now book our ID check sooner? Does this mean that the GMC registration process will be faster?
Thanks in advance
I’m not sure.
It might be best to check with others who have recently been through this. You can check on Facebook groups.
Within how many days after publishing MBBS result i should have to start internship in my medical school? I am planning to start after 1 month. Will it make a problem to get GMC registration?
1. As soon as it becomes available.
2. No.
Hi first of all thanks for the page and helping others.
I am working in Oman since last 5 years My PMDC is already expired. Do I need PMDC renewed for GMC registration as I am obliged to send Good standing from Oman ?
You need CGS from any medical council where you have been registered during the past five years.
Thank you dr.Naseer ,your blog is very helpful.
I have a question regarding internships.my house job started in January n it was obviously under provisional pmdc certificate..now on my full registration the issue month is may so which means first 3 months of my internship is not covered in my full registration time period…now do I need to provide employer reference form n pmdc letter to GMC for these 3 months or not ?
I shall be grateful if you could reply asap,thanks
Would you please tell me what happened in your case
? I’m in the same boat
Asa, Dr.Naseer I am preparing for plab 1 now a days, and I wanted to ask if I have to pass both plab 1&2 before the expiration of my Ielts i.e with in 2 years. Because I have heard that if I apply for GMC registration with an expired Ielts I’ll have to re-take Ielts again. Also, do you have any idea about what documents are needed if your medical college changes it’s affiliating body after you are graduated.( this awarding body is recognized by WHO of course.
How can we book for GMC Id check and even send an application up the GMC for processing without knowing our PLAB 1 and 2 results? Do they ask if you have passed the PLAB during the online application or during ID check? Coz in the document section you did not mention PLAB passing certificate. Thank you
You will apply through your GMC Online account. Your online account will know if you have passed PLAB 2 or Klein.
For employer reference forms how many days prior to the application for GMC can we take the certificate? Thank you
I can be wrong. But from what I remember, there is no limit for this.
Hello, Thank you for your helpful blog. I would like to ask whether the certificate of good standing is an absolute necessity. In my case, I live in a country where medical practice requires you to change the sponsor to your visa and this would cause a ruckus. I do not plan to practice there, and my licensing authority would not grant such a certificate without me having been worked there. What could I do?
It is, if you’ve held registration in that country in the last five years.
Your blog has been amazingly helpful Dr. Naseer
I have a question.
My HJ started 4 months before PMDC provisional registration.
Should I email GMC regarding this on my own? Or send all docs for GMC registration and wait for their query?
The latter.
Hello dr naseer…im applying for gmc registration..im left with 2 options..IMG3 ( full registration with post graduate qualification)
IMG4 (full registration with sponsorship)..in reality i dun have anything…what do i need to do..i recently passed my plab 2 exam.
What about professional experience after graduation?
I wrote my professional experience and did not skip a single day after house job…i tried alot of measures but its not working..
Hi can i please ask how to request pmdc to give us an explanation certificate we can provide to gmc for starting house job before registration.
Post this question on the PLAB 2 and GMC registration group on Facebook people and someone will direct you accordingly. 🙂
Thanks for the good work Dr. I am a non EU graduate and have a complete internship pattern. But have been out of practise since 2015 because I was studying mph in Australia and have been working in a non- medical role since graduation. Some one has told me that if I pass plab two (awaiting result at the moment), GMC might not register me due to over 3 years of not practising. How true is this please? Will I have a problem with gmc giving me registration for being out of practise for 3 years? Do I need additional documents and what might they be? Sorry to bother you and thanks for your help you render to us.
They will probably accept you. But they will ask for an explanation of the gaps. They might ask for additional references from your previous employers.
Hey Naseer. Do we need to verify/certify the housejob certificate through pmdc? Also do we need to get experience certificate from the pmdc or is the good standing certificate sufficient?
1. No.
2A. No.
2B. Yes.
Thank you so much for your help and time 🙂
You’re welcome! 😊
All the best! 🙂
Hey again. I had my pmq attested by the HEC and ministry of foreign affairs. Do I have to do the same for the housejob certificate? Can you please tell me what’s the process like and if I’m missing something? Sorry, but I’m so confused by the bureaucracy 😅
Can you please tell me if you got your housejob certificate attested by anyone? Hec or ministry of foreign affair? Is it required by the gmc? Please if you can answer me, it’s urgent! Thank you
What is house job?
A 12-month period of internship.
If some one has done 12 months housejob/internship in medicine and allied and ,then extra 3 months in surgery.Will this be acceptable to GMC ??? total of 15 months.
I am not sure. I have never come across a 15-month internship.
Hi, Sir I wanted to ask you that I have a gap of 2 years which will be 3 years by the time I clear my Plabs.will this gap effect my gmc registration.i took this break because I moved to uk had a baby and then did IELTS and now preparing for plab 1.
Hi Naseer , is this important that the registeration from local medical council body must be valid while GMC registeration?
No, that is not true. But you will need certificate of good standing from any medical councils you were registered with during the past five years. All the best! 🙂
my heartful thanks to you..dr.naseer. really you have done a wonderful job. you have been the “light” for many people around the world. i have 2 queries.
1.i had a lot of gaps in the past 5 years, just sitting in room as i was preparing for few exams. how can i justify these gap periods, without working.
wont it be a hurdle for gmc registration process?
As long as you completed an acceptable pattern of internship, you will be okay. My friends had ten years of gaps but still got accepted. So will you. All the best! 🙂
hi dr.naseer, my heartful thanks to you. i have a query.
if we had gap in the past 5 years. what to do during gmc registration process. during that period i wasnt working any where. will you please suggest any solution
As long as you have an acceptable pattern of internship, you will be fine. My friend has a ten year gap and she still got accepted. So will you. Just be honest. All the best! 🙂
Nowadays just before the plab 2 exam the I’d check is scheduled.. Do we need to attend another I’d check apart from this for our gmc registration??
No, you do not.
Thanks a lot.. I have 1 more Question.. For Gmc registration what documents (+any mail from their official site or call or salary slip) are required from my employer to show my work experience.. Does experience certificate alone suffice??
Aoa Dr Naseer. I have 2 very strong queries.
My goal is to get past the plab pathway right after my mbbs and join practice through foundation system (fy1 and fy2) through ORIEL.
1. How am I supposed to fill the gmc registration form where the ask “date you finished your education” and “date of passing”. What difference is between the two and how do i know the dates.
2. My final year exams would end next year at around end of January 2020. I need to take plab 1 in march 2020. Is it possible for me to make GMC online account, as well as take plab 1 daye in that time?
Thanks in advance!
1. To be honest, I filled this a long time back and I do not remember this. But you can check Facebook groups to see how others filled this.
2. Yes, it is. All the best! 🙂
What can I do if I can not take my internship in my country?
Some people say that provisional registeration is very hard to get and the chance to have a training job is much harder.
Is that true?
I have booked my GMC Id check and I think it’s very early .can I cancel it and schedule a new date .is there any restriction for cancelling the appointment and rescheduling it
Thank you so much for your help, Dr. Naseer. I have one query about my employer form.
I passed my PLAB2 and started with my EPIC verification. I realised that I have worked without registration for 16 days (I had already applied for my permanent registration before starting work). So I did get my employer to sign my GEN1 employer reference form. Other than this, do I need a form from my registered Council too, on similar lines?
Thanking you in advance.