Annual Retention Fee confirmed for 2027

We have today announced that the Annual Retention Fee (ARF) for 2027 will be £720 for dentists and £111 for dental care professionals (DCPs). 

The ARF will rise by 3.1%, in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) in August 2026. The increase is driven by the year-on-year growth in the number of fitness to practise (FtP) concerns reported to us. Our Council agreed the 2027 fee today when it approved our business plan for 2027-2029. 

The number of FtP concerns reported to us rose to 1,766 in 2025, a 26% increase from the 1,401 in 2024, and up from 1,134 in 2020. The number of open cases at the assessment stage rose by 35% to 761 by the end of 2025. This growth means we cannot improve the timeliness of the FtP process as quickly as we want to. 

The increase in the ARF from 2027 will be used to invest in the necessary additional resources to deal with the immediate demands on FtP and start work on longer-term improvements. 

Last year we committed that any increase to the ARF in 2027 and 2028 would not exceed the annual rate of CPI, other than in exceptional circumstances. The 2027 fee is in line with that commitment. The increase is £22 a year for dentists (£698 in 2026) and £3 a year for DCPs (£108 in 2026). 

Dr Helen Phillips, Chair of the GDC, said: 

“We said last year that any increase would not exceed CPI, and Council has kept to that. We don’t underestimate what it means to ask dental professionals to pay more, and Council scrutinised the business plan carefully, including its impact on registrants, before setting the fee for 2027.” 

We are bringing our current and future improvements to FtP together into a single programme that will further improve the experience for all participants, maintain the quality of decision-making and reduce the time it takes to conclude cases. We need to do this within the parameters of our existing legislation, but we will also challenge how we interpret that legislation, while designing the most efficient processes to deal with cases fairly but quickly. 

We have already identified savings to offset against increased expenditure and will continue to do so. Our business plan for 2027 is on track. 

Tom Whiting, Chief Executive and Registrar of the GDC, said: 

“We have not taken this decision lightly. We know that dental professionals want fitness to practise investigations to be quicker and less stressful, and so do we. We are receiving many more concerns than we did a few years ago and need the right resources in place to deal with them fairly and promptly. The sustained increase in the volume of concerns being received creates a challenging environment which we will need to take further steps to address in future years. 

“We want this investment to make a real difference to people going through the process. We will engage with stakeholders and dental professionals in the months ahead to share more information about the challenges and seek feedback on our approach.”