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Key facts about registration

Dentists and dental care professionals must be registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) before they can practise in the UK. Before you make your online application, you must:

  1. Read the tailored guidance that applies to your circumstances. For example, if you qualified in the UK and wish to register as a dentist, please read our guidance for UK qualified dentists and DCPs. If you qualified overseas and wish to register as a DCP, please read our guidance for overseas qualified DCPs
  2. Set up an online account. Please contact us if you require a reasonable adjustment
  3. Complete the route to registration questionnaire
  4. Apply online.

Please remember it is illegal to practise dentistry in the UK before a registration number is issued.

Translation of documents

Any document or certification that is not in English must be accompanied by a certified (signed) translation. This includes translation of any stamps or statements written by the person certifying a photocopy of your document.

A certified translation is an exact translation from the original language into English made by a qualified translator.

The translation must be on the company letter head and include the translator’s signature, name and address.

Please read the guidance that applies to your route to registration for information on who can certify your documents.

Evidence of name change

If your name is not the same on all supporting documentation, you must provide a copy of your marriage certificate, divorce certificate or statutory declaration confirming your name change, which has been certified correctly (read the guidance for your route to registration for information on who can certify your documents).

Certificate of Good Standing/Certificate of Current Professional Status

If you have been working outside the UK as a dental professional before your first registration with the GDC, you must contact the dental authority/regulator in the country where you last worked and ask them to email [email protected] with an original Certificate of Good Standing (CGS) or Certificate of Current Professional Status (CCPS).

The CGS/CCPS must confirm that:

  • You are legally entitled to practise
  • You have not been suspended, disqualified or prohibited from working as a dental professional.

The certificate must be no more than three months old at the time of registration.

English language

All applicants who qualified outside the UK must provide recent, objective evidence that you can read, write, listen and interact effectively in English with patients, relatives and other healthcare professionals in relation to your role as a dental professional. Examples of the types of evidence we will accept are:

  • A certificate showing a pass score of at least 7 in the academic International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam, with a score of at least 6.5 in each category
  • Certificate showing a recent primary dental qualification that has been taught and examined in English, plus a structured reference form [add link] from your university confirming this
  • Certificate showing a recent pass in a language test for registration with a regulatory authority in a country where the first language is English
  • A structured reference and employment contract showing recent experience of practising in a country where the first and native language is English

For more information, please read our English language controls guidance.

Health declaration

You must provide information about your health and further information about any relevant health conditions that may affect, or have affected, the safety of patients, people you work with, or your ability to do your job safely.

While not a definitive list, examples of conditions we would expect to know about are:

  • Uncorrected visual impairment
  • The presence of any infectious disease, blood-borne virus (tuberculosis, hepatitis B) or other transmissible disease
  • Prescribed medication which substantially impairs the immune response
  • Psychiatric disease or concerns
  • Alcohol or drug related concerns.

Please see Health declarations for more information.

If you do declare a health condition, you will need to upload any supporting evidence, such as a statement from your GP/specialist confirming you are fit to work or anything else you feel is relevant to your condition.

Convictions and cautions

You must tell us about any previous convictions and cautions, including those considered ‘spent’ (other than a protected caution or protected conviction). This is because the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 does not apply to an application to join the GDC register. Please read Reporting matters to the GDC for detailed information.

If you do declare a conviction or caution, you will need to upload any supporting evidence such as a DBS check, any documentation relating to your conviction or caution, and a statement from you detailing how you feel about the incident and what occurred.

We also need to know whether you have been the subject of any professional disciplinary proceedings in the past, or whether any are being considered against you, by a regulatory or licensing body in the UK or any other country. See Reporting matters to the GDC for more information.

If you do declare that you are or have been subject to professional disciplinary proceedings, you will need to upload any supporting evidence such as any outcome reports, recommendations or conditions put in place as a result of the proceedings, and anything else you feel is relevant to share.

Responsibilities of the Registrar

The Registrar is responsible for making the decision on your application to join the GDC register. This includes checking that you meet the legal requirements for registration and that the information you provide is complete and accurate.

In the UK, only people who are registered with the GDC can practise dentistry.