How to check if your doctor is registered

Use the GMC's online register

Go to the GMC's online register (link below) and enter the doctor's name or 7-digit GMC reference number. The reference number is the most reliable way to find a specific person, because names can repeat. You can usually find a doctor's GMC number on their practice website, on a clinic letterhead, or by asking the doctor or their reception staff directly. By law, doctors must give you their GMC number on request.

If you only have a name, narrow the search by adding a town, region, or specialty. The register lists every UK doctor — over 300,000 records — so a common name on its own may return many results.

What the register tells you

Each entry shows the doctor's name, GMC reference number, year and country of qualification, gender, and registration status. Most importantly, it shows whether they hold a licence to practise. A doctor without a licence to practise cannot prescribe, sign sick notes, or treat NHS patients, even if they are still on the register.

• Registered with a licence to practise — the doctor can practise in the UK
• Registered without a licence — they are on the register but cannot practise
• Suspended — practice is paused for a fixed period after a fitness-to-practise decision
• Erased — they have been struck off and cannot practise (often abbreviated as "erasure")
• Voluntary erasure — they asked to be removed (sometimes during a fitness-to-practise case)

What to do if there is no record

If a doctor's name does not appear in the register at all, they are not licensed to practise medicine in the UK. This is a serious matter. You can report your concern to the GMC; it is also a criminal offence in the UK to imply you are a registered medical practitioner if you are not.

If the person works in a clinical setting (NHS or private), report the concern to the organisation that employs them and to the Care Quality Commission, who regulate the clinic itself. If you are worried someone may be at risk, call 999.

What if there is a fitness-to-practise note?

If the register shows that the doctor has been suspended, has conditions on their practice, or is being investigated, the GMC's entry will say so. Suspensions and conditions are time-limited; the GMC's published page will tell you when the order ends.

MedicWatch keeps a persistent record of fitness-to-practise outcomes that the GMC eventually removes from its register (for example, erasures are removed after ten years). If the GMC's entry does not match what you remember reading, our archive may have the older record.