Blog / Eligibility and screening questions

Can you apply for NHS jobs before GMC registration?

By the Health Job Scout team · 4 min read · Fact-checked 25 October 2026

If you are an international medical graduate (IMG), you have probably passed PLAB, or you are about to, and your GMC registration is not through yet. Jobs are being advertised now. Do you wait, or apply? It depends on the employer, and this post shows you where to find the answer for each job.

Can you apply for NHS jobs before GMC registration? The short answer

It depends on the employer. There is no single national rule, so check the person specification for each job. What is fixed is that you must be on the UK medical register, with a licence to practise, before you start clinical work.

When you must be registered

The BMA says you need to be on the UK medical register before you can do any clinical work or write prescriptions in the UK, and that you must have your registration in place before you start your job. For a first Foundation post, the GMC says you must have provisional registration with a licence to practise before you start F1. Applying to a job is one step. Being allowed to work is another.

You also do not need a job offer to apply to the GMC. The Royal College of Surgeons notes that international medical graduates can apply to the GMC directly, without an offer of employment first. So the two can run side by side.

What varies by employer

Whether a pending registration is acceptable at the application stage varies by employer. We have not found an official national rule on this, so we won't invent one. Look in three places:

• The person specification. Check whether registration is listed as essential, and whether it says "at the time of application" or "by the start date".
• The advert and the further particulars. Look for wording about registration, a licence to practise, or visa sponsorship.
• The named contact. Adverts list someone for informal enquiries. Ask in writing and save the reply. Our guide to NHS job titles for overseas doctors helps you read the advert itself.

If a form asks whether you hold GMC registration and yours is only applied for, answer with what is true today. Applied for is not the same as registered. See our posts on answering pre-screening questions and why honesty matters on applications.

Which registration applies to you

The type you apply for depends on whether you have completed an acceptable internship. The Royal College of Surgeons describes the split like this: if you have completed an acceptable internship you can apply for full registration, and if not you apply for provisional registration. Check the GMC's own guides for your situation, and read our post on jobs after PLAB beyond FY2 if you are weighing which posts to target. When you are ready to apply to the GMC, our post on GMC registration after PLAB: the steps in order lists the documents and the identity check.

How long does GMC registration take for IMGs?

The BMA says registration typically takes one to three months, and advises allowing plenty of time. Much of that wait is often verification of your medical degree.

How long does EPIC verification take?

The GMC checks your primary medical qualification with your medical school through ECFMG's EPIC service. ECFMG says the time depends on how quickly your medical school verifies your qualification, and it advises starting well before you apply to the GMC, because the GMC closes an application after 90 days.

These are not official figures. In our experience, EPIC verification takes approximately two months in most cases, and once it is done the GMC step often takes approximately one week. Your medical school may be faster or slower, so treat that as a rough guide and start verification early.

After an offer

An offer is normally subject to pre-employment checks. The Royal College of Physicians lists ID documents, GMC registration evidence and overseas police certificates among them, and says the process can take up to 8 weeks. If your registration is still pending when you receive an offer, tell the employer where it stands and keep the start date in mind. Our application checklist covers what to have ready.

Questions to ask the employer

• Is GMC registration with a licence to practise essential at the time of application, or by the start date?
• Will you consider an application while my GMC registration is pending?
• What is the expected start date, and what happens if my registration is not granted by then?

The short version

Health Job Scout emails you NHS junior doctor jobs as they are published. Start your free 3-day trial, no card needed.