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GMC registration after PLAB: the steps in order

By the Health Job Scout team · 5 min read · Fact-checked 28 October 2026

You have passed PLAB. Next you need to get onto the UK medical register, and that is mostly paperwork. This post follows the GMC's own guide for international medical graduates (IMGs) so you can see what to prepare, and in what order. It is general information, not advice for your case. The GMC pages are the final word.

How to register with the GMC as an IMG: which route applies

The GMC's guide for full registration with a licence to practise is for doctors who graduated from a medical school outside the UK or Switzerland, who have passed both parts of PLAB within the past two years, and who have completed an internship. If you have not completed an internship, you would look at the GMC's provisional registration guide instead. The GMC says you must hold provisional registration with a licence to practise before you start your first year of the Foundation Programme (F1). Our post on jobs after PLAB beyond FY2 covers how that choice fits with the posts you target.

What counts as an internship

For the full registration route, the GMC asks for at least 12 months of continuous medical practice in an approved training post in a public hospital, done either just before or just after you graduated. It must include at least three months in medicine and three months in surgery. Compare the GMC's internship page with your own certificate before you apply, so you know early if anything is missing.

Start these first

Two items are slow, and neither is fully in your hands. Start them before you open your application:

• Primary source verification. The GMC says your medical degree must be independently verified before it can grant registration with a licence to practise. You will be asked for your MyIntealth ID in the application. We cover the EPIC step in our post on applying before GMC registration.
• Certificates of good standing. The GMC wants one from every regulator you have been registered or licensed with in the last five years, and each regulator sets its own pace, so ask early.

GMC licence to practise documents

You apply through GMC Online. Here is what the full registration guide lists:

• A scanned copy of your primary medical qualification certificate, the one you were given when you qualified, and the same document you sent for verification. It must show the exact date you passed your final exam. If it does not, the GMC asks for a letter from your university confirming that date.
• Evidence of your internship.
• Evidence of your knowledge of English. The simplest route is an IELTS or OET certificate that meets the GMC's minimum scores and was awarded within the last two years. Some doctors do not need it: if you are a national of a country where English is the first and native language, and your degree was awarded in such a country, check the GMC's English language guidance.
• Your passport.
• Certificates of good standing, as described above.
• Your activities for the last five years, your registration and licensing history, and your work history.
• A fitness to practise declaration.
• Translations of any document that is not in English.

That is a long list, so put everything in one folder before you open GMC Online. Answer every question truthfully and keep your dates the same across documents. Our post on why honesty matters on applications applies here as well.

The fee

You cannot submit the application without paying the registration fee. The GMC's fees page lists the current amounts, including a non-refundable scrutiny fee. We have not copied a figure here because fees change, so check the GMC page on the day you apply.

The identity check

Before it grants your application, the GMC needs you to complete a digital identity check. You do it in its approved app with a valid passport, EEA identity card or full UK driving licence. Check that the document is in date before you start.

How long it takes

The GMC aims for an initial assessment within five working days, provided your application is complete. It will email you with updates, and it may ask for more information or refer your application for advice. If you meet every requirement, it emails you to confirm your registration. Your application information is valid for three months, which is the longest the GMC can keep it open.

The five days only count once everything is attached, so they are not the whole wait. The BMA gives a wider estimate of one to three months and says much of that is often verification of your degree, which is why we suggest starting verification first. We quote it in our earlier post.

After you are registered: the approved practice setting

If your application succeeds, you must work in an approved practice setting until you first revalidate, the GMC says. That is an organisation able to give you the supervision, support and training you need and to act on any fitness to practise concerns. Before you accept an offer, check with the employer whether it is an approved practice setting. Our application checklist has a place for this question.

GMC registration after PLAB: the short version

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