Specialist Registration FAQ

Any doctor wishing to take up a substantive, honorary or fixed term consultant appointment in the NHS must be on the General Medical Council’s Specialist Register. There is no requirement for locum consultants to be on the Specialist Register, though it is a College recommendation that locum consultants hold such registration. See our Guidelines for the appointment of career-grade locum pathologists, Mar 2005.

• Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) – For doctors who have satisfactorily completed a recognised UK training programme
• CESR (CP) – The CESR through the Combined Programme (CP) route is for doctors who have been appointed to a GMC approved deanery specialist/specialty training programme above ST1 level and who have not completed all of their training in posts approved by the GMC for the specialty to which they have been appointed.
• CESR (CCT specialty) – For doctors with a combination of training, qualifications and experience in a CCT specialty obtained anywhere in the world.
• CESR (non-CCT specialty) – For doctors with a combination of training, qualifications and experience in a non-CCT specialty obtained anywhere in the world.
• CESR (Academic and Research Medicine) - For doctors with knowledge and skills they have gained through academic or research work are consistent with practice as a consultant
• Entry for European Economic Area (EEA) nationals who hold a recognised specialist medical qualification from another European Member State
• Existing specialists - For doctors who have been consultants in the NHS since before 1 January 1997.

Trainees are eligible to apply for a consultant post provided that they are in possession of the FRCPath Part 2 and the expected date of award of their Certificate of Completion of Training (or recognised equivalent, if outside the UK) falls no more than six months after the date of interview for the consultant post.

There will be some other instances (for example, when considering applicants trained outside the UK) where an Advisory Appointment Committee may choose to interview a candidate prior to Specialist Register entry although, in these circumstances, it will wish to be satisfied that subsequent Specialist Register entry is likely.

It should be noted that a CESR application normally takes over six months from start to finish and there are no guarantees about the final outcome.

Doctors must be listed on the Specialist Register in order to take up any consultant appointment they may have been offered.

Since January 1997, it has been a legal requirement that a doctor must be on the Specialist Register in order to take up a substantive, fixed term or honorary consultant post in the NHS.

Doctors who have been working as a consultant in the NHS prior to 1 January 2007 should apply for entry to the Specialist Register as an existing specialist.

Consultants who are not eligible for entry to the Specialist Register via the existing specialist route are likely to have to apply for entry via CESR but they can seek advice from the GMC and the Training Department at the College prior to beginning an application.

Yes. Comprehensive information is available on the GMC website.

The Training Department will email you within one month of you passing the FRCPath Part 2 examination with details about how to apply for entry to the Specialist Register. Alternatively, trainees who meet the criteria for the award of the CCT can contact the Training Coordinator at the College for application details. There are two stages to the CCT application process:

1. GMC online: This is GMC’s online application system. The College will send the GMC your details when you are within six months of your CCT date. The GMC will then invite you to make your application around four months before your completion of training date

2. Completion of a Royal College of Pathologists notification form which, along with guidance notes, can be downloaded from the training area on the College website at any time. Alternatively, the notification form can be requested from the Training Department at the College.

It takes up to 15 days for the College to process a CCT application and then recommend to the GMC for a CCT. This is subject to the receipt of full and correct documentation being submitted to the College.

This is set by and made payable to the General Medical Council. A list of fees is available on the GMC's website. 

The current fee is £500. This is set by and made payable to the General Medical Council.

Shortly after you pass the FRCPath Part 2 examination, The Training Department will send you details about how to apply for entry to the Specialist Register. Alternatively, if you meet the criteria for the CESR through the CP route you can contact the Training and Educational Standards Department at the College to request a CESR (CP) application pack or download the guidance notes and notification form from the College website at any time.

In the case of the latter, however, trainees must still contact the Training Department for a GMC CESR (CP) application pack.

Applicants are strongly advised not to submit their CESR application to the General Medical Council before seeking advice and guidance from the Training team. Please email [email protected] for further advice.

Any doctor who has obtained their qualifications and/or experience outside of the EU (EEA), or who has achieved their competencies outside of a GMC-approved approved training programme within the EU. To be eligible to apply under this route, you must have either a specialist qualification in the specialty you apply in or at least 6 months continuous specialist training in the specialty you apply in.

A doctor who has obtained the UK CCT or a European recognised EU (EEA) specialist qualification – as they may be automatically entitled to entry onto the Specialist Register.

Yes, you would be able to apply for the CESR and have your application assessed, but you would not be awarded the CESR until you had obtained full GMC registration.

The application is made directly to the GMC. Full details of the application process are available on the GMC website.

Candidates should also refer to the GMC’s Specialty Specific Guidance along with the current CCT curriculum in your specialty.

Applications are assessed by the College’s equivalence committee and a recommendation is made to the GMC. It is a recommendation rather than a decision, as the GMC do not have to agree with the College’s recommendation and can issue their own decision.

Information can be found in both the Specialty Specific Guidance and Generic Guidance available on the GMC and College websites. Applicants should also have a look at the relevant curriculum. Applicants should read this guidance very carefully because it defines the type of evidence applicants should provide to demonstrate their equivalence to a new UK CCT holder.

No. The College can provide advice on the type of evidence required but will not review your application before submission nor provide any indication as to the likely success of the application. Applicants are encouraged to read the specialty specific guidance and generic guidance very carefully before submitting their application to the GMC.

The GMC are responsible for determining when a CESR application is complete. Applicants must receive a decision about their application within three months of their application being deemed complete by the GMC. Once an application is deemed complete, it is sent to the Training Department at the College and an evaluation is returned to the GMC within 36 working days. The GMC then follow their own process before communicating a decision to applicants.

The current fee is £1,727. This is set by and made payable to the General Medical Council.

You would be able to submit a review application within 12 months of receiving the decision letter regarding the outcome of your application. This would involve submitting the evidence that you did not submit in the first application. Alternatively, under specific circumstances, you would be able to appeal against the decision.