GMC Registration Check and Licence to Practise for Locum Agencies

A trust rings at 4pm on a Friday: their emergency department needs a middle-grade locum for the weekend. You have a doctor available, the rate is agreed, and the booking goes out. On Monday the trust's medical staffing team flags that the doctor's register entry shows a condition on their practice that the rota manager was never told about. Nobody at your agency had looked at the entry since the doctor joined.

A GMC registration check is the foundation of every locum doctor file. It confirms that the doctor is on the medical register, whether they hold a licence to practise, whether they are on the Specialist or GP Register, and whether any restrictions apply. It is free, quick and public, but it only protects you if it is done at the right times, read properly and recorded.

This is part 2 of our UK Document Explainers series. Here we walk through what the register shows, how to run a GMC register search, what each entry means for a locum booking, and how to build locum doctor agency compliance that holds up when a client or framework auditor asks for evidence.

Registration vs licence to practise

These two terms are often used interchangeably, and that causes mistakes.

Registration

Registration means the doctor's name is on the medical register held by the General Medical Council. It shows their primary medical qualification has been accepted and they have met the GMC's requirements.

Licence to practise

A GMC licence to practise is what allows a registered doctor to carry out the activities restricted to licensed doctors in the UK, such as prescribing and working in a medical post. A doctor can be registered without a licence: for example, a doctor who has retired from clinical work or is working overseas may keep their registration but give up the licence.

For locum bookings, the question is simple: a doctor working clinically in the UK needs to be registered with a licence to practise. "Registered without a licence" is not enough to work as a doctor.

Revalidation

Licensed doctors must revalidate, normally every five years, through their designated body and its responsible officer. Under the Responsible Officer regulations, some locum agencies (in England, those on certain national procurement frameworks) are themselves designated bodies with their own responsible officer for the doctors connected to them; check NHS England's revalidation guidance to see whether this applies to you. Whether or not your agency is one, the register entry tells you who the doctor's designated body is, which helps you understand who oversees their appraisal and revalidation.

How to run a GMC register search

The register is on the GMC website and is free to use. You can search by GMC reference number or by name. Always use the reference number where you have it: names are shared, and a reference number points to one doctor.

What to look at on the entry

• Registration status: registered with a licence, registered without a licence, or not registered.
• Specialist Register and GP Register entries: whether the doctor is on either register and, for the Specialist Register, in which specialty.
• Conditions, undertakings or warnings: any restrictions or published warnings appear on the entry. Read them. Some conditions limit the settings or types of work a doctor can do.
• Suspension: a suspended doctor cannot practise.
• Designated body and responsible officer: who the doctor is connected to for revalidation.
• Provisional registration: doctors in their first foundation year hold provisional registration, which only allows work in approved foundation posts.

Matching the entry to the booking

The check is not just "is this doctor on the register". It is "can this doctor do this shift". A booking for a consultant post usually needs Specialist Register or GP Register entry in the right field, depending on the role and the client's requirements. A doctor with conditions may be able to work in some posts but not others. If anything on the entry is unclear, escalate to your compliance lead or responsible officer before confirming the booking, and share relevant information with the client.

The GMC also now regulates physician associates and anaesthesia associates. If you supply those roles, check them on the GMC's register for those professions, which works separately from the medical register. Check the GMC website for current guidance, as arrangements for these roles have been changing.

What to record and when to re-check

Record every check

A framework auditor will want to see what you checked and when. For each GMC check, keep:

Save the evidence onto the doctor's record in your ATS so it can be found in seconds when a client asks.

When to re-check

• Before the doctor is cleared for any work.
• Before each new booking or at least before each new client, as many trusts and frameworks expect.
• On a regular cycle for active locums. Many agencies re-check weekly or monthly. Set the frequency your framework requires and document it in your policy.
• Whenever you hear of a concern, whether from a client, a colleague or the doctor.

Register status can change at any time following a fitness to practise decision, so a check from six months ago tells you very little about today.

The rest of the locum doctor file

The GMC check is one item in a longer list. A typical locum doctor file also includes:

• Identity and Right to Work evidence. Under the Right to Work guidance that took effect on 1 October 2026, the agency is treated as the employer for Right to Work purposes, so make sure your process reflects the current GOV.UK guidance.
• An enhanced DBS certificate with the appropriate barred list checks, or Update Service status.
• Qualification evidence, including primary medical qualification and postgraduate qualifications relevant to the role.
• A CV with full employment history and explanations for any gaps.
• Clinical references, typically covering recent posts.
• Appraisal and revalidation evidence, such as the most recent appraisal summary.
• Occupational health clearance and immunisation evidence.
• Mandatory training certificates, including life support at the level the role requires.
• Indemnity arrangements, where the client requires them.

Each of those documents has to be requested, chased, checked and filed, and many of them expire. That is where locum agencies lose most of their compliance time.

Getting locum files complete without the chasing

GettingDocs takes on the chasing. Amy, our AI assistant, asks doctors for the documents you need over WhatsApp and email, sent from your agency's own domain and in your agency's voice, and follows up until they arrive. Each file is checked to make sure it is readable and is the document requested; blurred photos, cut-off pages and wrong documents are rejected and the doctor is asked again. Every upload is screened for viruses and malware, and accepted documents are filed onto the doctor's record in your ATS, matched by record ID, email or phone rather than by name. See how this works for healthcare agencies at GettingDocs for UK healthcare staffing, and read how we protect candidate data on our security page.

Key takeaways

• A GMC registration check must confirm the doctor is registered with a licence to practise, not just registered.
• Search by GMC reference number and read the whole entry: Specialist and GP Register status, conditions, undertakings, warnings and designated body.
• Match the entry to the booking, not just to the doctor.
• Record every check with a date and a screenshot, and re-check before bookings and on a regular cycle.
• Automate the chasing of the rest of the locum file so your compliance team can focus on judgement calls.

If your team is spending its afternoons chasing doctors for appraisals and certificates, book a call with GettingDocs and see how Amy can take it off your desk.

Related reading: Locum Doctor Compliance Documents: UK Agency Checklist.

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Please note: this article is general information, not legal advice, and was correct at the time of writing (October 2026). Rules and guidance change, so please check the latest guidance from the General Medical Council, GOV.UK right to work checks guidance and the Disclosure and Barring Service before relying on it.