GPHC Registration
All pharmacists and pharmacy technicians wanting to practise in the UK must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). GPhC registration must be renewed each year.
There are 3 main routes to GPhC registration, depending on a pharmacist’s nationality, the country in which they obtained their qualification, any EC rights held and the nature and extent of their post-graduate experience.
Registration with a UK qualification
You can apply for registration as a pharmacist if you:
- Have the UK accredited 4-year MPharm degree;
- Have successfully completed 52 weeks of pre-registration training in the UK and;
- Have passed the GPhC’s registration assessment.
Appealing against a fail of the GPhC's registration assessment
Appeals are difficult as the grounds for a valid appeal are very narrow. However, our defence lawyers have experience in successfully appealing against a fail, enabling trainee pharmacists to resit the assessment.
Registration for EEA qualified pharmacists
If you are a national of a Member State of the European Economic Area (EEA), or are regarded as an exempt person (because you have enforceable EC Rights) and you qualified as a pharmacist in another EEA country, then you will need to download from the GPhC’s website an EEA application pack and complete the questionnaire. Once the GPhC has received the relevant information they will provide you with the relevant application form.
The GPhC will expect applicants to have an appropriate pharmacy qualification and be registered or be eligible for registration as a pharmacist in their Member State. The applicant will need to have a certificate of good standing from their professional authority which confirms their registration and to have completed minimum training requirements.
Currently the GPhC cannot ask nationals from the EEA for evidence that they are competent in the English language, however, pharmacists in the UK have an obligation to ensure that they have language skills sufficient to communicate effectively with patients and colleagues. A failure to perform to this standard may result in a fitness to practise allegation being made.
Registration for overseas (non-EEA) qualified pharmacists
If you qualified as a pharmacist outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) or are a non-EEA national with an EEA pharmacist qualification (other than from the UK) then you can apply for GPhC registration but will need to download the International Information Pack from the GPhC’s website.
To successfully apply for GPhC registration you will need to have passed an Overseas Pharmacists Assessment Programme (OSPAP) and 52 weeks of pre-registration training approved by the GPhC and pass the registration assessment.
The OSPAP is a one-year post-graduate diploma, designed to ensure that pharmacists that have qualified overseas have the appropriate level of training and education to practise in the UK.
What we do
Richard Nelson LLP’s GPhC lawyers offer impartial advice on a range of related matters:
– GPhC Appeals
– GPhC Fitness to Practise
– GPhC Interim Orders
– GPhC Investigations
– GPhC Registration
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