GMC Revalidation Explained: How UK Doctors Can Prepare and What to Include in Your Portfolio

What Is GMC Revalidation?

Revalidation was introduced in December 2012 as a requirement for all doctors licensed to practise in the UK. Its purpose is to provide regular, structured assurance that doctors are keeping up to date with developments in their field and that there are no unresolved concerns about their fitness to practise.

Revalidation is not a test or an examination. It is a process of supported professional reflection, structured around annual appraisals and the systematic collection of evidence from clinical practice. Most doctors revalidate successfully on a five-year cycle without difficulty, provided they have engaged consistently with the appraisal process.

The Revalidation Framework: How It Works

Every licensed doctor must be connected to a designated body — the organisation responsible for their revalidation. For most doctors this will be an NHS Trust, CCG, Health Board, or another healthcare organisation. The designated body appoints a responsible officer (RO), who has a statutory duty to make the revalidation recommendation to the GMC on your behalf.

Doctors who work in independent practice, on a locum basis, or in non-clinical roles may need to connect to a designated body specifically for revalidation purposes. If you are unsure which designated body you should be connected to, contact the GMC or seek advice from your medical defence organisation.

The core mechanism of revalidation is the annual appraisal. Each year, you should have a structured appraisal discussion with a trained appraiser based on the supporting information you have collected from your practice. The appraisal is not an assessment — the appraiser is not grading your performance. It is a supported professional discussion about your practice, your development, and any concerns or challenges you have encountered.

Over the five-year cycle, you are expected to complete five appraisals. Each appraisal should be based on supporting information from that year's practice and should result in a written record that is added to your portfolio.

The GMC requires that your revalidation portfolio contains supporting information across several specified categories. These are the same categories whether you practise in a hospital, GP surgery, academic setting, or elsewhere.

• CPD activity: A record of your continuing professional development over the five-year cycle — courses, conferences, e-learning, reading, audit, and other learning activities
• Quality improvement activity: Evidence of involvement in clinical audit, significant event analysis, service improvement, or research
• Significant events: Reflection on events in your practice where things went wrong or could have been done better — whether or not a formal complaint was made
• Patient feedback: Structured feedback collected from patients, typically via a validated questionnaire tool, covering the interpersonal and communication aspects of your practice
• Colleague feedback: Structured 360-degree feedback from colleagues — doctors, nurses, administrative staff, and others who work with you — collected via a validated tool
• Reflective notes: Written reflective entries that demonstrate your engagement with the supporting information collected and the learning that has resulted
• Complaints and compliments: Any formal complaints or compliments received during the five-year period, with reflection on what you learned
• Review of personal development plan: A review of the PDP agreed at your previous appraisal and progress against its objectives

Reflective entries are the element of the revalidation portfolio that many doctors find most challenging. Appraisers and responsible officers look for reflective writing that demonstrates genuine engagement with your practice — not a formulaic exercise that ticks a box.

A strong revalidation reflective entry typically includes:

• A specific event, experience, or piece of information that prompted the reflection — not a vague statement about learning in general
• What the experience made you think or feel — and what questions it raised for you about your practice
• What you did as a result — whether that was further reading, a conversation with a colleague, attendance at a course, or a change to how you practise
• What has changed — a specific description of how your practice or understanding has developed as a result of the experience

Revalidation reflection should feel like a genuine account of professional thinking, not a box-ticking exercise. Appraisers read many portfolios and readily distinguish between entries that show authentic engagement with practice and those that are formulaic. Invest the time in your reflective writing — it is the most professionally meaningful part of the portfolio.

For a more detailed guide to writing reflection for regulatory purposes, including worked examples, see our article on how to write a reflective statement for GMC, NMC and GDC purposes. Although written primarily for fitness to practise contexts, the core principles of insight-based reflection apply equally to revalidation.

At the end of the five-year revalidation cycle, your responsible officer reviews your appraisal record and makes one of three recommendations to the GMC:

• Revalidation: The doctor has engaged with the process and the RO is satisfied that their practice is consistent with Good Medical Practice
• Deferral: Revalidation is deferred, typically because of a gap in appraisals, insufficient supporting information, or an ongoing fitness to practise concern
• Non-engagement: The doctor has not engaged with the appraisal or revalidation process — this is itself treated as a fitness to practise concern

CPD for Revalidation: What Counts and What Adds Value

CPD for revalidation is not prescriptive — there is no specified number of hours or mandatory topics. What matters is that your CPD is relevant to your scope of practice, that it is reflected upon in your portfolio, and that it demonstrates a pattern of continuous, structured professional development over the five-year cycle.

CPD in ethics, probity, and professional standards is particularly valuable for revalidation portfolios because it covers the areas assessed against Good Medical Practice — the same framework that underpins both revalidation and fitness to practise proceedings. Doctors who include certified CPD in these areas demonstrate proactive engagement with the values and professional standards that the GMC considers most important.

Our courses for doctors are certified by CPD UK and are suitable for inclusion in a GMC revalidation portfolio as CPD supporting information.