GMC Self-Referral: When and How to Refer Yourself to the GMC

Written and reviewed by Dr Shehzad Iqbal, MBBS, MRCS, MRCGP, Postgraduate Certificate in Healthcare Law and Ethics · Updated 5 November 2026

When must a doctor self-refer to the GMC?

Good medical practice (2024), Domain 4, says you must tell the GMC without delay if, anywhere in the world, you have accepted a caution (or equivalent) from a prosecuting authority, been charged with a criminal offence in person or by post, been found guilty of a criminal offence, been criticised by an official inquiry, or had a finding made against your registration by another professional body after a fitness to practise process.

The GMC’s guidance Reporting criminal and regulatory proceedings within and outside the UK (in effect from 22 April 2013, updated 13 December 2024) lists the same duty in more detail. Paragraph 4 adds:

• formally admitting a criminal offence, for example by accepting a caution;
• accepting a penalty notice for disorder at the upper tier penalty level;
• a cannabis warning (England and Wales) or an anti-social behaviour order;
• a restriction on your registration, or a finding, by another medical or professional regulator;
• conduct, including as part of a management team, that directly contributed to an organisation entering a deferred prosecution agreement.

Paragraph 5 covers criticism by an official inquiry anywhere in the world, and paragraph 9 judicial criticism you know of or ought to know of. Paragraph 10 says you must also follow the reporting rules of your employing or contracting organisation, so telling the GMC does not replace telling your employer or responsible officer.

What you do not have to report

Paragraph 11 of the same guidance lists three things the GMC does not need to hear about: a penalty notice for disorder other than at the upper tier, a fixed penalty notice paid for a road traffic offence, and a fixed penalty notice from a local authority, such as for noise or dog fouling. A drink-driving charge is not a fixed penalty matter and must be reported; what each regulator asks is in our guide to drink-driving and your registration. If a matter sits between the lists, paragraph 12 says to ask a defence body, a medical association or the GMC itself before you decide.

GMC self-referral for a health condition

The GMC’s Your health matters pages say it only needs to be made aware of a health condition if it poses a risk to patients. It will consider the condition if you are working, or likely to work, and one of these applies:

• there are or have been serious concerns about your care, and the condition may have contributed;
• the condition may affect your conduct or the care you provide;
• you are not seeking or following treatment and advice, or not engaging with local support;
• the condition was recently diagnosed, is not well controlled, and it is too early to tell whether treatment can manage the risk.

You do not need to self-refer if there are no conduct concerns and no risk to your care, or if you are working and are seeking and following treatment and taking steps to manage any risk. How a health concern runs once the GMC is involved is in our guide to a GMC investigation and mental health.

How to refer yourself to the GMC

For a health condition, the GMC says the quickest way is its online self-referral form; you can also email the form to the Fitness to Practise Directorate or post it to the GMC in Manchester. Its leaflet for doctors considering self-referral asks for as much detail as possible:

1. your diagnosis, and how you are managing it, with the support you have;
2. whether you are working, and where;
3. supporting letters from your GP, treating doctors or occupational health.

For a caution, charge, conviction or another regulator’s finding, give the facts, the dates, the outcome if there is one and who else you have told. The reporting guidance gives the GMC’s contact details for this, and the contact centre can advise if you are unsure. Before you write anything, speak to your medical defence organisation: what you say now becomes part of the record.

What happens after a self-referral

For a health self-referral, a GMC decision maker reviews the form and the GMC aims to decide and write to you within seven days. If it needs more information to judge the risk to patients, it carries out provisional enquiries: whether you are working, and, with your consent, contact with your treating doctors and your employer or occupational health. The GMC aims to finish provisional enquiries within three months. If there is no risk to patients, a full investigation is not needed.

A self-referral about a criminal or regulatory matter enters the GMC’s fitness to practise process like any other concern. The stages, triage and the Employer Liaison Service are covered in our guide to a GMC referral, and the first steps in GMC investigation advice for doctors.

Remediation and CPD after a self-referral

Telling the GMC yourself, promptly and in full, is part of the honesty Domain 4 asks for. What the GMC then weighs is whether you understand what happened and what you have done about it. A short course matched to the matter, finished early, with a written reflection in your own words, is evidence of insight and remediation:

• a criminal matter or a declaration: Probity for Healthcare Professionals;
• the GMC process itself: How to Deal with a Complaint or Investigation;
• the written response: Module on Insight and Module on Reflection.

The same certificates, with your reflection, count as CPD for your appraisal and revalidation. Tell your responsible officer about the self-referral, and keep your appraisal going. Which GMC course fits which concern is set out in our GMC courses guide.

Our courses after a self-referral, and for CPD

Courses that sit beside it

Bulk Buy covers the £79 courses: 3 for £200, 5 for £300, 10 for £500. Not sure what to take? Book a free 15-minute call or see which course do I need.

Guides that help

The CPD courses linked from this guide, How to Deal with a Complaint or Investigation, Module on Insight, Probity for Healthcare Professionals and Module on Reflection, are by Probity & Ethics, written by Dr Shehzad Iqbal, CPD certified and accredited by The CPD Certification Service (provider no. 13197) and offered since 2020.

Questions and answers