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Home > Registration of Medical Practitioners > Licences of Registration and Practising Certificates > Practising Certificates / Retention Certificates

Registration of Medical Practitioners

Licences of Registration and Practising Certificates

Practising Certificates

Section 20A of the Medical Registration Ordinance stipulates that a registered medical practitioner “shall not practise medicine, surgery or midwifery in Hong Kong, or any branch of medicine or surgery in Hong Kong, unless he is the holder of a practising certificate which is then in force”. 

Any person on applying for full registration, limited registration, temporary registration or special registration with the Medical Council is also required to apply for a practising certificate by:-

(a)
the payment of the prescribed fee for the issue of the practising certificate; and

(b)
the submission of application form to declare whether he / she has been convicted in Hong Kong or elsewhere of any offence punishable with imprisonment.

Validity of practising certificates

For a registered medical practitioner on limited registration, temporary registration or special registration, the practising certificate shall be in force for the period specified in the certificate.

For a registered medical practitioner on full registration:-

(a)
where the practising certificate is issued pursuant to an application made during the course of a year in respect of the following year, the certificate shall be in force for a period of 12 months commencing on 1 January of the following year; or

(b)
where the practising certificate is issued pursuant to an application made during the course of a year in respect of that year, the certificate shall be in force from the time of its issue until the end of the year.

Any registered medical practitioner should apply for renewal of the practising certificate if he / she will be practising beyond the expiry date of the certificate.

Annual renewal of practising certificates

Every registered medical practitioner on the Resident List of the General Register is invited to renew his / her annual practising certificates and is informed of the application procedures by the Central Registration Office under the Department of Health in around September every year. Submission of application form to the Central Registration Office may be made in paper format by fax or by post; or via the online platform.

A registered medical practitioner who applies via the online platform needs to have an “iAM Smart+” account for digital signing the electronic application form to complete the whole application process. A registered medical practitioner who does not have an “iAM Smart+” account may fill in the application form electronically but he / she will need to print and sign on the completed application form and then submit it to the Central Registration Office by fax or by post.

Payment of the prescribed fee may be made by one of the following ways:-

(a)

Online payment

Registered medical practitioner may make payment through the following method:

  • Credit Card (Visa Card, Master Card, JCB and China UnionPay);
  • Faster Payment System (FPS);
  • Alipay (Mainland China) (Authentication using Mainland China ID Card);
  • WeChat Pay; or
  • UnionPay Mobile QuickPass.
(b)

Autopay

Any registered medical practitioner interested to use autopay may approach the Central Registration Office for Autopay Authorization Form

(c)

Settling the General Demand Note issued by the Central Registration Office

General demand note issued by the Central Registration Office may be settled by one of the following means: -

  • Internet Payment;
  • Automated Teller Machines (ATM) of local banks;
  • Faster Payment System (FPS);
  • Payment by Phone Service (PPS);
  • By Phone Banking;
  • Through the "Pay e-Cheque" portal;
  • In person at post offices or convenience store (e.g. any 7-Eleven, Circle K, VanGO Convenience Store and U Select, etc.) by cash; or
  • By cheque/bank draft/cashier order sent to the Treasury (address: P.O. Box No. 28000, Sham Shui Po Post Office, Hong Kong).

For details, please refer to the Treasury's website.

The payment status of the demand notes may be checked vide the Treasury Hotline (at 2845 8866) or the Treasury website.

Deeming provision

A registered medical practitioner shall be deemed to have obtained the certificate when he / she had duly applied and paid the prescribed fee for the issue of the practising certificate.

Retention Certificates

For a registered medical practitioner who is on the Non-resident List of the General Register, he / she is required to apply for the annual retention certificate by paying the prescribed fee and submitting the application form to declare whether he / she has been convicted in Hong Kong or elsewhere of any offence punishable with imprisonment. Submission of application form to the Central Registration Office may be made in paper format by fax or by post; or via the online platform. The application procedure is similar to that for the annual practising certificate.

Demonstration of Application for Practising / Retention Certificates via the Online Platform

Please click here for the demonstration.

Failure to Renew Annual Practising / Retention Certificates

Section 19(1)(b) of the Medical Registration Ordinance provides that the Medical Council may order the removal from the General Register of the name of any person who has not, before 30 June of a year, obtained his / her practising / retention certificate for that year.

If a person’s name is removed from the General Register, he / she will cease to be a registered medical practitioner and cannot continue to practise. It is a criminal offence under section 28(2) of the Ordinance for a person whose name is not on the General Register to practise medicine or surgery. The offence is punishable by a fine and imprisonment.

Issue of Practising / Retention Certificates

A registered medical practitioner who makes application via the online platform will be issued with an electronic version of practising / retention certificate (“e-certificate”) in Portable Document Format (“PDF”) by email. He / she may also request to be provided with a hard copy of the practising / retention certificate (“paper certificate”). A registered medical practitioner applying in paper format will receive a paper certificate by post.

Authentication Features of e-Certificates

E-certificates have the same legal standing as paper certificates. For verification purpose, the e-certificate carries a digital signature and an encrypted QR code. Scanning the QR code will direct the enquirer to the website of the Medical Council where he / she may verify the contents in the e-certificate (click here for a specimen e-certificate and the verification information to be shown).

Frequently Asked Questions

Please click here for Frequently Asked Questions on the arrangements for annual renewal of practising / retention certificate and electronic version of practising / retention certificate.