CORU Ireland: Recognition, Exams and Fees

• Dietitians (Dietitians Registration Board)
• Dispensing opticians (Optical Registration Board)
• Medical scientists (Medical Scientists Registration Board)
• Optometrists (Optical Registration Board)
• Podiatrists (Podiatrists Registration Board)
• Social workers (Social Workers Registration Board)
• Social care workers (Social Care Workers Registration Board)

• Occupational therapists (Occupational Therapists Registration Board)
• Physiotherapists and physical therapists (Physiotherapists Registration Board)
• Radiographers and radiation therapists (Radiographers Registration Board)
• Speech and language therapists (Speech and Language Therapists Registration Board)
• Psychologists (Psychologists Registration Board): register not yet open; CORU expects the first three divisions in 2027
• Counsellors and psychotherapists (Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board): register not yet open

• You must hold a qualification that gives access to the profession in the country where it was awarded.
• You must be eligible to practise in that country, confirmed by its competent authority. CORU's policy says current registration there is not required.
• If your profession is not regulated where you qualified, you must show one year of employer-verified professional practice in the last ten years.
• The profession you trained for must be the same as the profession in Ireland, with comparable roles, responsibilities and activities.
• You must meet CORU's language requirement for your profession, by test or by one of three exemptions.
• You must provide police clearance for each country where you lived one year and one day or longer since age 18, and complete National Vetting Bureau eVetting.
• You must swear a statutory declaration and satisfy the board that you are a fit and proper person, answering all 15 fit and proper questions.
• EU, EEA and Swiss nationals, their family members and refugees are covered by Directive 2005/36/EC, under which a compensation measure must be offered where substantial differences are found.

Check your route with the route finder

1. 1

   1. Check which pathway applies

   Check whether your qualification is on CORU's Commonly Aligned Standards (fast track) list, whether you are a medical scientist (Test of Professional Competence route), or whether you follow the standard route. EU-qualified physiotherapists can also use the European Professional Card.
2. 2

   2. Read the standards of proficiency

   Download the standards for your profession. Assessors look for evidence against five domains and express any substantial differences in terms of those standards, not just hours of placement. Missing placement detail is a common cause of delay.
3. 3

   3. Prepare certified and verified documents

   Gather certified copies of ID, qualification certificate, transcripts and a detailed syllabus with placements, certified by a solicitor, Commissioner for Oaths, Peace Commissioner or Notary Public. Download verification forms from the portal for your university, competent authority and employer to sign and stamp. Translations need an official translator's stamp.
4. 4

   4. Statutory declaration, police clearance and eVetting

   Swear the statutory declaration within six months of applying. Obtain police clearance, issued within 12 months of applying, from each country where you lived one year and one day or more since age 18. Complete the NVB1 eVetting invitation form with a wet signature.
5. 5

   5. Apply online and pay

   Create a profile on the CORU portal, select the International Qualification application type, complete the sections and pay the €510 fee to submit. Upload documents only through the portal; CORU does not accept posted or emailed documents.
6. 6

   6. Acknowledgement and file complete

   CORU acknowledges within one month and lists missing documents, which you must supply within six months or the application is closed. Once all verifications are received the file is 'file complete' and CORU invites you to start your registration application in parallel.
7. 7

   7. Assessment and board decision

   A clinical practice assessor and an education assessor recommend recognition, a compensation measure or ineligibility. The board decides within 3 months of the file being complete, extendable to 4, and CORU communicates the decision within a week.
8. 8

   8. Compensation measure, if required

   Choose within 30 days between an aptitude test and a period of adaptation. You have a maximum of two attempts across both; failing the second leads to refusal. Costs are yours.
9. 9

   9. Registration and annual renewal

   Once recognised and vetted, you pay the €100 registration application fee and are entered on the register. You renew every year by your profession's renewal date and keep up CPD.

• Aptitude test

  Assesses only the substantial differences the board identified, and may cover professional rules in Ireland. CORU says it takes place in Ireland, must be offered within six months of you opting for it, normally must be taken within a year of notification, costs €500 and can be repeated once.

  Read the guide

• Period of adaptation

  Supervised practice in Ireland under a CORU-registered member of the profession, which may include academic modules, for up to 3 years. You find the placement and supervisor and the board must approve your proposal before you start, normally within 18 months of approval. Applicant and supervisor submit reports at the end.

  Read the guide

• Medical Scientist Test of Professional Competence (ToPC)

  A three-hour written exam for international medical scientists: 60 MCQs plus six scenario questions across five laboratory disciplines, held at the ACSLM offices in Dublin (next sitting Saturday 14 November 2026). The pass mark is 50% overall and each component can be repeated once. The fee is included in the application fee.

• CORU's language policy applies to applications submitted on or after 8 May 2026. The general standard is CEFR C1.
• You are exempt if you completed a CORU-approved qualification, a Commonly Aligned qualification taught in English, or a qualification from an EU country where English is co-official; or your university confirms your qualification and placements were in English or Irish and you qualified within the previous 2 years; or you practised through English for 2 of the past 5 years in a country where English is the sole official language.
• Most boards (dietitians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, optical, podiatrists, medical scientists, social workers, social care workers): IELTS Academic 7.0 with no element below 6.5, or Cambridge C1 Advanced grade C. Where OET is offered, grade B (350) in three components and at least C+ (300) in the fourth.
• Radiographers and radiation therapists: IELTS Academic 7.0 with no element below 7.0, OET Radiography grade B (350) in all components, or Cambridge C1 Advanced grade C (185).
• Speech and language therapists: IELTS Academic 8.0 with no element below 7.5, OET Speech Pathology B (400) in three components and B (350) in one, or Cambridge C1 Advanced grade C (185).
• No OET is specified for medical scientists, social workers or social care workers.
• Certificates must be dated within two years of your application. IELTS must be a physical test; online or at-home OET is accepted. CORU accepts up to two sittings with the same provider within six months, and does not accept IELTS One Skill Retake or OET single sub-tests.

Estimate your total cost

• CORU says it acknowledges an application within one month and lists missing documents.
• You have six months to supply missing documents; under the closure policy, a portal application with no supporting documents for three months is also treated as inactive, and you get 30 days' notice before closure.
• CORU's policy says the board decision is made within 3 months of the file becoming complete, extendable to 4. Its FAQ says up to 4 months.
• Commonly Aligned Standards applicants skip the assessment; CORU says the timeline is greatly reduced but gives no figure.
• Compensation measures add time: an aptitude test is offered within six months; a period of adaptation can last up to 3 years.
• If the process takes more than 12 months, you must supply an updated eVetting form and police clearance.