HCPC UK: Registration, Exams and Fees

• Arts therapists
• Biomedical scientists
• Chiropodists / podiatrists
• Clinical scientists
• Dietitians
• Hearing aid dispensers
• Occupational therapists
• Operating department practitioners
• Orthoptists
• Paramedics
• Physiotherapists
• Practitioner psychologists
• Prosthetists / orthotists
• Radiographers
• Speech and language therapists

• You must have trained outside the UK and hold a qualification delivered outside the UK.
• Your training and qualification must be relevant to one of the 15 professions the HCPC regulates.
• You must not have been registered with the HCPC before. If you have, you use the readmission route instead.
• You must show that your education, training and any relevant experience meet the HCPC standards of proficiency for your profession.
• You must meet the HCPC standards of conduct, performance and ethics and make the health and character declarations in the application.
• You must provide evidence of English language proficiency, unless the qualification that first allowed you to practise was gained in one of the HCPC's listed qualifying countries.
• You must provide copies of your documents certified by a person of standing in the community, with certified official translations for anything not in English.
• Your university or training institution must complete the HCPC Course Information Form for you to upload with your application.
• If you trained or practised in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, you apply through the Free Trade Agreement route on a separate form.

Check your route with the route finder

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   1. Check your eligibility and profession

   Confirm that your qualification was gained outside the UK, that it matches one of the HCPC's 15 professions, and that you have never been on the HCPC Register. Pick the right profession and, where relevant, the right modality (for example, a domain of practitioner psychology). If the HCPC is unclear which profession or modality you are applying for, it cannot start verification checks, which delays everything.
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   2. Read the standards for your profession

   Read the standards of proficiency for your profession, the standards of conduct, performance and ethics, and the standards for continuing professional development. Assessors judge your application against the standards of proficiency, so you need to know them well before you start writing. Applicants often underestimate how specific these standards are.
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   3. Prepare and certify your documents

   You need certified proof of identity and address (plus any change of name document), your professional qualification certificate, the Course Information Form completed by your training institution, and your English language evidence. Copies must be certified by a person of standing in the community, translated where needed, and machine-readable. Incorrect certification and unreadable files are among the most common causes of delay.
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   4. Complete the standards of proficiency mapping document

   Since 20 November 2025 every international application needs a standards of proficiency mapping document. You map your training, qualifications and experience against each standard and point to the evidence for each one. The HCPC no longer asks for further information after you submit, so any gap left here can lead to a test of competence or a refusal. All documents are checked for plagiarism and AI use.
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   5. Apply online and pay the scrutiny fee

   Create an account on the HCPC online application system and complete the sections on your details, qualification, professional experience, registration and membership, English language proficiency, the mapping document and declarations. Your application is not submitted until you pay the non-refundable scrutiny fee by card through Worldpay. Tell your bank in advance that you are making an international payment, because blocked card payments are a common problem.
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   6. Review, verification and assessment

   The HCPC reviews your application for completeness and certification, runs plagiarism and AI checks, verifies details with your education provider, regulators and referees, and sends your application to two assessors from your profession. If anything is missing, you have six months to supply it before the application is withdrawn. The HCPC does not contact referees, institutions or employers to fill gaps in your evidence, so your decision rests on what you submit.
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   7. Receive your first decision

   The HCPC emails you its first decision with a Record of Assessment explaining it. The outcome is successful, a test of competence, or unsuccessful. If you are refused, you can appeal, and the Record of Assessment tells you the reasons.
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   8. Pay the registration fee and join the Register

   If you are accepted, the HCPC emails you a link to set up your online account and pay the registration fee in full by credit or debit card. Allow up to three days for the payment to reach the HCPC. You then receive your registration number and your details appear on the online Register.
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   9. Stay registered

   You renew your registration every two years in your profession's three-month renewal window, keep up continuing professional development, and submit CPD audit information if asked. Keep your contact details up to date in your online account so you receive renewal reminders.

• Test of competence (structured professional discussion)

  If assessors need more information before deciding, you are referred for a test of competence. It is a conversation, not a written exam: two assessors who are registered members of your profession explore how you would handle clinical and ethical scenarios, ask you to explain your reasoning, and may ask you to clarify unclear evidence. Each test is tailored to the gaps in your application. In most cases it takes place online via Microsoft Teams, but it may sometimes be held in person.

• Test of competence: time limits and results

  You must complete the test within 12 months of being referred, with extensions considered in some circumstances such as ill health. You can reschedule or cancel once; any further cancellation or non-attendance withdraws your application, and you would need to reapply and pay a new scrutiny fee. The result is a pass or fail, sent by email within two weeks. If you fail, your application is refused and you can appeal.

• Period of adaptation (Free Trade Agreement route only)

  Applicants on the Free Trade Agreement route who are nationals of a relevant European state (or have acquired those rights) may instead be given a period of adaptation: supervised practice and/or academic training to make up significant shortfalls. You arrange it yourself, the HCPC must approve the provider before you start, and a supervisor from your profession confirms completion. This outcome does not apply to the standard international route.

• If the qualification that first allowed you to practise was gained in a country on the HCPC's list of qualifying countries (for example Australia, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, the USA and several Caribbean and Pacific nations and territories), you do not need to provide further English evidence.
• Otherwise you must provide a certificate from IELTS, TOEFL iBT or OET. The certificate must be no more than two years old when the HCPC receives your application, and the test must be taken at an official test centre, not at home.
• IELTS (Academic or General, UKVI or non-UKVI): 7.0 overall with no element below 6.5 for all professions except speech and language therapists, who need 8.0 overall with no element below 7.5.
• IELTS one-skill retakes are accepted if the retake is within 6 months of the original test and the results appear on the same test report.
• TOEFL iBT taken before 21 January 2026: 100/120 (speech and language therapists 118/120). Taken on or after 21 January 2026: Reading 4.5, Listening 5, Writing 4.5, Speaking 5, Overall 5 (speech and language therapists: Reading 5.5, Listening 5.5, Writing 6, Speaking 6, Overall 6). TOEFL tests taken in the UK, combined scores, superscores and MyBest scores are not accepted.
• OET is accepted only for six professions, using the profession-specific test: chiropodists/podiatrists, dietitians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and radiographers need 1400 with no element below 300; speech and language therapists need 1800 with no element below 400.
• Paramedics, biomedical scientists, clinical scientists, operating department practitioners and the other professions without an OET version need IELTS or TOEFL iBT unless the qualifying-country exemption applies.

Estimate your total cost

• The HCPC says each application is assessed individually, so the timeline varies with your circumstances.
• Review: you can expect to hear from the HCPC within 10 working days with an update from its review of your application.
• Assessment: the HCPC currently says it takes 3 months to assess your application and send a first decision after it receives your complete application. It notes high application volumes, and significant delays for prosthetists/orthotists and delays for sport and exercise psychologists.
• Missing documents: you have six months to supply them, after which the application is withdrawn and you must reapply.
• Test of competence: must be completed within 12 months of referral, with results emailed within two weeks.
• Registration: after you pay the registration fee, allow up to three days for payment to clear before you are added to the Register.