Registration timeline calculator
See how long registration takes with the NMC, HCPC, NMBI, Medical Council, CORU or BIG register, stage by stage, from each regulator's published service standards.
These are the regulators' published service standards, not guarantees. Real timelines vary with your documents and verification, and the regulator decides your case. This tool is for planning only: check the regulator's own page before you book or pay.
Method
How it works
- Step 1
Your route
Profession and destination pick the regulator, as in the route finder. - Step 2
Official stages
Each stage uses the regulator's published standard. One figure means earliest and typical are the same, with no upper limit. - Step 3
Your exam date
Exam waits depend on when you book, so they count only if you enter a date. - Step 4
Earliest and typical month
Finish = start + the sum of the stages. You always see a range, never a single promised date.
Worked example
A nurse applying to NMBI from outside the EU
No compensation measure: about March 2027
- Recognition decision: about 3 months (NMBI Applicant User Guide).
- Registration decision: 20 working days, about 4 weeks.
2 November 2026 + 3 months + 4 weeks = March 2027. NMBI publishes one figure for each stage, so the earliest and typical month are the same, and it can take longer.
With a compensation measure: typical December 2027
An adaptation period lasts at least six weeks, so the earliest month moves to April 2027. But NMBI says successful applicants who need a compensation measure take on average 13 months from submitting documents to registration, so the typical month is December 2027. You have 12 months to complete the measure.
The standards
Published service standards by regulator
How the month is worked out. The projection starts today, or on your English test date if it is later. Each stage adds the regulator's published time: earliest uses the lower figure, typical the higher one. Working days count as seven calendar days for every five, and a month as 30.44 days. Where a regulator gives an average for the whole route (NMBI with a compensation measure), the typical month uses it if it is later.
Left out. The GMC (its site blocks automated checks, so we could not verify its standards or PLAB dates), and the GDC, GPhC, GOC, PSI, Dental Council and PHECC, which the research for this tool did not cover yet. Germany and the USA show the official deadlines without a projected month, because exam dates and state boards decide the longest stages.
| Regulator | Stage and official standard | Source |
|---|---|---|
| NMCNursing and Midwifery Council |
| NMC: how long is it going to takeDated 7 October 2019 (page date) |
| HCPCHealth and Care Professions Council |
| HCPC: international application guidance (PDF, January 2026)Dated January 2026 (guidance date) |
| NMBINursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland |
| NMBI: Applicant User Guide (PDF, updated September 2026)Dated September 2026 (guide date) |
| Medical CouncilMedical Council (Ireland) |
The Council's processing times page is undated, and it says applications received in May 2023 were then being assessed on the Certificate of Experience route, so it may be out of date. Ask the Council for current times. | Medical Council: current registration processing times |
| CORUCORU, Health and Social Care Professionals Council |
| CORU: international qualifications FAQs |
| BIG registerBIG register (CIBG), Netherlands |
| BIG register: processing time and costs |
FAQ
Questions about registration timelines
The NMC aims to assess your qualification within 14 days of having your application and your regulator's reply, and to decide a complete registration application within 30 days. In between you pass the CBT and the OSCE, which you book yourself, and you have two years from eligibility to finish. Missing documents and test resits add time.
For nurses and midwives trained outside the EU (G3), NMBI's Applicant User Guide gives about 3 months for the recognition decision and 20 working days for the registration decision once it has all your documents, about 4 months in all. If you need a compensation measure, NMBI says successful applicants take on average 13 months from submitting documents to registration.
If your application is complete, the HCPC aims to send the first decision within 60 working days from the date it acknowledges your application. If you are referred to a test of competence, the result is emailed within two weeks of the test. You have six months to supply missing documents.
The Council's processing times page lists 51 to 53 weeks for the Certificate of Experience route, 25 weeks for the higher qualification route, 21 weeks for the PRES route, 5 weeks for supervised registration and 14 to 18 weeks for non-EU specialist registration. The page is undated and may be out of date, so ask the Council.
CORU says it can take up to 4 months from the time your file is deemed complete. A compensation measure, if the board asks for one, comes on top, and CORU does not publish a time for it.
The BIG register says the procedure takes between 6 months and 1.5 years from your application. You hear the next step within 4 weeks; the commission advises within 6 weeks, or within 12 weeks of your BI-test result if you sit one. Additional training, if advised, takes 3 months to 2 years.
The GMC's website blocks automated checks, so we could not read its current service standards or PLAB dates on its own pages. Rather than guess, the calculator links our GMC guide. We will add the GMC once we have checked its figures by hand.
Yes. Every regulator here counts its service standard from a complete application, so a missing or wrongly certified document pauses the clock. NMBI closes applications after six months, the HCPC gives six months to supply documents, and the NMC closes applications that stay inactive for three months.
Sources
Where the figures come from
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