Annual renewal period opens for dental care professionals

On 9 June 2025, the General Dental Council (GDC) opened its annual renewal period for dental care professionals (DCPs). This crucial process ensures that DCPs remain on the UK register and continue to provide essential dental care to patients.

For annual renewal, DCPs must complete three essential steps by the designated deadlines:

• Pay the Annual Retention Fee (ARF) of £96 by 31 July – payments can be made online via eGDC or by Direct Debit.

• Make an indemnity declaration by 31 July – confirming that the appropriate indemnity or insurance cover is in place before practice begins.

• Submit a CPD statement by 28 August – note that the CPD year runs from 1 August to 31 July.

Following changes introduced in March 2025, the GDC has simplified several aspects of the CPD scheme to reduce the administrative burden on dental care professionals. Key changes include:

• Simplified documentation requirements, with GDC registration numbers no longer mandatory on CPD certificates.

• Acceptance of electronic confirmations for CPD mapping documents.

• More flexible approaches to quality assurance verification, allowing digital confirmations alongside traditional signatures.

• Clearer guidance on grace periods and restoration processes.

DCPs in the final year of their five-year CPD cycle who need additional time can apply for a grace period via their eGDC account, while those registered within the past 12 months will begin their first CPD cycle on 1 August 2025.

Around 480 DCPs failed to meet the minimum 10-hour CPD requirement over a two-year period in September 2024. Although this represents a decrease from the previous figures in 2023, meeting CPD requirements remains essential for maintaining registration.

Anthony McNally, Head of Customer Services at the GDC, commented@

“We have listened to feedback from the dental professions and made significant improvements to our CPD processes, whilst maintaining professional standards.” The GDC also encourages DCPs to complete a voluntary working patterns survey as part of the renewal process. This five-minute survey gathers data on where DCPs work, the type of care they provide, and their weekly working hours. To date, 43,692 dental care professionals (58% of the DCP register) have completed the survey, providing valuable workforce intelligence, building on strong participation from dentists—66% (30,066) completed the survey over its two-year operation.

The renewal period remains open until 31 July for ARF payments and indemnity declarations, with CPD statements due by 28 August.

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