GMC Specialist Register
How to verify a surgeon is a registered specialist.
What it is
The General Medical Council (GMC) keeps the official register of UK doctors, including a Specialist Register. A surgeon listed under Plastic Surgery has completed recognised specialist training in that field. For facial procedures, appropriately trained facial plastic (ENT) surgeons may also be on the relevant specialist register.
How to check
You can search the GMC’s online register for any doctor by name to confirm they hold a licence to practise and which specialty they are registered in. Confirming a surgeon is on the Specialist Register — not merely ‘registered’ as a doctor — is one of the most important checks you can make.
‘Registered with the GMC’ only means they are a licensed doctor. What you want to confirm is that they are on the GMC Specialist Register in a relevant specialty.