Nursing and Midwifery Council and General Medical Council
Nurse revalidation hours: what does the NMC require?
The NMC asks nurses, midwives and nursing associates to revalidate every three years, against eight requirements: 450 practice hours, 35 hours of CPD including 20 participatory hours, five pieces of practice-related feedback, five written reflective accounts, a reflective discussion, a health and character declaration, a professional indemnity arrangement and confirmation. Doctors revalidate on a five-year cycle built on annual appraisal. Work through the questions below to see where you stand.
450 hours
minimum practice hours for a single NMC registration over the three-year period
35 hours CPD
of which at least 20 must have included participatory learning
5 years
the doctors' revalidation cycle: the responsible officer's recommendation rests on annual appraisals across five years
Question 1
Which register are you revalidating on?
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NMC revalidation and GMC revalidation side by side
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The two UK revalidation schemes are often described as if they were the same process on different timescales. They are not. One is a set of counted requirements the registrant assembles and a confirmer signs; the other is an annual appraisal cycle a responsible officer builds a recommendation from.
The NMC column is taken from the requirement pages on nmc.org.uk (practice hours, CPD, practice-related feedback, written reflective accounts, reflective discussion, confirmation and the requirements overview), each read on 15 August 2026. The GMC column is taken from NHS England's medical revalidation pages and from the Royal College of General Practitioners' appraisal supporting information guidance (published 31 January 2025), both read on the same day; gmc-uk.org refused our automated checks on that date, so nothing in the GMC column is quoted from the GMC's own site and the row for CPD volume records that absence rather than filling it. Read the GMC's own guidance on supporting information for appraisal and revalidation alongside this table.
| Requirement | NMC: nurses, midwives, nursing associates | GMC: doctors with a licence to practise |
|---|---|---|
| Cycle length | Every three years | Five years, built on annual appraisals |
| Practice hours | 450 hours for one registration; 900 for two; 1,350 for triple registration | No practice hours count in the sources we read |
| CPD | 35 hours in the period, at least 20 of them participatory learning | CPD is one of six types of supporting information; the sources we read state no minimum number of hours |
| Feedback | Five pieces of practice-related feedback, written or verbal, formal or informal | Colleague and patient feedback, required once in each five-year cycle |
| Reflection | Five written reflective accounts on the NMC's mandatory form, linked to the Code | Reflection on supporting information, discussed at each annual appraisal |
| Discussion | A face-to-face reflective discussion with another NMC registrant, on a mandatory signed form | An annual appraisal meeting with a trained appraiser |
| Who signs it off | A confirmer, ideally your line manager, who need not be NMC-registered | A responsible officer, a senior doctor in your designated body |
| What the regulator receives | An online declaration through MyNMC; the forms are kept by you, not submitted | A recommendation from the responsible officer; the GMC then decides on the licence |
| Other declarations | Health and character declaration, and a professional indemnity arrangement | A connection to a designated body is the precondition for the whole process |
- NMC revalidation runs on a three-year cycle and requires 450 practice hours for a single registration, 900 hours for two registrations and 1,350 hours for triple registration.
- The NMC CPD requirement is 35 hours over three years, of which at least 20 hours must have included participatory learning.
- Participatory learning, in the NMC's own definition, is any activity involving interaction with one or more other professionals, in a physical or a virtual environment.
- NMC revalidation requires five pieces of practice-related feedback and five written reflective accounts recorded on the NMC's mandatory form.
- A confirmer should be the registrant's line manager where possible, and the NMC states that a line manager does not have to be an NMC-registered nurse or midwife.
- If a nurse, midwife or nursing associate has not met the practice hours, the NMC requires an approved return to practice programme or a Test of Competence before the renewal application.
- A doctor's revalidation recommendation is made by a responsible officer based on annual appraisals across five years, and colleague and patient feedback is required once in each five-year cycle (NHS England).
Cite this page
“NMC revalidation and GMC revalidation side by side”, Revalidation Tracker, https://revalidationtracker.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-15). The NMC column is taken from the requirement pages on nmc.org.uk (practice hours, CPD, practice-related feedback, written reflective accounts, reflective discussion, confirmation and the requirements overview), each read on 15 August 2026. The GMC column is taken from NHS England's medical revalidation pages and from the Royal College of General Practitioners' appraisal supporting information guidance (published 31 January 2025), both read on the same day; gmc-uk.org refused our automated checks on that date, so nothing in the GMC column is quoted from the GMC's own site and the row for CPD volume records that absence rather than filling it. Read the GMC's own guidance on supporting information for appraisal and revalidation alongside this table.
What it does and does not check
- NMC practice hours, including dual and triple registration
- CPD hours and the participatory learning requirement
- Practice-related feedback and written reflective accounts
- The reflective discussion and who may hold it with you
- Confirmation, and who can act as your confirmer
- GMC revalidation: designated body, responsible officer, annual appraisal and cycle feedback
Revalidation Tracker is an independent information site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the General Medical Council, NHS England or the Royal College of General Practitioners, and nothing on it is medical, professional or legal advice. Requirements are set by your regulator and can change: confirm the current position on nmc.org.uk or gmc-uk.org before you submit. We could not read gmc-uk.org on 15 August 2026 because the site refused our automated checks, so the doctors' content here is sourced from NHS England and the RCGP and says so wherever it matters.
Support with revalidation
If you would like help with CPD that meets the participatory requirement, portfolio and reflection support, or appraisal preparation, we can introduce you to a provider.
The questions we get
How often do nurses revalidate with the NMC?
Every three years. The NMC describes revalidation as the process all nurses and midwives in the UK, and nursing associates in England, follow to maintain their registration, and asks registrants to revalidate every three years.
How many practice hours are needed for NMC revalidation?
450 hours over the three-year period for a nurse, a midwife, a nursing associate, or a nurse or midwife also holding SCPHN. 900 hours where two registrations are being renewed, made up of 450 hours for each part, and 1,350 hours for triple registration as a nurse, midwife and nursing associate.
How many CPD and participatory hours does NMC revalidation need?
35 hours of CPD relevant to your scope of practice across the three years, of which at least 20 hours must have included participatory learning. The NMC defines participatory learning as activity involving interaction with one or more other professionals, in person or virtually.
How many reflective accounts does NMC revalidation require?
Five written reflective accounts, each recorded on the NMC's mandatory reflective accounts form, each referring to an instance of CPD, a piece of practice-related feedback, or an event or experience in your professional practice, and how it relates to the Code. You also need five pieces of practice-related feedback, which are a separate requirement.
What happens if I have not done enough practice hours?
The NMC states that if you have not practised for the required number of hours you must successfully complete an approved return to practice programme or a Test of Competence before the date of your application for renewal of registration.
Is GMC revalidation the same as NMC revalidation?
No. NMC revalidation is a three-year cycle of counted requirements that the registrant assembles and a confirmer attests to, declared online. Medical revalidation runs on a five-year cycle of annual appraisals, at the end of which a responsible officer in the doctor's designated body makes a recommendation to the GMC, which then decides whether to renew the licence to practise.
Does NMC revalidation require professional indemnity?
Yes. A professional indemnity arrangement is one of the eight NMC revalidation requirements, alongside a health and character declaration, and both are declared as part of the online application.
Sources
- NMC, revalidation requirements overview
- NMC, practice hours
- NMC, continuing professional development
- NMC, practice-related feedback
- NMC, written reflective accounts
- NMC, reflective discussion
- NMC, confirmation
- NHS England, what is revalidation
- NHS England, 10 steps to revalidation for doctors
- NHS England, colleague and patient feedback
- RCGP, supporting information and reflection on your appraisal (31 January 2025)
See where you are, requirement by requirement
Every figure on this site is traced to the regulator that publishes it.
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