There are three steps to renewing registration. DCPs must:
- pay the Annual Retention Fee (ARF)
- make an annual continuing professional development (CPD) statement (or end-of-cycle statement if individuals’ five-year cycle ends on July 31)
- declare they have, or will have, appropriate indemnity in place
The quickest and easiest way to complete the Annual Renewal is through eGDC. It takes only five minutes to register to use the service if not already set up.
Since the introduction of enhanced CPD in 2018, all DCPs must make an annual CPD statement. This entails confirming how many hours of CPD have been completed in the previous 12 months (even where that figure is ‘zero’) and making a declaration that the CPD completed is relevant to their field of practice, a CPD record including a personal development has been kept and the statement is full and accurate.
GDC executive director for registration and corporate resources, Gurvinder Soomal, commented, “This is the first year that annual enhanced CPD statements have been part of the DCP Annual Renewal process, and we would like to remind people of those requirements, including new requirements for zero hour declarations. Whilst the deadline is seven weeks away, with these new requirements in mind, I really would urge people not to leave it until the last minute and to get in touch with us as soon as possible if they have any questions.”
Enhanced CPD also brought changes to the rules governing how ‘grace period’ applications are made. Grace is available for those who, due to exceptional circumstances, need further time to complete the required number of hours for their five-year CPD cycle. Under Enhanced CPD, applications must be made no later than July 31.
The GDC provides further guidance and information about Enhanced CPD on its website.