eGDCLeaving the register
Voluntary removal is the process by which a registered dental professional can apply to be removed from the register. You may wish to apply for voluntary removal if you are retiring or have ceased practising for another reason.
Applying for voluntary removal
If you would like to be removed from the register and are not subject to fitness to practise proceedings, please complete our online form.
If you have a question or would like more information, please contact us.
If you are subject to ongoing fitness to practise proceedings, you should make your GDC case contact aware that you want to submit an application for voluntary removal. This may be submitted at any time. The application will then be referred to the Registrar or person with delegated authority for consideration.
The voluntary removal process for registrants with ongoing fitness to practise proceedings
To apply for voluntary removal you will need to complete the "Fitness to Practise – Voluntary Removal Statutory Declaration" and return it to your GDC case contact. This declaration, confirms that you have ceased to practise and do not intend to practise again in future. You will need to provide any supporting documentation.
Before your application is submitted to the Registrar for a decision, you will be asked to confirm whether you admit the allegations against you and whether you accept that your fitness to practise is impaired. Where there is an informant, we will notify them that an application for voluntary removal has been made and invite them to submit any comments.
The case owner will collate all of the information for the Registrar to consider.
The Registrar will review the information and decide whether to grant voluntary removal. A written decision including the reasons for the decision and the matters taken into account in reaching it will be prepared. You, any informant and any employers or contracting bodies will be informed in writing of the Registrar's decision.
Notifying us if someone on our register has passed away
If you are the relative or representative of someone on our register who has passed away, please get in touch to let us know. Please send their full name, date of birth, and GDC registration number, if known, along with an original copy of their death certificate or a copy of the coroner’s certificate to the address below:
General Dental Council
1 Colmore Square
Birmingham
B4 6AJ
Please note we cannot remove a registered dental professional details from the GDC register without an original copy of their death certificate.
More information
When considering whether to allow voluntary removal, the registrar must be satisfied in all the circumstances that it is right to do so. In making that assessment, the registrar will balance the interests of the public and the interests of the registrant. Details of the factors that will be taken into account by the registrar are available in this Guidance on the consideration for voluntary removal applications.