Assessing your application

Before you apply

It is important that you read the standards of proficiency relevant for your profession before you start completing your application. These standards should guide your choice of documents you submit with your application.

The information you provide should be as detailed and relevant as possible to avoid the risk of your application being unsuccessful.

Step one
Application received by HCPC

If your application is accepted for processing, we will take the scrutiny payment (£495) at this stage. We will contact you with a confirmation of receipt and of a confirmation of payment. We will also provide you with the application reference number in the following format: ‘AA123456’. This reference number is important and you should use this each time you contact the HCPC to discuss your application through each stage.

If your application is not accepted for processing because of missing information, we will return it to the address on the form. You will then need to resubmit your application.

Step two
Initial processing – within four weeks from receipt

During this period we will contact your education provider, any relevant regulatory or professional bodies and any professional referees. We may also ask an outside agency to conduct these checks on our behalf. This is to verify the information that you have provided. We will not wait to hear from these contacts before sending your application to the next stage. You do not need to do anything until we have notified you of the outcome of the next stage of the process.

Step three
Assessment – within 60 working days from receipt

The next stage is the assessment of your regulated education and training (for practice in another relevant European state) and any other relevant education, training or experience. Your application will be sent to two assessors from the part of the Register to which you are applying. They will consider all of the information that you have submitted before making their recommendation. First, they will compare your regulated education and training with our standards of proficiency. If they identify shortfalls, they will look to see if these have been made up through any other relevant education, training or experience. They will then send a recommendation to the Education and Training Committee (ETC).

This recommendation will be then reviewed by the ETC who will send their decision to you.

Please note that we can only base our decision on the information provided in the application. We do not contact referees, training institutions, or employers to obtain further information about your training or work experience.

We will endeavour to send a Record of Assessment to you within 60 working days of receipt. This Record of Assessment may include a request for further information which will prolong the processing time of your application. For this reason it is important that you include as much relevant information as possible when you submit your application.

There are several possible outcomes to the application assessment process:

• Recognition of professional qualifications - recommendation to accept for admission to the Register;
• Requirement to complete a compensation measure – we may ask you to undertake an adaptation period(commonly referred to as period of adaptation or ‘POA’) in order to reach the standard required to be registered with us. As an alternative, you may request an aptitude test in place of the adaptation period. Two opportunities will be provided to take the test should you decide to pursue this option.

The assessment process leads to decision on the recognition of your professional qualifications. In order to become registered, other checks, such as character and verification checks, must also be completed successfully.

Following acceptance for admission to the Register, a registration fee of £90 per year is payable. The amount covers a profession’s two year registration cycle with the HCPC and the certificate and registration number cannot be issued until payment is received in full.

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