About practising certificates

It is an offence to practise without a current practising certificate. Council will not backdate practising certificates unless there are extraordinary circumstances for doing so.

It is:

• your responsibility to ensure you hold a current practising certificate, and
• an employers' responsibility to ensure doctors they employ are properly registered and certified to practise.

Please check the expiry date of your practising certificate. If you have not received a renewal notice at least 20 days before the expiry date of your APC please contact us.

Initial practising certificate

Annual practising certificates (APCs) are issued at one of four dates during the year.  Which date is based on your birthday. To place you into your correct renewal cycle your initial practising certificate fee will vary. The fee will depend on your birth date and your work start date. Practising certificates are issued to the end of your cycle or reported end of employment in New Zealand whichever comes first.

		GST excl	Inc 12.5% GST	Incl 15% GST
Doctor starts work	Birth date	Fee	Fee	Fee
1 Mar – 31 May	1 Mar – 31 May 1 Jun – 31 Aug 1 Sep – 30 Nov 1 Dec – 28 (29) Feb	$711.10 $284.44 $426.66 $568.88	$800.00 $320.00 $480.00 $640.00	$817.75 $327.10 $490.65 $654.20
1 Jun – 31 Aug	1 Jun – 31 Aug 1 Sep – 30 Nov 1 Dec – 28 (29) Feb 1 Mar – 31 May	$711.10 $284.44 $426.66 $568.88	$800.00 $320.00 $480.00 $640.00	$817.75 $327.10 $490.65 $654.20
1 Sep – 30 Nov	1 Sep – 30 Nov 1 Dec – 28 (29) Feb 1 Mar – 31 May 1 Jun – 31 Aug	$711.10 $284.44 $426.66 $568.88	$800.00 $320.00 $480.00 $640.00	$817.75 $327.10 $490.65 $654.20
1 Dec –28 (29) Feb	1 Dec – 28 (29) Feb 1 Mar – 31 May 1 Jun – 31 Aug 1 Sep – 30 Nov	$711.10 $284.44 $426.66 $568.88	$800.00 $320.00 $480.00 $640.00	$817.75 $327.10 $490.65 $654.20

Renewing your
practising certificate

If your APC expires at the end of one of the four cycles the Council will send you a renewal form to you approximately six weeks before the expiry date with a guide to assist you in completing it.  This guide can be downloaded here (PDF - 2.1 Mb).

If you have not received a renewal notice at least 20 days before the expiry date of your APC please contact us.

If you do not hold a current practising certificate and wish to apply, complete the online Request for APC Application Form. The Council will then forward the form to your email or postal address.

Applying
from
overseas

If you have worked outside New Zealand since you were last issued a practising certificate you must request a certificate of good standing (CGS) for each country or board you were registered or licenced with during this time. The CGS must be sent direct to Council from that country or board and must be less than 3 months old.

If you were working overseas in a voluntary capacity for no longer than 3 months, and you were lawfully not registered for that period, a letter of good standing from the person you reported to in the organisation or hospital you worked in is acceptable in lieu of a CGS.  This will also apply when you were registered (whilst doing voluntary work for no longer than 3 months), but the overseas authority is unable to issue a CGS in a timely way.

Policy on              doctors               
returning to work

APC
renewal
cycle

APC refunds

A 50% refund of the APC fee/levy is available for doctors whose medical income (before tax) in New Zealand or overseas is no more that $20,000.

You may apply for a refund on your APC at the end of financial year.  Certified documentation of your earnings or an Inland Revenue Statement will be required.