REGISTRATION OF MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS IN SINGAPORE
Registration of medical practitioners in Singapore is governed by the Medical Registration Act (Cap 174).

There are 4 types of medical registration (excluding specialist registration) for doctors who wish to practise medicine in Singapore. In general,

Note:
Please refer to the List of Registrable Basic Medical Qualifications and the List of Registrable Postgraduate Medical Qualifications which are recognised by the Medical Council currently.

Medical Practitioners will only be allowed to display qualifications (whether medical or otherwise) that:
1.     Are entered against their name in the 'Register of Medical Practitioners' or the  'Register of Specialists', and
2.     Are listed in SMC's Register of Displayable Qualifications.Medical Practitioners can apply to seek approval from the SMC to add other postgraduate qualifications to the register.

Doctors who are listed in the 'Register of Specialists' can use the title of
1.     Specialist followed by the name of their specialty E.g. Specialist - Respiratory Medicine or Specialist in General Surgery, or
2.     Use their approved specialist title located in Annex A.

Note:
Medical Practitioners are advised to check this list from time to time for updates.

Application for medical registration must be submitted through a local employer in Singapore. However, satisfaction of the criteria for medical registration per se does not mean automatic approval for registration. Each application for medical registration will be considered on its own merits.

To be eligible for medical registration, the applicant must

a) possess a basic medical degree to comply with the requirements of the Medical  Registration Act (Cap 174);and
b) be bona fide; and
c) have a job offer or an offer of training position in a healthcare institution approved by SMC.
d) be in good standing, i.e. does not have  complaints or disciplinary actions taken against him or investigations pending against him: and
e) pass the national licensing examination as required in the country where the basic medical degree was conferred.

The Medical Council will also consider other factors such as:

a) Whether the doctor has been in active clinical practice prior to application;
b) The duration of inactive clinical practice;
c) Past working experiences overseas and locally.

Documentation Required
The Medical Council will only process applications for medical registration on the prescribed form (downloadable from the website: www.smc.gov.sg) submitted with the complete set of the following supporting documents.

The application fee may be paid via cheque or interbank GIRO only. For cheque payments, the cheque should be crossed and made payable to the 'Singapore Medical Council'. Please refer to Fees Schedule Table for fee payable. The application fee is non-refundable.

Upon registration, the doctor is required to apply for a practising certificate (PC) before he can practise medicine in Singapore. Please refer to Fee Schedule Table for fee payable.

Note:
Commencing from 1 Jan 2005, all renewals of PC are subject to compliance with compulsory Continuing Medical Education (CME) requirements; i.e. the doctor must obtain the required number of CME points, including core points, within the CME qualifying period for renewal of his PC. Please see FAQs on CME for more details.

For an applicant who wishes to practise as a specialist in Singapore, he must first obtain specialist accreditation from the Specialists Accreditation Board (SAB). The application form for specialist accreditation may be downloaded from the website: http://www.hpp.moh.gov.sg/SAB/SAB_Home.html.

Upon obtaining a Specialist Accreditation certificate from the SAB, the doctor is required to register his name in the Register of Specialists with the Singapore Medical Council before he is allowed to practise as a specialist in his field of specialty. The application form for specialist registration may be downloaded from the website under 'Download Forms'. A one-time fee of SGD$500 is applicable for specialist registration.

To ensure that the specialist registration is completed in a timely manner, we would recommend applicants to apply for both specialist accreditation with the SAB and specialist registration with the SMC concurrently. If accreditation application has not been processed by SAB at the point of Specialist Registration submission, the processing of the specialist registration will be held in abeyance pending the outcome from SAB.

Please refer to FAQs on Medical Registration for details on specialist registration procedures.

Doctors applying for specialist registration must register at least 1 registrable postgraduate qualification into the Register for Medical Practitioners. Please refer to FAQs on Medical Registration for details on the procedure for application for registration of registrable post-graduate qualifications.