Employers

Verification check on a doctor’s registration status and disciplinary records

Verify before you employ

Before offering a clinical position to a doctor at your institution or clinic, whether as a permanent hire, locum or visiting practitioner, please verify their registration status and Practising Certificate (PC) status on the online SMC Register of Medical Practitioners (opens in new tab). You should also search the Published Grounds of Decision (opens in new tab) webpage to check if the doctor is under any disciplinary action. This is your responsibility as an employer.

Why must you check

Only doctors who are registered with SMC and hold a valid PC can practise medicine in Singapore. A doctor who has been suspended or removed from the Register, or whose PC has expired or is otherwise invalid, must not practise.

Employing or engaging an unregistered doctor puts patients at risk and will expose your institution to undesirable consequences. Verifying a doctor’s status takes only a few minutes and is the basic safeguard available to you.

Who should check

All employers, whether from public or private institutions who are employing doctors to provide medical services must perform the necessary checks.

When to check

• Before offering employment, appointment, privilege or a locum engagement.

• At every PC renewal cycle and whenever a doctor’s PC validity period is expiring.

• Periodically for all existing doctors under your employment, to ensure their PC remains valid.

How to check registration status

Employers may use either or both methods to verify a doctor’s registration status:

Method 1: Search by the name of the person (by entering the name in full or partially, or medical registration number) on SMC’s Register of Medical Practitioners (opens in new tab). The Register provides accurate, up-to-date information about the registration status of doctors registered with SMC.

If the search result returns the details, it means the person is a registered doctor with SMC and holding a valid PC. Otherwise, the person does not hold a valid PC to practise medicine in Singapore or is an unregistered doctor. 

Method 2: Request the person to log in to Singpass in person and show his/her electronic PC (e-PC) on Singpass. Doctors with valid registration and PC will be able to show their e-PC in their Singpass app.

How to check disciplinary records

To check whether a doctor is under any disciplinary action, employers may do so via SMC’s Published Grounds of Decision (opens in new tab)webpage and search for the doctor’s name. Please note that investigations or complaints that are ongoing will not be published on SMC webpage.

What to check

Once you have found the doctor in the SMC Register, confirm the registration type of the doctor.

Only doctors on Full Registration may practise independently or take on locum work.

Doctors on Provisional, Conditional, or Temporary registration are subject to conditions attached to their registration and may not change their employment or any other conditions without the written approval of the SMC. Doctors under Provisional, Conditional, or Temporary registration are not permitted to engage in locum work.

Common questions on how to verify a doctor’s registration status and disciplinary records can be found in the FAQs on Verification Check on Doctors Before Employment (opens in new tab).