Primary Source Verification of Medical Credentials for Medical Registration with the Singapore Medical Council

8 December 2016

The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) has recently conducted a review of its primary source verification process of medical credentials given by the applicant for the purpose of applying medical registration in Singapore.

Under current practice, the applicant is supposed to arrange for the Letter of Verification (LV) for his medical qualification(s) and Certificate of Good Standing (CGS) to be sent to SMC directly by the issuing authorities. These documents are important and necessary for supporting his application which the applicant had submitted online through the SMC’s Professional Registration System (PRS).

With immediate effect, an extra step to verify the authenticity of the LV and CGS received will be undertaken by SMC. Verification of the LV will be conducted first by checking with the issuing authorities directly while the application is being processed concurrently. The check on the CGS received will be conducted before the doctor is allowed to come for his registration in person. This approach is aligned to international practice for patients’ safety.

The application will be considered as incomplete if SMC does not receive any confirmation from the issuing authority for the LV or CGS after the grace period (60 days) is over. Separately, we seek applicant’s co-operation to follow up with the issuing authority for their timely response where possible. Incomplete applications will be deemed by the SMC to have been withdrawn by the applicant and the application fee will not be refunded.