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Restore as a fully qualified individual
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Overview
If you have previously registered with us as a dispensing optician or optometrist, and for any reason have allowed your registration to lapse, or we have removed you from the register, you must restore to the register to continue to practise.
If you continue to practise as an optometrist or dispensing optician while unregistered, you are committing an offence and could be prosecuted.
Please remember unless you receive written notification from us that your restoration application has been granted, you are currently not registered, and cannot undertake any of the following restricted activities:
- The testing of sight
- The fitting of contact lenses
- The supply of optical appliances to customers who are registered blind or partially sighted
The supply of optical appliances to customers aged under 16 years - The supply of zero powered contact lenses
Once you have been restored you will be informed of your GOC number starting with a D- or 01-. As of 1 April 2021, we have introduced a lifetime number for new and restoring students, fully qualified registrants and optical businesses applying for registration on the GOC register.
Important Notice – Restoration during 2025/26 registration renewal
Please note, the two options set out below are only applicable if you are currently unregistered. They do not apply to registrants who failed to meet the 22-24 CPD cycle requirements - please go to the "Restoring to the register following removal for failure to meet the 2022-24 CPD cycle requirements" section below for further information on this.
We are approaching the end of the current registration year which runs from 1 April – 31 March. Fully qualified registrants are now able to renew their registration for 2025/26.
If you want to apply to restore to the fully qualified register, you have two options:
Option 1: Restore now and then complete renewal (in total this will cost £596.25).
If you need to restore before 1 April, we will send you a PayPal invoice upon receipt of your application for:
- Quarter 4 2024-25 fee = £101.25
- Registration fee = £80
- Total = £181.25
Once restored you will need to login to MyGOC and complete annual renewal as a fully qualified registrant. You will need to pay the annual renewal fee:
- Annual renewal fee 2025/26 = £415
This must be completed by 31 March 2025 or you will be removed from the register.
Option 2: Restore after 1 April (in total this will cost £495).
This option is only applicable if you intend to start practice as an Optometrist or Dispensing Optician after 1 April.
Upon receipt of your application after 1 April, we will send you a PayPal invoice for:
- Quarter 1 2025-26 fee = £415
- Restoration fee = £80
- Total = £495
What action do I need to take?
If you need to proceed with Option 1, please click “Begin Application” once you have read through the rest of the guidance on this page and are ready to apply.
If you wish to proceed with Option 2, no action is required until 1 April. You will need to submit your application after this date.
How to apply
- Before you begin your application read the important information, provided below, in full. It will save you time and help you complete your application.
- Make sure you complete the required Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements. See below for further information.
- Complete the application form to restore to the register as a fully qualified individual, including the certified identification form.
- Pay the appropriate application fee.
Information you will need to complete your application to the fully qualified register
To complete this application form you will need:
- Contact information, including your home address and/or practice address(es)
- Details of the educational institute where you completed your qualifications and details of the qualifications you achieved
- Details of the required indemnity insurance
- Information about why you were removed from the register and details about any unregistered activities you may have completed during your period of non-registration
- Details of any declarations you may need to make about your fitness to practise. Find out more about when and how to make a declaration
- If you are applying for a low income fee - details of your gross annual personal income from all sources
- A completed identification form and correctly certified identification.
What are the CPD requirements?
To meet your CPD restoration requirements, you will first need to create a restoration account on MyCPD. Once it has been created, your MyCPD account will automatically calculate any previous CPD shortfall you may have, and your restoration requirements.
In order to restore your registration following removal, you will have to:
- Complete any shortfall you have in meeting your CPD requirements from a previous CPD cycle which can include some or all of; CPD points, domains, interactive points and peer reviews.
- Demonstrate that in the last 12 months you have completed:
-
- a minimum of 12 general CPD points from provider led CPD and achieved at least six of these points from interactive CPD;
- all of the general domains for their professional group; and
- ensure you have undertaken one peer review.
Please note: points completed as part of your restoration cannot be carried over and counted towards the current CPD cycle requirements.
What you get on successful application
- You will receive an email confirming your restoration including your new GOC number. You cannot keep or use any previous GOC number. If you were initially registered on or after 1 April 2021 and your restoration application is successful, you will keep your lifetime GOC number.
- You can access your MyGOC account. This area of the website will allow you to update your details, download a receipt, set up a direct debit and complete annual retention.
- The registration year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Your annual renewal fee will be due by 15 March each year.
Restoring to the register following removal for failure to meet the 2022-24 CPD cycle requirements
If you failed to meet the 2022-24 CPD cycle requirements, you are due to be removed from the register on or shortly after 01 April 2025. You will be contacted once you have been removed from the register.
You cannot apply to restore to the register until you have been removed in April and until you have met the CPD restoration requirements.
You can minimise the amount of time you are off the register by planning your restoration application ahead of your removal. You can do this by undertaking CPD to complete your restoration requirements. This must be from provider-led CPD.
To restore your registration, you will have to:
- Complete any shortfall you have in meeting your CPD requirements from the previous CPD cycle (your CPD shortfall can be found in your MyCPD account).
- Demonstrate that in the last 12 months you have completed:
- a minimum of 12 general CPD points from provider-led CPD and achieved at least six of these points from interactive CPD;
- all of the general domains for your professional group; and
- ensure you have undertaken one peer review.
- Your shortfall requirements will also contribute towards your restoration requirements.
If you are restoring to the specialty register only, you will be required to:
- Complete any shortfall in specialty CPD from the previous CPD cycle.
- Demonstrate that in the last 12 months you have undertaken:
- a minimum of six specialty CPD points (of which 50 per cent are interactive);
- undertaken provider-led peer review obtained in the specialty CPD domain.
When you have completed your specialty restoration, please send an email to registration@optical.org showing the C-reference of the specialty CPD you have completed, with an accompanying completion certificate for each piece of CPD.
If you have any questions related to CPD restoration requirements, contact cpd@optical.org
Following removal from the register, you will need to set up a restoration account on MyCPD. Your CPD restoration account will confirm whether you have met the CPD requirements to restore, or whether there are outstanding requirements.
Please do not apply for restoration until you have completed your CPD restoration requirements. If you apply before you have met the CPD restoration requirements, your application will be cancelled.
For guidance on what to do once you have met the CPD restoration requirements, please go to the “How to apply” section of this page.
Please note, once you have been restored to the register you will be given a new pro-rata target to meet before the end of the cycle, which is 31 December 2027. Points completed towards restoration cannot be used towards your new pro rata CPD requirements.
