Overseas Registration Exam (ORE)

Application form guidance notes

For dentists holding dental degrees from outside the UK and EEA

This application form and accompanying documents should be sent to the following address:

Examinations Team
General Dental Council
1 Colmore Square
Birmingham
B4 6AJ

Overseas Registration Exam: Application form guidance notes (March 2021 v3)
Guidance for applicants and referees

Please read this guidance carefully before completing your application form and use the checklist to make sure you
have completed all sections and submitted all the supporting documents. Your application will not be processed and it
will be returned if there are documents missing or your application is incomplete.

We expect candidates to be academically and financially ready to sit an examination as soon as they send in their
application.

Candidates are allowed up to four attempts at each part of the ORE and will need to pass Part 2 within five years
of first sitting Part 1.

If you have any queries after reading these guidance notes please email the exams team, examinations@gdc-uk.org.

Creating your online application form and checklist

Creating you online application form

You can apply for the ORE online via eGDC by selecting ‘Apply to register’. Please note, you will be asked to complete
the route to registration questionnaire.

The ORE application form is titled 'Overseas Registration Examination', not 'Overseas Qualified Dentist' which requires
the applicant to hold a recognised qualification from a list of GDC approved institutions prior to 2001, and completing
the incorrect form will delay your application process.

Please note that there is no application fee required from applicants seeking to join the ORE candidate lists, if you are
asked to make a payment during the application process this normally indicates that you are completing the wrong
application form.

Once complete the ORE online application form will be available for download and you will be required to print and
complete the application form, sending it with your supporting documents to the correct address.

Your details
• Title
You may not use Doctor (Dr) unless you hold a doctorate in addition to your primary dental qualification.

• Given or first name

Please provide your full given or first name and middle names exactly as they appear on your passport and
degree certificate.

• Family name or surname

Enter your full family or surname exactly as it appears on your passport and degree certificate. This is the name
you will be registered under for the ORE so it is essential it is recorded correctly.

If you have changed your name by marriage or Deed Poll you must provide evidence of this change with your
application in the form of the original certificate, affidavit or other statutory evidence.

• Nationality
We have asked for you and your spouse’s nationality so that we can check whether you are exempt from any
application requirements.

You should check whether you are eligible for registration through any other route on our website:
www.gdc-uk.org
.

Overseas Registration Exam: Application form guidance notes (March 2021 v3)
Your contact details
• Address
The address you provide will be used to contact you if we need to return incomplete forms or documents. If your
address changes at any point during the ORE you must notify us by email, or by sending in a signed and dated
letter with your new address
clearly marked with your name and GDC reference number.

• Email address
You must have an email address that you can access frequently as we use email as our main form of
communication for exam announcements, reference checking and results.

• Telephone numbers
All telephone numbers should be given in full with STD codes as we may need to contact you by telephone
regarding your application or exam place.

Please notify us immediately if your address, email or telephone number changes.

Primary qualification

You must state here which institution you received your original primary qualification from, the country of qualification
and the title of your primary dental qualification e.g. BDS, University of Health Sciences, Lahore, India.

Supporting documents

You must enclose an original IELTS certificate, original Certificates of Good Standing and an original NARIC
statement/certificate of comparability. You may supply copies of all other documentation as long as these documents
have been certified by someone named in guidance notes. Please refer to the guidance notes for a list of people who
can certify documents.

Your full name (including any middle names) and date of birth should match on all of your supporting documentation
unless you have provided evidence of a change of name. If the name on any of your supporting documents does not
match, for example your middle name does not appear on your degree certificate; you must obtain an affidavit
confirming that you are the person stated on the document.

All photocopied documents must be certified. We can only accept certified copies if all the following criteria apply:

• The documents are legible;

• The copy is taken from the original document (we cannot accept copies of photocopies or faxes);
• The person certifying confirms (in English) by signing and dating the document that it is a true copy of the
original;
• The person certifying is either a Notary Public, Commissioner of Oaths, Justice of the Peace or another person
entitled to practise law, or an authorised officer of an embassy or consulate; • The name, signature and address
of the person certifying is shown on the copy;
• The person certifying is not a relative of yours.

The applicant cannot certify documents themselves.

We do not accept photocopied documents verified by a GDC registrant.

Your primary dental degree certificate

Please send us a certified copy of the original certificate. If your name on the certificate does not match your passport

Overseas Registration Exam: Application form guidance notes (March 2021 v3)
please provide an affidavit to confirm that you are the holder of the degree.

A provisional certificate or certificate of graduation will not be accepted in place of a final degree certificate or diploma.

ENIC Statement or Certificate of Comparability

You must provide a statement or certificate of comparability from ENIC along with your degree certificate. Details
can be found on the ENIC website https://enic.org.uk/Qualifications/SOC/Default.aspx.

We may ask for additional information to verify the authenticity of your degree certificate.

Passport
Please send us a certified copy of your current, valid passport. It must:

• Be legible;
• Show a clear photograph;
• State expiry date of your passport;
• Indicate your date of birth; and
• Clearly show your signature.

Passport photo
You must supply us with a recent passport size photo. If the photograph is not a true likeness to that on your passport,
it will need to be certified on the back by a professional (e.g. your referee).

Variations in your name

If the name in which you are applying for the ORE differs from that on any of the other documents you are sending,
you must provide evidence of the legality of your name change, e.g. a marriage certificate. In this instance please
send us a certified copy of the original. Alternatively, please provide an affidavit confirmed by a solicitor, detailing
the variations of your name on your documents and that they all relate to you.

Medical certificate
You must attach supporting medical evidence if you have a condition that requires adjustment(s) during the
exams. Please note the GDC may request an updated medical certificate up to five weeks before you take the
exam.

If you have not supplied a medical certificate with this application, please tell us about any adjustments arising from
additional needs that you may require during an exam. It is your responsibility to tell the exams team of any
additional needs or changes that may arise. You must do this at least five weeks before an exam sitting. The exam
centres cannot guarantee any adjustment but will consider it and advise you accordingly.

Evidence of English language

The Dentists Act 1984 (as amended) requires the GDC to be satisfied that all applicants have the necessary
knowledge of English prior to entry to our registers.

If the GDC is satisfied about your knowledge of English from your initial application for registration we will not request
further evidence or information.

If the GDC is not satisfied that you have produced sufficient evidence that you have the necessary knowledge of
English we will request further evidence and/or information. Please refer to “Evidence of English language
competence: guidance for applicants” document, which can be found on the GDC website (www.gdc-uk.org) for

Overseas Registration Exam: Application form guidance notes (March 2021 v3)
types of evidence we are likely to accept as demonstrating that a dental professional has the necessary knowledge of
English.
If this further evidence still does not satisfy us, we will direct you to undertake a test before we allow you to enter the
ORE. The test that we will direct you to undertake is the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam.
You must achieve the pass scores relevant to your profession.

Certificate or Letter of Good Standing

This is a certificate or letter issued by the dental authority of the country in which you last worked which states that
you are legally entitled to practise dentistry in that country and that you have not been suspended, disqualified or
prohibited from working as a dentist.

You must also send us a Certificate or Letter of Good Standing from the dental authority in the country in which you
qualified if this is different to the country in which you last worked or are currently working.

This document must be:

• An original certificate or letter on letter headed/watermarked paper;

• No more than three months from the date of issue at the time of your application.

If you cannot obtain this document due to the regulations of the dental authority in the country in which you qualified,
you must provide a letter from that dental authority which explains why a Certificate or Letter of Good Standing cannot
be provided. In addition you must provide an affidavit or affirmation witnessed by a solicitor or other legal professional,
confirming that you are of good standing. This will be considered on a case by case basis.

If you cannot obtain this document due to your refugee status, you will also need to provide an affidavit or affirmation
witnessed by a solicitor or other legal professional confirming that you are of good standing. This is only acceptable if
it is not possible to obtain a Certificate or Letter of Good Standing and will be considered on a case by case basis.

You must be prepared to swear under oath in the affidavit/affirmation that you cannot obtain the Certificate or Letter of
Good Standing despite having tried to. In the affidavit/affirmation you must state that you have the right to practise
dentistry in the relevant country and that you have not been suspended or prohibited from practising as a dentist.
Reasons for being unable to obtain a Letter or Certificate of Good Standing must be included. We may also seek
confirmation from the relevant authority.

A registration certificate or an annual practising certificate or a reference from your university will not be accepted in
place of a Certificate or Letter of Good Standing.

Translations
Any required documents which are not in English must be accompanied by an exact translation. You must send us a
certified copy of the original document and the certified translation. The translation must either be:

• A certified translation by a qualified translator; or

• For degree certificates and diplomas, an official translation by the relevant university with the official stamp
of the university and the signature and name of the Dean.

The General Dental Council will not refund any fees for translation.

Declaration

Please ensure that all your details are correctly and accurately completed before you sign and date your
application.

Overseas Registration Exam: Application form guidance notes (March 2021 v3)
 • Please complete the Checklist included at the front of the application form confirming the documents that
you are submitting.
• Please do not submit a form which is dated more than three months ago.
• We will return your documents once we have processed your application. The address you supply must
be one where you can receive these documents.

Character reference

Your character referee must sign the form after you have signed and completed all sections.

The date the referee signs must not be earlier that the date you have signed.

The referee must be a registered professional and must not be a relative.

Clinical experience reference

You must provide one or more references, dated no longer than three months ago, to demonstrate you have
completed at least 1,600 hours of clinical experience prior to applying for the ORE.

You may need to submit more than one clinical reference in order to satisfy the 1,600 hours requirement. We have
provided three forms, and you may print as many additional copies of section 7 as you need from our website in order
to send each referee a separate copy. If one reference satisfies the 1,600 hours requirement we do not need
additional references.

Your referees must complete this section of the application form to verify that you have this experience, providing
details of your clinical experience. They may continue on additional sheets if necessary.

If you are submitting evidence from your primary dental qualification as evidence of prior clinical experience, the Dean
of the dental school or your professor/tutor acting on behalf of the Dean must be the referee. Please ensure that the
Dean’s office stamps the form in all cases.

If you are submitting evidence from post-qualification work experience, the person verifying the reference must be, or
have been, registered as a professional with the regulatory body in the country where you worked or studied and
must be, or have been, your employer.

If you are submitting evidence gained in the UK under temporary registration, the form must be completed by the
supervising consultant(s) responsible for supervising your direction(s).

If you are unable to submit evidence of your clinical experience because you are a refugee or asylum seeker,
please contact us to discuss alternative methods of verification.

Overseas Registration Exam: Application form guidance notes (March 2021 v3)
Exam rules
Late arrivals at the exam
Candidates who arrive late will not be admitted to that section of the exam. Candidates will be allowed to take any
later sections of Part 2; however marks will not be provided for these sections. This will count as one of the four
attempts allowed.

Cheating and misconduct

Any of the following examples of misconduct will result in the candidate failing the exam and may impact on GDC
registration should the candidate subsequently pass the ORE:

• introduction of unauthorised material into the exam room, for example: notes, textbooks or study guides,
personal organisers, calculators, dictionaries, personal stereos, concealed mobile phones or other similar
electronic devices;
• obtaining, receiving, exchanging or passing on information which could be exam-related (or the attempt to)
during the exam by means of talking, written papers/notes, by telephone or by recording oral exams; •
attempting to solicit information about the exam from candidates from an earlier time slot; • copying from
another candidate;
• collusion;
• disruptive behaviour in the exam room (including using offensive language);
• failing to abide by the conditions of supervision designed to maintain the security of the exams;
• failing to abide by the instructions or advice of an examiner, academic lead or administrator in relation to the
exam rules and regulations;
• impersonation: pretending to be someone else, arranging for a third party to take the candidate’s place in
an exam;
• the inclusion of inappropriate, offensive or obscene material in answers;
• misuse of exam material, e.g. by passing or attempting to pass such material to a third party after the exam;
• bribing or attempting to bribe an exam official;
• the alteration of any results document;
• behaving in such a way as to undermine the integrity of the exam.
• contacting or attempting to contact internal or external examiners before or after the exam for any reason.
• making spurious complaints that are a deliberate attempt to unfairly gain advantage.

Mobile telephones
It is accepted that for reasons of personal safety, including emergency contact with friends and family, candidates
cannot be forced to leave mobile telephones behind when attending on the day of the exam. However, we reserve the
right to ask candidates to switch off their telephones and place them in a clear plastic bag and ensure that this is on
display at all times, or to leave the telephone in designated secure storage at the place of the exam and for the
duration of the exam only. Candidates found with concealed mobile telephones or other electronic devices during the
exam will fail the exam and this may impact on GDC registration should the candidate subsequently pass the ORE.

Illness
• Candidates who are unwell should speak immediately with the GDC external examiner. They will write a
detailed note of all the information given to him and send this to the exams team as soon as possible.

Overseas Registration Exam: Application form guidance notes (March 2021 v3)
• Candidates who are unwell must make a professional decision as to their fitness to continue with the exam.
You should be clear as to the consequences of your decision. All candidates should read and understand
the policy regarding illness before the exam. This can be found on our website.
• If you are not fit to continue with the exam you will keep the results you have earned up to that point. This
means that candidates who have passed all the sections of the exam up to the point of departure will be
entitled to sit the exam again for free once an acceptable original medical certificate has been received by
the exams team. Candidates who have already failed before they leave the exam will still have failed the
exam and the results will not be changed retrospectively on production of a medical certificate.
• Candidates who decide that they are fit to continue with the exam will not have their results changed
retrospectively on production of a medical certificate.

Data Protection

Under the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection law, the GDC processes personal data, like
the information in your application, because the processing is necessary for the exercise of the GDC’s statutory
functions; and the processing is also in the substantial public interest.

Information about how the GDC will use and share the information you give us, the various rights you have in
connection with any personal data about you that is held by the GDC, and how long we will keep your
information for can be found in the privacy notice on our website here: www.gdc-uk.org/privacy.

Overseas Registration Exam: Application form guidance notes (March 2021 v3)