Your responsibility to make sure you are on the register before practising

One of the key ways we safeguard the health and safety of the public is by maintaining a register of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. 

You can only practise as a pharmacist or pharmacy technician, or call yourself one of these titles, in Great Britain if you are on our register.

If you practise as a pharmacist or pharmacy technician or use one of these titles while not on the register, you commit a criminal offence. This illegal practice can also present a significant risk to patients as individuals practising illegally are not subject to our fitness to practise procedures or the requirements of our standards.

If you practise illegally, you may also invalidate any indemnity insurance which presents further risks to both patients and those in the workplace.

The GPhC has powers to bring a private prosecution against pharmacy professionals practising illegally and most cases are prosecuted in this way because we have the specialist knowledge to be able to bring all relevant information to the court’s attention.

You can find out more information about our approach to prosecution in our prosecution policy [PDF 129 KB]

Recently, we prosecuted an individual based in Birmingham for practising as a pharmacist whilst not on the register. The individual was removed from the GPhC register in December 2015 as he failed to renew his registration, despite being reminded to do so.

In May 2016, the individual telephoned the GPhC as he had discovered, when he tried to enrol onto a course, that he was no longer registered. He spoke with a customer service representative at the GPhC who confirmed that he had not been on the register since December 2015. She confirmed that reminders had been sent to him. The individual explained that he had not received the reminders as he had moved home.

The GPhC customer service representative then asked the individual whether he had practised as a pharmacist between December 2015 and May 2016. The individual explained that he had not practised during this period because he had been travelling abroad, and had only recently returned to the UK.

However, we were able to find evidence to show that the individual knowingly practised as a pharmacist regularly after he had been removed from the register. He continued to practise even after he rang the GPhC in May 2016 and admitted that he was unregistered.

We consider continuing to practise when you know that you are not registered, and  dishonesty about whether you have been practising,  to be severe aggravating factors in deciding whether we should prosecute someone for practising illegally.

In court, the individual said that he thought that he could start to practise again once he submitted an application to restore his name onto the register. However, applying to restore your registration is not enough. A pharmacy professional is only allowed to practise once their application has been approved by the GPhC, and their registration has been restored.

In this case, the individual was required to pay a total amount of £1176.00 (£800 fine, £296 prosecution costs, and £80 victim surcharge).

How to make sure that you don’t practise illegally

• You must make sure your contact details are up to date so that reminders to renew your registration will reach you. You can easily update your address or email online through MyGPhC. It is your responsibility to keep your records up to date and renew your registration; it is not the responsibility of your employer or the GPhC
• Make sure you renew your registration before the deadline and check the register to make sure that you continue to be registered
• If you become aware that you are not on the register, stop practising immediately
• If you are removed from the register for any reason, and then apply for restoration, make sure you do not practise until you are back on the online register.