Recertification Information

It is important to make sure that medical professionals have the necessary training to give women the safe, effective and individual advice that they deserve and need. The Faculty offers this training through its qualifications. In order to retain the skills and knowledge you need for these qualifications, you must recertify them every five years.

How to apply for recertification

Recertification is a free membership benefit for Faculty members who have paid their annual subscription fee. If you are not a member, there is a recertification fee of £300 per qualification for non-members. If you have paid your annual membership subscriptions, there is no additional charge for recertification of LoC or Diploma qualifications.

Your recertification date

You should apply for recertification not more than six months before your recertification date, and no later than six weeks afterwards. You can find this date in ‘My FSRH’ under 'My Certificates' – it is also on your initial certificate, and on any recertification confirmation letter that you may have received in the past.

Your qualification number

To apply for recertification, you need your qualification number (e.g. your LoC or FSRH Diploma number). You can find this in ‘My FSRH’; it is also on your initial certificate or your last recertification confirmation letter.

CPD activity

You can find a calendar of CPD events and meetings in the events section of this website. One CPD credit is equal to one hour of CPD.

Please note that you may use the same CPD activity to recertify for the FSRH Diploma and your LoC IUT and/or LoC SDI, as long as the activity is relevant to your LoC qualification(s).

e-SRH modules

To recertify, you may also need to take modules 17 and/or 18 of the e-SRH, our free e-learning package. To access this, please register with e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH).

Personal beliefs guidance

At the time of recertifying your FSRH qualification, you need to confirm you have read the 6 principles of care as outlined in the “Guidance for those undertaking or recertifying FSRH qualifications whose personal beliefs conflict with the provision of abortion or any method of contraception” and agree to abide by them in practice.

Failure to recertify when due

If you recertify up to six weeks after your recertification date, your qualification will remain valid. However, FSRH records will show that you have not maintained CPD for your qualification and that it is not currently recertified. This will be the information we give to any prospective employers who contact us to check your qualifications.

If you do not apply for recertification within six weeks of the due date, your qualification is deemed to have lapsed. If you are a Faculty Registered Trainer (FRT), please note that your qualification must be current for you to continue as an FRT.

If you recertify more than six weeks after your normal recertification date, you will have to fulfil some extra requirements. Please read the relevant recertification page for more information.

If it is 10 years or more since your qualification was awarded or last recertified, you will need to retake the full training programme for your qualification. For Letters of Competence, this may be via the experienced practitioner route, if appropriate.

Special circumstances

All clinicians holding a licence to practice should maintain their CPD commitments, whether or not they work full time. However, we recognise that some circumstances make it difficult or impossible to engage in CPD. These are some of the circumstances that merit special consideration.

Sick leave, maternity leave or other career breaks

If you need to take time away from your career, you should make up any shortfall in your CPD activity over the remainder of the five year recertification cycle. You can do this in advance and/or once you have returned to work. If you wish to apply for an extension on your recertification date, please complete this questionnaire. If you have any questions, you can call our recertification team on +44(0)20 3198 3180 or +44(0)20 7724 5620.

Work in isolated environments outside the UK

In some circumstances or locations, the available CPD activity may not meet Faculty standards. In such situations, you should self-accredit as much CPD as you feel is justified for the learning achieved, and make up any shortfall after returning to the UK. If you are away for more than a year, you may need to agree specific CPD goals with your appraiser, or the Faculty.

Remediation

CPD is a central part of the remediation process.

Suspension

This is rare, and usually involves a short period of suspension before returning to work or facing a decision on retraining or remediation. If necessary, you should be able to make up any lost CPD credits during your five year cycle.

Other circumstances

If you are unable to gain the CPD credits you need for recertification because of a particular situation or event not covered in the categories above, please contact the Faculty. We will assess such situations on a case-by-case basis. You can call us on +44 (0)20 7724 5620 or email us at recertassistant@fsrh.org for more information.