The NMC Online Account: Submitting Your Revalidation

NMC Online is the portal you submit your revalidation through. Account access uses your NMC PIN and a password set at registration. If you haven’t logged in recently, check the URL is correct and your account isn’t locked.

This chapter walks through the submission process.

Before you start

Have ready:

• Your NMC PIN.
• Your NMC Online password.
• Your CPD log (the list of activities, hours, categories).
• Practice hours summary.
• Five reflective accounts (Form 6) saved or printed.
• Reflective discussion form (signed by you and your discussion partner).
• Confirmation form (signed by your confirmer).
• Card details for the annual fee.
• 45-60 minutes of uninterrupted time.

The submission is mostly transcription from your existing records into the NMC Online fields. Doing it without your records ready leads to errors.

Step 1: Log in and start

Log into NMC Online. The dashboard usually shows your renewal date and a “Start your revalidation” button when you’re within the 60-day window.

Click “Start”. The system creates a draft submission. You can save and return to it.

Step 2: Practice hours

Enter:

• Total hours of practice across the three-year window.
• Brief description of your practice (role, employer, scope).
• Confirmation that hours meet the requirement (450 for single, 900 for dual, 1,350 for triple).

The portal doesn’t ask for proof here, just the total and the confirmation.

Step 3: CPD

For each CPD activity in your three-year log:

• Date.
• Activity title.
• Hours.
• Whether participatory or individual.
• Brief description.
• Brief reflection on relevance.

Typical submissions have 15-30 CPD entries. The portal calculates the totals as you go and flags if you’re under the 35-hour minimum or the 20-hour participatory floor.

Step 4: Feedback

For each of the five pieces:

• Date.
• Source (anonymised: patient, colleague, etc.).
• Brief description.
• Brief note on practice impact.

The portal accepts five separate entries.

Step 5: Reflective accounts

For each of the five Form 6 accounts:

• Date completed.
• Brief title.
• Code section linked.
• The four field contents (what happened, what learned, how changed practice, Code link).

The portal has fields matching the Form 6 structure. You can paste from your existing Word/PDF versions or type directly.

Step 6: Reflective discussion

• Date of the discussion.
• Discussion partner’s name and NMC PIN.
• Confirmation that all five accounts were discussed.

Sometimes the partner enters their own confirmation through their NMC Online account; sometimes you enter their details and they confirm by email. The portal indicates which.

Step 7: Health and character

A single declaration with several confirmation questions:

• Any matters affecting fitness to practise since last submission.
• Any criminal matters.
• Any other regulator action.

Tick the appropriate response. If you’re declaring matters, the portal opens additional fields for context.

Step 8: Professional indemnity

• Source of indemnity (employer, union, private).
• Confirmation that cover is in place for the period.

No policy upload required at submission.

Step 9: Confirmation

• Confirmer’s name, NMC PIN (or other registration number), role.
• Date the confirmation was given.
• Confirmation that they have signed the form.

Some trusts have systems where the confirmer’s role is verified electronically; others rely on the registrant’s declaration.

Step 10: Annual fee

If you don’t have a direct debit set up, pay the £120 annual fee. Direct debit can be set up here for future years.

Step 11: Review and submit

The portal generates a summary. Review every section:

• Are the hours and totals correct?
• Are the dates right?
• Are the reflective accounts complete?
• Is the confirmer information accurate?

Once submitted, you cannot edit (except in specific audit-related circumstances). Errors caught after submission may need to be flagged separately.

Step 12: Confirmation of submission

You receive an email confirming the submission. Your NMC Online status shows “Revalidation submitted, under review”.

Most submissions are reviewed within 4-6 weeks. If you’re audited, you receive a separate communication asking for evidence.

If approved, your registration is updated and the next three-year cycle begins.

Common submission errors

Wrong totals. CPD totalled incorrectly. Practice hours mis-added. The portal usually catches the most obvious arithmetic but check before submitting.

Confirmer details wrong. A typo in the confirmer’s PIN. A wrong NMC registration number. The most common error needing correction.

Reflective accounts incomplete. A field left blank. The portal may not warn; review each account before final submission.

Missing dates. Activity dated incorrectly or with placeholder dates. Audit flags these.

Submission after the deadline. Surprisingly common because the 60-day window can feel longer than it is. Submit at least a week before the deadline as a safety margin.

After submission

You can continue normal practice during the review period. Your registration remains “Active” while under review.

If audited, respond within the 28-day window with the requested evidence.

If approved, your three-year cycle resets to start the day after your renewal date. Begin gathering for the next cycle immediately.

The next chapter is the revalidation timeline: the 12, 6, 3, and 1 month milestones before your deadline.