We ask about health and character to protect the public and ensure that registrants are fit to practise
The pages in this section provide information about health and character declarations: what they are, what needs to be declared and what happens after you make a declaration.
Health and character declarations relate to an individual’s fitness to practise. They tell us whether you are able to practise in a way that is safe, effective and meets our standards.
You make a health and character declaration:
- When you apply to join the HCPC Register
- When you renew your registration
- When something changes about your health or character that affects your fitness to practise
When you fill in your application form, we ask you to declare information about your health and character.
Each time you renew your registration, you must make a 'professional declaration', in which you need to declare any changes to your health and character that affect your fitness to practise.
As a HCPC registrant you have a personal responsibility to maintain and manage your own fitness to practise; this includes giving us any information about changes to your health or character that might affect your fitness to practise. We call this a self-referral.
This section contains case studies to help explain how you might assess risk, manage your fitness to practise and ensure you continue to meet the HCPC standards.
If you are uncertain about what you should declare or if you should make a declaration, please get in touch with us. Contact the Registration team (for applications and renewals) or the Fitness to Practise team (for self-referrals).
If this is causing you stress, please see the support services we recommend.
