Renewing your practising certificate

This page outlines the process of renewing your practising certificate, when you need to do it, how long it takes, what you need to provide, and what to do if your certificate is about to expire and you haven't heard from us.

Renewal notification and myMCNZ

If you hold a current practising certificate, we'll advise you to renew it around six weeks before it expires. If your practising certificate is about to expire and you haven't heard from us, please contact us and let us know. All practising certificate renewal applications are now made through myMCNZ - our online system.

Complete application and "deemed to hold"

We cannot consider an incomplete application. For an application to be considered complete we must receive the completed application form, required application fee, and any other documents we tell you that we need to process your application.

If we receive everything we need before your current certificate expires, you are deemed to hold a current practising certificate. This means that even if the processing of your application is then delayed, you can continue to work. This will remain in effect from the date the completed application and fee payment is received until the date the new certificate is issued, or until we notify you if the certificate will not be issued.

It is important to apply for the renewal of your practising certificate before your current certificate expires.

Processing times

Your practising certificate will be issued within 5 - 10 working days if your application is complete and there is no other information we need, or reason to follow up with you.

In some circumstances we may need more time to consider your application. This includes where we have reason to believe that you:

  • have not maintained the required standard of competence
  • have not satisfied or complied with a condition on your scope of practice
  • have not satisfactorily completed the requirements of a competence programme
  • are unable to perform the functions required to practise medicine because of a mental or physical condition.

Audit

We audit approximately 20% of doctors each year to check doctors are meeting recertification programme/CPD requirements. If you have been selected for audit, you will not need to send us anything if you:

  • are participating in an approved college CPD or training programme, and
  • have given us permission to contact your recertification provider.

If we have your permission, we will contact the relevant college on your behalf. We will only need to contact you if we need further documentation.

  • Recertification compliance

    13 May 2024

    Recertification helps maintain high standards of medical competence and care. Doctors required to participate in recertification must do so, and must respond, at our request, to any questions we have about their participation.
    We work with recertification providers to ensure doctors’ compliance. At its most serious, non-compliance may, ultimately, lead to the suspension of an individual’s registration.

Workforce data

We will ask you to provide additional medical workforce information when you are applying to renew your practising certificate. This section of the form will ask you for details about the work you are doing, how many hours you are working, as well as other demographic information.

We must provide the data collected in this section to the Ministry of Health under s134A of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCAA).

Certificate issue dates

Your practising certificate will be issued at the end of one of four time periods (cycles) during the year. Which cycle you fit into depends on your birth date. See the table below.

Certificate cycles

(Select the cycle your birthday is in)

When we send out certificate renewal notices

Date the new certificate is effective from

1 Dec - 28 (or 29) Feb

mid January

1 March

1 Mar – 31 May

early April

1 June

1 Jun – 31 Aug

early July

1 September

1 Sep – 30 Nov

early October

1 December

If you recommence work in New Zealand after an absence from practice in New Zealand, your certificate will run from your start date to your cycle-end date. The fee is pro-rated accordingly.

Application fees

See our Fees, forms & checklists page.

  • Forms, fees and checklists

    24 August 2021

    This page contains a full list of our forms including application, report and referee forms, as well as checklists and the current fees payable.