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If you have no designated body or responsible officer, you can still revalidate and keep your licence to practise. You can look for a GMC-approved suitable person. If that isn't possible, you revalidate directly with the GMC by submitting an annual return through your GMC Online account and sitting the revalidation assessment. This guide explains both routes.

This Blog explains how doctors without a Responsible Officer can still revalidate and hold a license to practice.

From: http://www.gmc-uk.org/Revalidation___FAQs_for_retired_doctors___DC5683.pdf_56109819.pdf

If you don’t have a responsible officer but want to keep your licence to practise, you may be able to identify a suitable person to support your appraisal and recommend whether you can revalidate. The role of an approved suitable person is substantially the same as that of a responsible officer. In brief, that person must: hold a licence to practise and have been registered with us continuously for at least five years have a connection to a responsible officer or an approved suitable person, for their own revalidation be a responsible officer or hold a post similar to that of a responsible officer, in an organisation operating and located in the UK or the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man have a logical link to your current medical practice

To help you try to identify a suitable person, you should look at the criteria for being a suitable person at www.gmc-uk.org/suitable.If you find someone who meets these criteria, you should ask them if they are willing to act as a suitable person for you. If they are, they will need to apply to us to be a suitable person, and have their application approved before the arrangements can be confirmed. Doctors in this situation can also explore a designated body connection, which provides the formal organisational link required to support revalidation.

If you don’t have a responsible officer and can’t identify a suitable person and you wish to maintain your licence you will still be able to revalidate. You will need to tell us by emailing [email protected] (including your GMC reference number in the email) send us information each year about your work and evidence of your participation in appraisals. You will need to make sure our criteria for appraisals and appraisers, set out in A guide for doctors to the General Medical Council (Licence to Practise and Revalidation) Regulations 2012, are met to take part in an independent assessment of your medical knowledge and skills if we ask you to do so pay us a fee to evaluate any evidence and for each part of the assessment. In such cases, working with a qualified Responsible Officer service can help ensure your appraisal evidence meets GMC standards before submission.

If you pass the assessment, and the evidence from your appraisals shows you are  t to practise, you will be successfully revalidated. If you don’t pass the assessment, we will investigate further whether you are  t to practise. This means your registration as well as your licence would be at risk. Maintaining a valid licence to practise depends on submitting proper appraisal supporting information annually — something an experienced appraiser can help you prepare. You can find out more about this process at www.gmc-uk.org/suitable_none.

How to revalidate with no designated body: what the GMC asks today

Keep your contact details up to date in GMC Online.

Submit an annual return once a year through your GMC Online account.

Keep having appraisals that meet the GMC's criteria.

Sit the revalidation assessment when the GMC asks you to. Without independent assurance of your fitness to practise, the GMC uses this assessment.

Watch the deadlines. Meeting the timescales lets you keep your licence.

Can I have an appraisal without a designated body?

Yes. You still need regular appraisals, and they must meet the GMC's criteria for appraisals and appraisers. An independent appraiser can prepare you. See our medical appraisal and revalidation service.

How do I find out if I have a designated body?

Use the GMC's connection tool and its A-Z list of designated bodies. Copy those two links from the GMC's "no connection" page, because I could not see their exact URLs.

Frequently asked questions

Can I revalidate without a designated body?

Yes, through a suitable person or directly with the GMC.

What is a suitable person?

A licensed doctor the GMC has approved as suitable to make a revalidation recommendation about your fitness to practise. GMC

What if I can't find a suitable person?

You revalidate directly with the GMC using the steps above.

Do I have to pay?

The GMC does not normally charge doctors to revalidate, but it may charge administrative fees, for example for doctors with no connection to a designated body or suitable person. British Medical Association

What if I don't take or pass the assessment?

The GMC may withdraw a licence if a doctor fails to undertake, or meet the standard in, an assessment when requested. GMC

Can retired doctors keep their licence?

Link this answer to your retired-doctors blog: https://medicalappraisals.org.uk/blog/revalidation-for-doctors-who-are-retired-and-dont-do-any-clinical-practice

For further information on medical appraisals and revalidation, 
KIndly visit our website - https://medicalappraisals.org.uk/
Our Youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGv7f1oW3wjrs1hCriW6k2Q