How to make a declaration

Making a declaration is different if you are an applicant applying to join the Register, a registrant renewing your registration or a registrant telling us about a change in your health and character (self-referring).

In all circumstances, you'll need to specify what you are declaring. You will also be asked to provide supporting information, which you can do if you choose.

Where and when you need to make a declaration

• As an applicant applying to join the Register
  When you fill in your application form, we ask you to declare information about your health and character. If you do not provide accurate information in your application, or if you fail to provide all the relevant information, you will be making a ‘false declaration’. Making a false declaration can result in being removed from our Register, so it is important to be honest throughout the application process.
• As a registrant renewing your registration
  As a registrant, you will renew your registration every two years. Each time you renew your registration, you must make a ‘professional declaration’. In this declaration, you can declare changes to your health and character that may affect your fitness to practise.
  If a change to your health or good character happens at any other time, you should make a self-referral as soon as possible, rather than waiting until your next renewal.
• As a registrant telling us about a change in your health and character (self-referring)
  As a HCPC registrant you have a personal responsibility to maintain and manage your own fitness to practise, with help from your employer or other professional guidance. 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. You can make a self-referral online or by emailing ftp@hcpc-uk.org.

Providing supporting information

When you make a declaration, you’ll be asked to provide supporting information that can help us assess it.

You do not have to provide all supporting information at the point of making your declaration. If we need more information, we will contact you.

If you are renewing your registration or making a self-referral, you must not delay making a declaration in order to prepare supporting information, as it can be provided later. If we need more information, we will contact you.

Health declarations

The following forms of supporting information can be helpful for health declarations:

• A recent letter from a GP or other healthcare professional which has details about your health, how it is managed and how it affects your practice
• A reference from a current or former employer, university or college, about how your health is managed, including if your health has affected your work and any adjustments in place (please also include contact details of this referee in case we need to contact them)
• Copies of occupational health reports that include details of how your work is affected by your health and any workplace adjustments required (if any)
• A summary, in your own words, about how your health affects your practice
• Any other information which you believe would help the HCPC to understand more about how your health is currently managed, its impact on your practice or your ability to meet the standards of proficiency

When you declare an ongoing health condition or disability to us, this does not mean that we need to be told about your full medical history. We only need information that is relevant to your fitness to practise, to enable us to protect the public.

Character declarations

When making a declaration, you’ll be asked to provide supporting information that can help the HCPC understand and assess it. You do not have to provide all supporting information at the point of making your declaration.

You may choose to speak with a professional body, trade union or legal representative first, as they will be able to advise you on what you could provide. Supporting information may be used as part of the HCPC’s case if your declaration goes to a hearing.

The following forms of supporting information can be helpful for character declarations:

• Details of the criminal offence, charge, caution or conviction or a recent DBS certificate
• Contact details of the investigating police force or, for convictions, the court where you were convicted
• Details of any changes in your good character: by this, we mean details of any incidents where your behaviour in the past may affect whether you can practise in a way which does not put the public at risk or affect public confidence in you or your profession

Deciding what to provide

You may choose to speak with a professional body, trade union or legal representative before providing supporting information, as they will be able to advise you on what you could provide.

Please note that supporting information may be used as part of the HCPC's case if your declaration goes to a hearing.