If you trained abroad and now work as a nurse in the UK, whether you came from India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe or anywhere else, revalidation is the one deadline you can’t afford to miss. Every three years, every nurse, midwife and nursing associate on the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register must show they are still practising safely and keeping their knowledge up to date. Miss it, and your registration lapses. That means you can’t work as a nurse, and for many international nurses it can also affect your visa.
The good news: revalidation is very manageable if you collect your evidence as you go. This guide explains every requirement, the deadlines, what happens if you’re picked for verification, and the mistakes international nurses most often make.
Revalidation at a glance
| Requirement | What you need |
|---|---|
| 1. Practice hours | 450 hours in the three years before renewal (900 if you’re on two parts of the register, for example nurse and midwife) |
| 2. CPD | 35 hours, of which at least 20 must be participatory |
| 3. Practice-related feedback | 5 pieces |
| 4. Written reflective accounts | 5, on the NMC form |
| 5. Reflective discussion | 1 discussion with another NMC registrant, recorded on the NMC form |
| 6. Health and character | A declaration |
| 7. Professional indemnity | A declaration that you have appropriate cover |
| 8. Confirmation | Sign-off by an appropriate confirmer, usually your line manager |
When to revalidate
- Every three years. Your exact date is shown in your MyNMC account. Check it now and put it in your calendar.
- Your application is due on the first day of the month your registration expires. For example, if your renewal month is June, apply by 1 June, not 30 June.
- The NMC sends a renewal notice about 60 days before. You can submit any time in that 60-day window.
- Don’t leave it to the last night. MyNMC has maintenance periods, and problems with payment or log-in are common close to deadlines.
Revalidation is separate from your annual fee, which you pay every year. From 1 October 2026 the annual fee is £143 (up from £120) for anyone whose fee notice is issued on or after that date. Read more in our article on the NMC fee rise.
Requirement by requirement
1. 450 practice hours
You need at least 450 hours of practice in the three years since you last revalidated or joined the register. Nurses who are also registered midwives (or on two parts of the register) need 900.
- Practice means work that relies on your nursing skills and knowledge. It doesn’t have to be bedside care: education, management, research and policy roles can count if they draw on your registration.
- Time on leave doesn’t count, such as maternity leave or long sickness. Hours worked before and after leave in the same period do count.
- Keep a practice hours log with dates, employer, role, scope of practice and hours. The NMC provides a template.
- If you can’t reach 450 hours, you must complete an approved return to practice programme or the NMC’s test of competence before you can revalidate.
Most international nurses easily pass 450 hours, since a full-time nurse works more than that in a few months. The common mistake is counting hours from the wrong period, or from work that wasn’t in a registered role.
2. 35 hours of CPD (20 participatory)
Continuing professional development (CPD) is learning that keeps you up to date. You need 35 hours in total, and at least 20 must be participatory, meaning learning that involves interacting with at least one other person.
- Participatory examples: study days, workshops, conferences, simulation training, group e-learning with live discussion, clinical supervision sessions, and journal clubs.
- Individual examples: reading articles, solo e-learning modules and watching recorded webinars.
- Mandatory training can count if it’s relevant to your practice, but don’t rely on it alone. Spread your CPD across your real learning needs.
- For each activity, record the date, the topic, the hours, whether it was participatory, how it relates to your practice and the NMC Code, and keep evidence such as certificates or notes.
Common mistake: labelling solo e-learning as “participatory”. If you didn’t interact with anyone, it’s individual learning.
Collect at least five pieces of feedback about your practice. It can come from patients, families, carers, colleagues, students you’ve mentored, managers or appraisals. It can be formal, such as an appraisal or audit, or informal, such as a thank-you card or a comment in team feedback.
Protect confidentiality: remove anything that identifies a patient, colleague or member of the public before you keep it. Write a short note of what the feedback said and what you learned or changed as a result.
4. Five written reflective accounts
Write five reflective accounts on the official NMC reflective accounts form. Each one explains:
- What the CPD activity, feedback or event was.
- What you learned from it.
- How you changed or improved your practice as a result.
- How it relates to the NMC Code, which has four themes: prioritise people, practise effectively, preserve safety, and promote professionalism and trust.
They don’t need to be long or academic: a clear page each is enough. Don’t include anything that identifies patients or colleagues. A strong set covers different parts of the Code and mixes CPD, feedback and real events from your practice.
5. A reflective discussion
Discuss your five reflective accounts with another NMC-registered nurse, midwife or nursing associate. It doesn’t have to be your manager, but it must be someone on the NMC register. You both complete and sign the NMC reflective discussion form, including their NMC PIN.
Treat it as a genuine professional conversation, not a box to tick. Many trusts build it into appraisals or clinical supervision.
6. Health and character declaration
You declare that you are of good health and good character, and you must declare relevant issues such as any criminal charge, conviction, caution or conditional discharge. Be honest: failing to declare something is treated far more seriously than the issue itself.
7. Professional indemnity
You must have an appropriate indemnity arrangement. If you work for the NHS or most employers, you’re usually covered by your employer. If you also do agency, bank or private work, check that each role is covered.
8. Confirmation
Before you apply, an appropriate confirmer, ideally your line manager, reviews your evidence and confirms you’ve met the requirements. They sign the NMC confirmation form. Your confirmer should ideally be on a professional register; if that isn’t possible, the NMC guidance explains who else can confirm. Your reflective discussion partner and your confirmer can be the same person if they’re an NMC registrant.
Submitting your application
- Log in to MyNMC during your 60-day window.
- Complete the online declarations for each requirement, plus your confirmer’s details.
- Pay your annual fee.
- Keep your evidence. You don’t upload your portfolio when you apply, but you must keep it in case you’re selected for verification.
If you’re selected for verification
Each year the NMC asks a sample of nurses for more information. You’ll be told shortly after submitting, and you’ll usually have 21 days to provide the requested information through MyNMC. Being selected doesn’t mean anything is wrong, and you can keep practising while it’s reviewed.
Problems the NMC often finds include CPD wrongly labelled as participatory, reflective accounts not written on the NMC form or not linked to the Code, feedback that identifies people, hours from outside the three-year period, and confirmers who signed without actually reviewing the evidence.
What if you miss the deadline?
If you don’t revalidate in time, your registration lapses and you can’t work as a nurse until you’re readmitted. If something serious prevents you from meeting the deadline, such as illness, you can request an extension through MyNMC, but ask before the deadline.
For international nurses on a work visa: your sponsorship normally depends on you being able to work as a registered nurse, so a lapse can put your visa at risk. Talk to your employer immediately if you think you’ll miss your date.
A simple three-year plan
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | Start your practice hours log and CPD log. Save every certificate and thank-you note as you go. |
| Year 2 | Aim to have 3 of your 5 feedback pieces and 3 reflective accounts written. Top up participatory CPD. |
| Year 3, first half | Finish reflective accounts and feedback. Book your reflective discussion and confirmation meetings. |
| 60 days before | Check everything is signed, then submit on MyNMC and pay your fee. |
Tips for internationally educated nurses
- Reflection is a skill. Training in many countries doesn’t always emphasise written reflection, so practise using a simple model (what? so what? now what?) and link each account to the Code.
- Use your trust’s resources. Many NHS trusts run revalidation workshops and offer templates and practice development nurses who can help.
- Write in clear, simple English. Your forms must be in English, and plain writing is better than complicated writing.
- Keep digital copies in a secure, personal folder, not only on a work computer you could lose access to.
Bottom line
Revalidation isn’t an exam. It’s evidence that you’re learning, reflecting and practising safely. Collect it steadily over three years, use the official NMC forms, and submit early in your 60-day window. Do that, and revalidation becomes a routine step in your UK nursing career rather than a last-minute panic.
Read also: NMC fee rises to £143 · OET guide · Easiest countries to work as a nurse
Sources: Logbook: NMC revalidation guide (checked against NMC pages, September 2026); Reflectory: the eight revalidation requirements; NMC: annual fee. Always follow the latest guidance and forms on the NMC website.