Lapsed midwifery registration

A registered midwife is one whose name appears on the current midwives part of the register. Being on the register means you either have recently been admitted or returned to the register, or have renewed your registration and are within the three year registration period. You are therefore eligible to submit an Intention to practise form (ItP) and able to practise as a midwife anywhere in the UK. If you do not receive an ItP form, you must check your registration status with the NMC but not practise until this is finalised.

The ItP form must be submitted annually in order to continue to practise as a midwife. You must submit your ItP to your named supervisor of midwives, where it will be signed. The local supervising authority (LSA) is then notified of receipt of your ItP. If the LSA is informed of an unsigned ItP, the LSA will investigate the reasons. It is only after an ItP has been submitted that the practice hours can be counted towards maintaining the NMC post-registration education and practice (Prep) requirements.

If you have not met your Prep requirements when renewing your registration, your registration will lapse. You are required prior to re registration every 3 years to ensure you meet your Prep standards which are continued professional development (CPD) of 35 hours and midwifery practice of 450 hours. You should meet each year with your supervisor of midwives and submit an ItP which informs the LSA you are eligible to practise in its geographical area. You must complete and return your Notification of practice form (NoP) when you re register and pay your annual fee. Your registration will lapse if you do not meet these requirements when you renew your registration.

If you wish to practise as a midwife, you must maintain your current registration and prevent it from lapsing and impacting on your employment.

The NMC will notify you 45 days prior to your expiry date of your registration. This information will be mailed to the registered address held for you by the NMC, so it is essential that you keep the NMC informed of your current address.

If you do not renew your registration prior to your expiry date your midwifery registration will lapse. If your registration has lapsed, you cannot provide midwifery advice or care for women or babies. You should ensure you are not in a practising position, which requires you to be a registered midwife in the UK. You will not receive an ItP from the NMC. If you are employed, you will need to inform your employer who may have a local policy in dealing with this issue.

If your registration has lapsed within three months of your re registration date and you wish to renew your registration you are required to:

Have completed a minimum of 450 hours of practice, during the 3 years prior to renewal of registration. This is the Prep (practice) standard.

Have undertaken 35 hours of learning activity relevant to your practice in the last 3 years. This is Prep (continuing professional development) Standard.

Pay the prescribed fee annually.

For more information about this please read The Prep Handbook. A personal ItP form will be sent from the NMC after renewal of registration has been processed.

This method of registration is only valid for up to three months from your expiry date.

If your registration has lapsed for three months or longer, you will be required to complete a standard re-admission to the register.

In order to be eligible for a standard re-admission to the midwives register, you are required to:

Have completed a minimum of 750 hours of registered practice (this means practice that is accompanied by submission of an ItP) within the last five years.

Have undertaken 35 hours of learning activity relevant to your practice in the last three years.

Please note that you cannot include practice as ‘registered midwifery practice’ while your registration is lapsed, unless you have been registered with an overseas regulatory body during this time.

If you cannot meet the requirements for re-admission as listed above, you will need to successfully complete a return to midwifery practice programme before being re-admitted to the register.

Once you have successfully completed a return to midwifery practice programme (RTP) and rejoin the midwives part of the register, you will then receive a personal ItP which you must submit to your Supervisor of Midwives before commencing practice as a midwife.

For details on where to complete a return to practice course, please call NHS Careers on 0845 6060655 or look at the approved programme search.

Once the NMC has receipt of the approved course completion documentation, good health a good character reference from the lead midwife for education (LME) and the processed fee, the NMC registration department will post newly registered midwives an ItP form. This will take three weeks and is dependant on external mail delivery. The ItP form will need to be completed and submitted to a supervisor of midwives prior to commencing midwifery practice.