Cosmetic Surgery Certification

There are two parts that applicants must complete in order, to successfully apply for the ‘Cosmetic Surgery Certification Scheme’.

Applicants must first register their details to commence their online application process via www.certify-cosmeticsurgery.org.uk . Please note, there are nine steps which applicants must complete in order to submit their online application. 

Applicants must also participate in the ‘Professional Behaviours in Aesthetic Surgery’ course. The ‘Professional Behaviours in Aesthetic Surgery’ course is just one element of the 'Cosmetic Surgery Certification' process. Attending the course alone does not certify an individual under the ‘Cosmetic Surgery Certification’ scheme. You can begin to complete your online application prior to attending the course by registering via www.certify-cosmeticsurgery.org.uk  

You will have the ability to “save” your application online and be able to upload your documents at a later date. We recommend beginning your online application as soon as possible, as it will take a little time to complete. 

How to prepare for your application:

You will need to submit a portfolio of evidence online: www.certify-cosmeticsurgery.org.uk

Summary of evidence:

To prepare for your application, please view the summary of evidence that you will need to provide. If you have all the required evidence to hand, it should take an hour to complete the application. You can begin this process before attending the virtual 'Professional Behaviours in Aesthetic Surgery' course.

How evidence is assessed: 

There is a team of evaluators with representation from each of the relevant surgical organisations. The College will assign two evaluators to each application who will review elements of the evidence submitted and make a decision about awarding certification. A specialty-specific evaluator will review specific pieces of evidence where this is required. To ensure the process is fair, there is a conflict of interest policy for assigning evaluators to applications. There are also processes for quality assurance and appeals.

Certification guidelines:

Please also read the certification guidelines in full before you start your application: http://www.certify-cosmeticsurgery.org.uk/

Applicants can start an online application prior to attending 'Professional Behaviours in Aesthetic Surgery' course. The online certification application fee is £650. 

Helpdesk:

A helpdesk is available to answer any questions
Telephone: 020 7869 6119
Email: apply@certify-cosmeticsurgery.org.uk

This virtual course is a mandatory part of the cosmetic surgery certification process. The aim of the 'Professional Behaviours in Aesthetic Surgery' course is to ensure that surgeons understand the appropriate professional skills and behaviours to provide cosmetic surgery. The cost of the course is £475.

For booking information visit:  https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/education-and-exams/courses/search/pbas-online-learning/

For further information or to book your place on the course, please email apply@certify-cosmeticsurgery.org.uk

Once your application has been received, it will be reviewed by trained evaluators and you will receive an initial response, usually within 28 working days. Renewal of certification will take place approximately every five years, at the point of revalidation.

To apply for certification, surgeons must be on the General Medical Council's (GMC) specialist register in a specialty that demonstrates training and experience in the chosen area of practice. Surgeons are able to apply for certification in one or more groups of closely related cosmetic surgical procedures.

Please be advised that Certification is only valid for working in the UK. 

To facilitate this, we have categorised procedures anatomically into groups of closely related operations. The operations within the groups have overlapping requirements of skills and training. Further information is available in the certification guidelines: http://www.certify-cosmeticsurgery.org.uk/

We recognise the high level of surgical training and skill already proven by individuals with a relevant Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) (or equivalent) and that surgeons will have been introduced to many of the skills and behaviours required to perform cosmetic surgery during surgical training. However, as there are complex issues for cosmetic surgery in the private sector, surgeons will need to provide additional information over and above the CCT (or equivalent) in order to gain certification.

The system builds primarily on existing training and regulatory frameworks and evidence, which are for the most part already collected.

To obtain certification, surgeons will need to provide evidence of the following:

Certification is voluntary, but we expect all eligible surgeons who want to carry out cosmetic surgery in the private sector to certify so they can demonstrate high professional and clinical standards in their area of practice.

You should:

• include evidence of your cosmetic practice in your next appraisal discussion;
• familiarise yourself with yours and your provider’s obligations under the CMA's requirements in relation to information about performance and submit your data in line with local governance arrangements; 
• ensure that your indemnity insurance covers your cosmetic practice in the UK.

The cost to apply for the online certification application is £650. 

In addition, applicants will need to attend a 'Professional Behaviours in Aesthetic Surgery' course (a mandatory component of the application). The course is £475. Please email us for further details. Please note there is an additional cost for this.

Surgeons are advised to read the certification guidelines in full before starting an application: http://www.certify-cosmeticsurgery.org.uk/

To maintain certification, applicants will have to apply for renewal (re-certification) every five years. The date of the first renewal will be set at the point of successful certification.

Applicants will not have to repeat the original certification process or re-submit the same portfolio of evidence to maintain certification. They will be required to confirm that their details have not changed and that they continue to comply with the order of the Competition and Markets Authority for collection and publication of clinical outcomes data. They will also be required to confirm that they have been contributing evidence about their cosmetic practice to their annual appraisal discussion as part of the existing requirement for whole practice appraisal for the purposes of revalidation. This includes relevant Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities about clinical and professional aspects of their practice, multi-source feedback and a regular audit of outcomes data.

Please be advised that if you wish to apply for additional/new certificate(s), you will be required to complete the 'Operation Numbers Credit Counter' spreadsheet and complete the relevant tabs for the additional/new certificate(s) that you wish to include in your application for re-certification.

The re-certification application fee is £250.