General Dental Council reduces annual retention fee

Following a consultation on its strategy for the next free years, the General Dental Council (GDC) has today announced a reduction of the Annual Retention Fee (ARF), the fee all dental professionals pay each year to remain on the register. The new levels have been set at £680 for dentists and £114 for dental care professionals.

Setting the fees, the regulator says the lower the levels are possible due to its reduced operating costs, its robust financial controls and significant changes to the organisation. In addition, the fee levels reflect the GDC's drive to remove cross subsidy between different registrant groups wherever practicable; including the introduction of an assessment fee for new applicants which is planned for next year.

GDC Chief Executive and Registrar, Ian Black, said:

The new fees reflect the expected costs of regulating the different registrant groups over the next three years, minimising cross subsidy between them. In our recent strategy consultation, one of our aims was to provide more transparency, both around the fees we charge and the activity we undertake to fulfil our statutory duty of protecting the public and maintaining public confidence in dental services. I look forward to publishing that finalised strategy later this year which will confirm our ambitious programme of work for the next three years.

The new ARF levels apply to the next rounds of collection, which for dentists is by 31 December 2019, and for dental care professionals is by 31 July 2020. They will remain in place, barring any unforeseen circumstances, for the next three years, providing increased certainty for dental professionals.