You can apply to be restored to the NMC register once five years have passed since your striking-off order took effect. You can make only one application in any 12-month period, and repeated unsuccessful applications can lead to your right to apply being suspended indefinitely. A restoration panel does not rehear the original case: it decides whether you are now a fit and proper person to practise, so apply only when you are genuinely ready and can evidence who you are now.
Key takeaways
- You can apply once five years have passed since the striking-off order took effect.
- Only one application is allowed in any 12-month period, so the first attempt really counts.
- Restoration is not a rehash of FtP: the question is whether you are fit and proper to return now.
- Start your CPD, reflections and remediation as early as possible, long before you apply.
If you have been removed from the register, you may believe you will never return to nursing or midwifery. But five years after a striking-off order, your situation, whether it involved health, competence or conduct, may be very different. The law recognises that people change, and restoration is how the NMC considers a second chance.
Restoration is not Fitness to Practise all over again
The process is very different from the one that led to your removal. A restoration panel is not deciding whether allegations happened or whether they warranted striking off. Those questions have been answered. Instead, it is assessing whether you are a fit and proper person to return to the register.
That means an open look at who you are now: what you understand about the events that led to your removal, what you have done since, how you have kept up to date with professional issues and whether you can uphold the standards required of a registrant.
When can I apply for restoration?
- The 5-year rule: you cannot apply until at least five years have passed since the striking-off order took effect.
- One application per year: you can make only one restoration application in any 12-month period.
- The first attempt counts: unsuccessful applications make later attempts harder, and repeated failures can lead to your right to apply being suspended indefinitely.
Because of these rules, timing matters. The advice we give most often is simple: don't apply until you are ready, and make sure you have prepared properly.
How to prepare a restoration application
1. Read the guidance and complete the application
The NMC publishes guidance on restoration and an online application form. Read the guidance in full before you start, so you understand what the panel will expect to see.
2. Get advice on what has changed
Take legal or specialist advice to talk through the reasons you were removed and what has changed since. An honest, structured view of the gap between then and now is the foundation of a strong application.
3. Build your evidence, ideally with a mentor
Reflections, CPD and testimonials all help. But you also need to show that you understand the events that led to the striking-off order and that you now take full responsibility for them. Working with a mentor can help you process this and present it properly.
What happens at a restoration hearing?
The NMC usually lists a restoration hearing for one to two days. The panel will want to hear from you directly and will typically explore:
- what you have been doing since the striking-off order;
- how you have kept up to date with professional issues and practice;
- your insight into the original concerns and the responsibility you take for them;
- how you would demonstrate safe practice if you were restored, which will involve completing a return to practice course.
Learn from people who have been through it
A number of people in the NMCWatch support community have successfully been through restoration. Talking to them about what the process was like can be invaluable. You can read one of their stories in the NMCWatch restoration case study.
Don't apply if you are not ready, and make sure you prepare and are ready.
The biggest mistake we see is "I'll do it later". If an incident has occurred, start your CPD, your reflective logs and your retraining now. Showing a regulator that you identified the gap and closed it voluntarily, before anyone told you to, is the most powerful evidence of professional integrity you can provide.
Our NMC restoration application checklist walks you through the evidence to gather, and one-to-one mentorship can help you prepare your bundle and your account of what has changed.
Frequently asked questions
Restoration hearings are usually listed for one to two days, depending on the complexity of the case and the evidence.
It is not compulsory, but advice from a regulatory solicitor or someone experienced in the regulatory process can help you present your evidence well. Many people also work with a mentor to prepare.
Yes, but only once in any 12-month period, and repeated unsuccessful applications can lead to your right to apply being suspended indefinitely. That is why preparation matters.
Read the NMC guidance, get advice, build evidence of reflection, CPD and testimonials, show full insight into why you were removed, and plan how you would complete a return to practice course.
