You must hold a current annual practising certificate (APC) to practise as an oral health practitioner in New Zealand. It is an offence to practise without one. If you do so, you may be:

prosecuted by the Ministry of Health and liable to a fine of up to $10,000 and
liable to disciplinary proceedings before the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal and cancellation of your registration.

You will be granted an APC if we are satisfied that you meet the criteria set out in section 27 of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. This means you:

are fit to practise
have maintained the standard of competence required for your scope of practice
have held an APC within the 3 years immediately before your application
have lawfully practised your profession within the 3 years immediately before the application
have complied with any condition included on your scope of practice
have completed the requirements of any competence programme that we, the Dental Council, may have directed you to undertake
do not have a health condition that adversely affects your ability to practise.

For new graduates from New Zealand accredited programmes competence is "deemed" if you apply for an APC within a year of graduating. Accordingly the requirements for practising and having held an APC within the 3 years before your application do not apply.

APC cycle

The practising year for dentists and dental specialists runs from 1 October in each year until 30 September in the following year. APCs must be renewed on or before 1 October in each year.

If you have not renewed your APC by 1 October, you must cease practise until such time that you have a current APC. Failure to do so could result in disciplinary proceedings.

We invite practitioners to tell us whether they want to renew their APC for the next practising cycle shortly before their current cycle ends. At this time you can indicate whether you want to renew your APC, or whether you want to have your name retained or removed from the register.

If you have been on retention and want to resume practising, you can apply for an APC at any other time during a practising cycle.