The General Dental Council (GDC) has today announced that the Annual Retention Fee (ARF) will remain unchanged for 2025.
This puts the ARF as £621 for dentists and £96 for dental care professionals (DCPs).
The decision to maintain the 2024 level comes after the council of the GDC reviewed its plans for the next three years. It found that a combination of sound financial management, reducing the level of the GDC’s reserves over the three-year plan, making use of legislative changes to amend Overseas Registration Examination (ORE) fees, and the continued growth in the size of the registers allowed the ARF to remain unchanged.
The regulator added that increasing the ORE fees and introducing an ORE application fee contributed towards the ORE becoming cost neutral. This means the costs are charged where incurred instead of from existing registrants.
Lord Toby Harris, chair of the GDC, said ‘I am very pleased that council’s decision means that the ARF can continue unchanged next year, following the reduction which took effect last year. It follows years of developing a strong culture of operational planning and delivery along with sound financial rigour.
‘Council’s priority is public protection and ensuring that the GDC can deliver its strategic objectives as an effective regulator is essential to this. It is also important that we understand and respond to the needs of the dental sector and looking to provide stability in the ARF is one way we can do that.’
‘Improving’ regulation experience
Tom Whiting, is the GDC’s chief executive. He said: ‘Our priority is patient safety and public confidence in the dental team, and I believe that improving registrants’ experience of regulation is one way to ensure this.
‘In the last five months I have met and listened to many dental professionals and stakeholders and their insight has been invaluable in helping me to understand the sector and the challenges faced.
‘I see it as a good thing that, through improved planning and management, we are able to maintain the ARF at the same level and continue to invest to improve how we regulate over the next three years. Consulting on our corporate strategy for 2026-2028 next year will set the basis for the ARF in future.
‘Looking ahead, I’m really looking forward to doing even more to work with dental teams and organisations who care for the oral health of patients across the UK.’
Follow Dentistry.co.uk on Instagram to keep up with all the latest dental news and trends.
