How to check if a surgeon is registered, country by country

Start with the register

If you're worried about choosing the wrong surgeon, you're not alone. The good news is that the first step is simpler than it looks. Every country we cover keeps an official record of who can practise medicine, and most show whether a doctor is recognised as a specialist. A few minutes with that record tells you more than any website, advert or certificate on a wall.

Titles can mislead. In several countries any doctor can call themselves a “cosmetic surgeon”. The register shows what they're actually recognised to do. For the background on titles, read cosmetic or plastic surgeon?

What you're looking for

Whichever country you're checking, you're looking for three things.

• The doctor is currently registered or licensed in the place they operate.
• Their specialty is plastic surgery, in the wording that country's register uses.
• Any conditions, warnings, reprimands or disciplinary actions on their record, and what they say.

Have the surgeon's full name ready, plus the city they work in. Common names can bring up several doctors, so a registration number helps. It's perfectly reasonable to ask the clinic for it.

Country by country

Australia: search the Ahpra register. Look for specialist registration in surgery, with plastic and reconstructive surgery as the field. Since 2023 the title “surgeon” has been restricted by law, so the register entry matters more than the word on a website.

New Zealand: search the Medical Council of New Zealand register and check their scope of practice. You're looking for a vocational scope in plastic and reconstructive surgery.

United Kingdom: search the GMC medical register. Look for “Specialist register” with plastic surgery listed, and check they hold a licence to practise.

United States: there's no national register. Check certification with the American Board of Plastic Surgery, then look up state licences and any board actions on DocInfo. Our guide to what “board certified” means explains why the name of the board matters.

Canada: check the Royal College directory for FRCSC in plastic surgery. Then search the register of the college in the province where the surgeon practises, such as the CPSO in Ontario.

Netherlands: search the BIG-register and look for the specialism plastische chirurgie. The register also shows any measures (maatregelen) taken against a practitioner.

France: search the national directory of health professionals, Annuaire Santé. Every practising doctor must be registered with the Ordre des médecins. The specialty to look for is chirurgie plastique, reconstructrice et esthétique.

Singapore: search the Singapore Medical Council register. Check they're registered as a specialist, with plastic surgery as the specialty.

What the register won't tell you

A register confirms training and standing. It doesn't tell you how often a surgeon performs the procedure you want, how they handle complications or whether you'll feel comfortable with them. Those are questions for your consultation, and we've listed the useful ones in questions to ask at your first consultation.

Society membership is worth a look too. Groups such as BAPRAS in the UK, the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons set their own membership requirements. Membership is voluntary, so not being a member isn't a warning sign on its own. Being one is extra, independent evidence.

If something on a record worries you, read it in full. Some entries are minor or historic. Others matter more. Registers usually explain what each type of entry means.

If your surgeon practises somewhere else

Check the register in the country where the surgeon actually operates, not where the clinic advertises or where you live. Registration in one country doesn't automatically let a doctor practise in another. Most countries have a national medical regulator with a public register. In Ireland, for example, it's the Medical Council. Search for the regulator's name and use its official site.

Or send us a name. We check the official registers and professional bodies for you and label every source, so you can see exactly where each fact came from. See how it works, or browse all the countries we cover.

Sources

• Ahpra and the Medical Board of Australia, public register Official
• Medical Council of New Zealand, register of doctors Official
• General Medical Council, the medical register Official
• American Board of Plastic Surgery, certification lookup Independent
• Federation of State Medical Boards, DocInfo Independent
• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, directory Independent
• Provincial colleges of physicians and surgeons, public registers Official
• BIG-register (Netherlands) Official
• Annuaire Santé and the Ordre des médecins (France) Official
• Singapore Medical Council, register of practitioners Official
• BAPRAS, Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, American Society of Plastic Surgeons Independent