GPhC register checks and pharmacy staff references
Check registration first, then ask the people who worked alongside them. A practical guide for pharmacy owners and superintendents.
How do you check pharmacist registration?
To check pharmacist registration, search the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) register at pharmacyregulation.org by name or registration number. It covers pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises in Great Britain, and shows whether someone is currently registered. In Northern Ireland, use the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. RefAssure does not check registers; it collects the references that sit alongside.
How to do a GPhC register check, in four steps.
Get the details
Ask for their full registered name and GPhC registration number, and check them against identity documents.
Search the register
Use the free search on the GPhC website. Make sure the entry is for the right profession: pharmacist or pharmacy technician.
Look for restrictions
Check the status is registered, and look for any conditions, warnings or suspension. Ask the candidate to tell you about any that apply.
Record and recheck
Note the date and result. Registration is renewed every year, so recheck at renewal and before long locum bookings.
Who is on the register, and who is not.
Not everyone behind the counter is registered. The reference does more work for unregistered roles.
Pharmacists
Registered with the GPhC. Check the register, then ask referees about clinical judgement, accuracy and professional conduct.
Pharmacy technicians
Registered with the GPhC since 2011. Same register check, with references focused on dispensing accuracy and supervision.
Dispensing and counter assistants
Not on the register. They need to complete approved training, so check training records and lean on references.
Foundation trainees
Not yet registered as pharmacists. Use the university and placement supervisor as referees.
Locum pharmacists
Often work across many sites. Ask for referees from regular locum clients as well as any employed post.
Managers and superintendents
Check registration, then ask about governance, staff management and how they handled incidents and errors.
What should a pharmacy reference ask?
A register check tells you someone can practise. It does not tell you how carefully they dispense, or whether concerns were handled in house and never reported. A good pharmacy staff reference asks about:
- Dispensing accuracy, and how they responded to errors and near misses.
- Handling of controlled drugs and adherence to standard operating procedures.
- Conduct with patients and colleagues, including confidentiality.
- Any disciplinary action or professional conduct concerns the referee can share.
- Safeguarding: whether the referee has any concern about them working with vulnerable patients.
- Dates, role and reason for leaving, and whether they would employ them again.
For locum pharmacists, ask regular locum clients the same questions. A pharmacy that books them every month has seen how they run a dispensary under pressure, and that is often more useful than a single employed post from years ago.
RefAssure has no built-in pharmacy template. Add these questions to your own template once, and every pharmacy reference asks them. Pharmacies that are CQC registered for regulated activities also follow Regulation 19 for staff in those services.
Busy dispensaries reply late. We keep asking.
5 emails and up to 2 texts over 12 days, stopping the moment the referee submits. About 4 in 10 references arrive after a reminder.
GPhC and pharmacy reference questions
More in the full FAQs.
Does the GPhC register cover Northern Ireland?
No. The GPhC covers Great Britain. Pharmacists in Northern Ireland are registered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, which has its own register.
Are dispensing assistants registered with the GPhC?
No. Dispensing assistants and medicines counter assistants are not registered, but they are expected to complete approved training. References and training records are your main evidence.
Does RefAssure check GPhC registration?
No. You check the register on the GPhC website. RefAssure collects references and employment history with consent, chasing and a signed PDF report.
What does a GPhC register entry show?
It shows the person's name, registration number, the part of the register they are on and whether they are currently registered. Where fitness to practise action has been taken, look at the entry and the GPhC's published decisions for the detail, and ask the candidate directly.
How often should I recheck GPhC registration?
At appointment, and again after each annual renewal date. Registration can lapse if the renewal is missed, and conditions can be added at any time, so a regular recheck for every registrant on your team is good practice.
What if a pharmacist has conditions on their registration?
Read the conditions and decide whether the role can meet them, for example with supervision or limits on duties. Registrants with conditions are usually expected to tell employers about them. Take advice from your superintendent pharmacist before confirming the appointment.
What other checks do pharmacy staff need?
Usually identity, right to work and a DBS check at the right level for the role. See right to work checks and the DBS checks guide.
Related guides
Registration checked. References chased.
Your first reference is free. Two minutes to send, RefAssure does the rest.