Dental Vocational Training Number

Applying for a Vocational Training Number

All dentists applying for a Vocational Training (VT) Number or Orthodontic Vocational Training (VT(O) Number must apply using the eGP21C application form.

Please make sure you provide any necessary paperwork as per the application form. Please submit your related documents to the following email address: DentalVTNumbers@nes.scot.nhs.uk

Part 1 of the GP21C asks for details of the applicant's qualifications and registration with the GDC. The applicant must also provide the name of the NHS Health Board and the full name and address of the practice where they will be working.

Part 2 – Application Category. The dentist must select the appropriate category and complete the questions.

Part 3 – Declaration – All dentists must confirm this section before submitting.

DO NOT send practising certificates or registration documents as these will be required by the NHS Health Board.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Applying across multiple practices or multiple Health Boards

• If you will be working in two practices in the same Health Board, you should ONLY insert the details of the practice that you will be working the most sessions in.
• If you will be working in two practices across two Health Boards, you should select the Health Board which you will be working the most sessions in. The Health Boards will liaise with each other once your VT Number has been issued.

Applying for an Orthodontic Vocational Training Number

From 2 July 2010, the NHS (Vocational Training for General Dental Practice) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 were amended to introduce provisions which would permit NHS Education Scotland to issue a Vocational Training (Orthodontic) (VT(O)) number to a dentist, subject to specific criteria, where that dentist intends to restrict his/her provision of GDS to orthodontics. The 2010 Regulations have therefore been amended also to provide that a dentist applying to join sub-part A of the first part of a dental list must inform the NHS Board of his/her VT(O) number, if he or she has one. Dentists who have a VT(O) number must give an undertaking to restrict their practice under general dental services to the provision of orthodontic treatment only.

If you apply for an Orthodontic VT Number you must only deliver orthodontic treatments. Failure to comply will result in you being reported to the GDC.

Application for a Health Board List Number

Please contact the local Health Board for a List application form - GP21(D), Part 1, Sub-Part A. Contact details for each Health Board in Scotland can be found at the following website.

The Scottish Dental Vocational Training and Equivalence Certification Committee (SDVTECC) will check that the NHS Health Board has received the completed GP21(D) from the dentist.

All dentists who have successfully completed vocational (foundational) training and are going to work as an Associate in an NHS dental practice in Scotland are required to join a NHS Health Board dental list and apply for a vocational training number simultaneously, as stated in The National Health Service (General Dental Services) (Scotland) Regulations. (Scottish Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 292 The National Health Service (Vocational Training for General Dental Practitioners) (Scotland) Regulations 2004, Section on Applications for vocational training numbers 2.(1)(ii))

Application categories

 

Category A – Satisfactory completion of Vocational/Foundation training.

If you have recently obtained Satisfactory Completion of VT please do not apply until you have received your Satisfactory Completion certificate. For dentists who have completed VT in Scotland you are not required to submit your certificate as SDVTECC will be notified by the Dental Assessment Unit (DAU).

For those who have completed VT elsewhere in the UK the completion certificate must be submitted. Please be aware that we will confirm with the awarding Deanery which may result in your application taking longer to process.

Category B – Member of the European Economic Area.

For dentists who have obtained a qualification from a country within the European Economic Area (EEA).

NOTE: A non-EEA dentist holding a qualification from an EEA country should also apply under this category.

You are not required to submit any supporting documentation.

Category C – Dental List/Performer Number.

For dentists who already hold an NHS Health Board list/performer number the full number and the name of the NHS Health Board/Primary Care Trust must be provided.

NOTE: For dentists who currently hold a performer number in England, Wales or Northern Ireland they must provide a scanned copy of a letter from the Primary Care Trust which confirms the date the number was awarded.

Category D – Public Dental Service or Armed Forces.

Please submit a scanned copy of a letter from your employer confirming your work experience with full dates and working patterns.

Category E - Experience equivalent to Vocational/Foundation Training.

Please submit a full application and include all documents specified in the guidance notes below.

NOTE: There is no Vocational Training by Equivalence (VTE) in Scotland.

Applications to the Scottish Dental Vocational Training and Equivalence Certification Committee (SDVTECC) are individually assessed by the committee members to consider whether a dentist’s experience is equivalent to twelve months spent working full-time in a dental vocational training programme.

Application Process

Please read the guidance document which provides instructions on how to submit a complete portfolio in the correct format before the specified closing date.

Portfolios that do not meet these requirements will not be considered for review.

Guidance Document

Closing dates

• Applications and full portfolios must be received before 4pm on the closing date to be considered for the next relevant meeting.
• Applications or incomplete portfolios received after 4pm on the closing date will not be considered until the following meeting.

If you have any queries or require help with your application, please contact the Dental Vocational Training Secretariat at dentalvtnumbers@nes.scot.nhs.uk.

Equivalence Meeting Dates 2026

 

Application and Portfolio Closing Date - Time	Meeting Date
Wednesday 21st January - 4pm	Thursday 12th February
Wednesday 4th March - 4pm	Thursday 26th March
Wednesday 15th April - 4pm	Thursday 7th May
Wednesday 28th May - 4pm	Thursday 18th June
Wednesday 5th August - 4pm	Thursday 27th August
Wednesday 9th September - 4pm	Thursday 8th October
Wednesday 28th October - 4pm	Thursday 19th November
Wednesday 25th November - 4pm	Thursday 17th December

Forgotten or lost Vocational Training Number

If you have forgotten or lost your Vocational Training Number please email DentalVTNumbers@nes.scot.nhs.uk with the following information:

• Full Name (include your maiden name if you are married)
• GDC Number
• Date of Birth (If your application was before 2022)

Contact us

For further information please contact -

DentalVTNumbers@nes.scot.nhs.uk

 

FAQs