NMC practice hours: how many you need and how to record them

For NMC revalidation, nurses, midwives and nursing associates each need 450 practice hours in the three years since their registration was last renewed, or since they joined the register. According to the NMC, if you hold more than one registration the totals go up: 900 hours for a nurse and midwife, or a nursing associate and nurse, and 1,350 hours if you are registered as a nurse, midwife and nursing associate.

This guide covers the hours you need, what counts as practice, how to record your hours, and what to do if you fall short. Revalidation applies to nurses and midwives across the UK and to nursing associates in England.

NMC practice hours at a glance

SCPHN stands for specialist community public health nurse. The NMC's guidance sheet on multiple registrations says there is no separate SCPHN requirement: a nurse who is also an SCPHN needs 450 hours relevant to their current nurse or SCPHN practice, and the same applies to a midwife who is also an SCPHN with no nursing registration. A midwife and SCPHN who is also a registered nurse needs 900 hours, with 450 as a nurse and 450 as a midwife.

The three-year cycle

The NMC asks you to revalidate every three years. Your practice hours are counted over the three years since your registration was last renewed, or since you joined the register. The NMC's guidance says your online application opens 60 days before your revalidation application date, which it describes as the first day of the month in which your registration expires. You can find your own date through your NMC Online account. That guidance is the March 2019 edition of "How to revalidate with the NMC", so check the NMC site for the latest wording.

If you work fewer hours in some years, that is fine as long as the three-year total reaches the requirement. The NMC's guidance says career breaks are acceptable if you still meet the total. As simple arithmetic, 450 hours over 36 months is about 12.5 hours a month, or a little under three hours a week averaged across the period. Most people in regular work will exceed that comfortably, but those who work occasional bank shifts or have long gaps should check their totals early.

What counts as practice

The NMC says hours count where you use your skills, knowledge and experience as a registered nurse, midwife or nursing associate. Its practice hours page lists:

• direct patient care
• managing teams
• teaching others
• helping to shape or run a care service

Your hours should reflect your current scope of practice. They do not have to match what you did when you first joined the register. A nurse who has moved from adult nursing to children's nursing, for example, can count hours in children's nursing, according to the NMC's guidance sheet on multiple registrations.

Points from the longer NMC guidance

The NMC's "How to revalidate" guidance (March 2019 edition) adds several details:

• You can only count hours worked while you were registered with the NMC.
• Hours must come from roles where you use your registered skills, knowledge and experience. This includes non-clinical roles such as education, policy or management.
• Hours as a healthcare assistant or support worker do not count, and neither do hours in another regulated profession, such as a paramedic or doctor.
• Hours worked overseas can count.

The NMC's practice hours web page does not say whether unpaid, voluntary, agency, bank or research work counts. If your hours come from one of these, read the guidance sheets linked from the NMC site and make sure you can show that you were using your nursing, midwifery or nursing associate skills.

How to record your practice hours

The NMC recommends using its practice hours log template, which it says makes it easier to show your confirmer how you have met the requirement. The longer NMC guidance says your records should include:

• the dates and number of hours
• the name and address of the organisation
• your scope of practice and work setting
• a description of the work you did
• supporting evidence, such as timesheets

The same guidance says you can record hours as standard working days or weeks rather than logging every shift individually, and that the template asks you to list your most recent practice first. If you have several employers or work on a bank, keep a separate line for each, and ask for a summary from each organisation if you do not have your own timesheets.

The NMC also points to examples of completed forms and templates, which are useful if you are unsure how much detail is enough. Your confirmer will look at your log as part of your confirmation discussion, so a clear, dated record saves time for both of you.

Dual and multiple registrations

If you are registered in more than one part of the register, the hours are added together, as in the table above. The NMC's practice hours page does not say whether a single hour can count towards two registrations, and points to its separate multiple registrations and additional qualifications guidance sheet. The guidance sheet we checked treats the hours for each registration separately, for example "450 as a nurse and 450 as a midwife". If you hold two registrations, make sure your log shows which hours were worked in which role.

What if you do not have enough hours?

According to the NMC, if you do not meet the practice hours requirement you must complete an approved return to practice programme or a Test of Competence before your renewal application date. It is worth checking your hours well before your revalidation window opens, because arranging either route can take time.

Frequently asked questions

How many practice hours do nurses need?

450 hours in the three years since registration was last renewed or since joining the register, according to the NMC. Midwives and nursing associates also need 450.

How many hours do nurse and midwife dual registrants need?

900 hours: 450 for nursing and 450 for midwifery. Nursing associate and nurse registrants also need 900, and triple registrants need 1,350.

Do I need a separate SCPHN total?

No. The NMC's multiple registrations guidance says there is no separate SCPHN requirement. Nurses and midwives who are also SCPHNs need 450 hours relevant to their current practice, unless they are registered as both nurse and midwife.

Can management or teaching hours count?

Yes, if you are using your skills, knowledge and experience as a registered nurse, midwife or nursing associate. The NMC lists managing teams and teaching others among the examples, and its longer guidance includes education, policy and management roles.

Do I have to log every shift?

The NMC's longer guidance says you can record hours as standard working days or weeks. You still need dates, hours, employer details and supporting evidence.

Is there a separate CPD requirement?

Yes. As well as practice hours you need CPD, with a set number of participatory hours. See our guide to what counts as participatory learning for NMC revalidation. For the written side, see our guide to NMC reflective accounts with examples and a template.

Keeping on top of it

The simplest approach is to update your practice hours log every few months rather than leaving it until your application opens. Keep payslips, rotas or employer letters in one place, and set a reminder to review your totals about a year before your revalidation date. If you are looking for wider CPD resources while you work through the other requirements, the Learnsignal CPD hub is a good place to start, although you should check that any activity suits your scope of practice.

This article is general information, not regulatory, legal or professional advice. Requirements can change, so always check the current guidance on the NMC website for your own situation.