Osteopath

Regulators
  • General Osteopathic Council
Nations
United Kingdom
Sectors
  • Health and care

Regulatory or professional bodies

Primary regulator

Regulatory authority
General Osteopathic Council
Address

Osteopathy House, 176 Tower Bridge Road
London
SE1 3LU

Phone number
+44 (0)20 7357 6655

Regulation

Regulation summary

Osteopathy is a system of diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of medical conditions. It works with the structure and function of the body and is based on the principle that the well-being of an individual depends on the skeleton, muscles, ligaments and connective tissues functioning smoothly together.

The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) is the regulator for the osteopathy profession in the UK. The GOsC was set up by The Osteopaths Act 1993.

The Osteopaths Act 1993 is an Act of Parliament which sets out the powers of the GOsC. Our role, constitution and key duties, and those of our statutory committees, are governed by the Osteopaths Act and a number of additional pieces of legislation, known as ‘secondary legislation’.

The Act and the other pieces of legislation are all available on the GOsC website.

Regulation type

Certification

Reserved activities

Defined by Osteopaths Act 1993 - practise as an osteopath

Protected titles

From the Osteopaths Act 1993, Section 32:

A person who (whether expressly or by implication) describes himself as an osteopath, osteopathic practitioner, osteopathic physician, osteopathist, osteotherapist, or any other kind of osteopath, is guilty of an offence unless he is a registered osteopath.


Qualifications and experience

New professionals

Routes to qualification

If training in the UK you will need to obtain a Recognised Qualification from an Osteopathic Education Institution.

Training courses generally lead to a bachelor’s degree in osteopathy (a BSc Hons, BOst or BOstMed) or a masters degree (MOst). Courses usually consist of four years of full-time training, five years part-time or a mixture of full or part-time. There are also courses with accelerated pathways for doctors and physiotherapists.

A degree course includes anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, nutrition and biomechanics, plus at least 1,000 hours of clinical training.

Professionals from outside the UK

Recognition for professionals outside the UK
All - there are routes to recognition for professionals from all countries
Summary of routes

The GOsC will assess the training and experience of any overseas qualified professional to ensure they are equivalent to the UK standards, the Osteopathic Practice Standards.


Registration

Registration requirements

To complete your registration application you will need to provide: a completed registration application form a health reference a character reference an enhanced check for regulated activity an entry fee


Legislation

Title of relevant act or charter

Osteopaths Act 1993

Licence Finder

You may need licences and permits to carry out certain activities in the UK. These are called authorisations. Use the licence finder to find what you need.