Arrested or Under Police Investigation: What Happens With Your Healthcare Regulator
Being arrested, put under police investigation or invited to a voluntary interview raises immediate questions for any doctor, nurse, dentist or allied health professional: do I have to tell my regulator, will the police tell them anyway, and can I keep working? This guide follows a case stage by stage, from arrest to the final outcome, explaining what the police can share, how regulators usually wait for criminal proceedings but can still act in the meantime, bail and release under investigation, your rights in interview, and why no further action or an acquittal does not always end the regulatory case.
Reviewed October 2026 against GMC Good medical practice 2024 and GMC guidance dc4524, dc5585, dc10927 and dc10937, NMC Code and guidance FTP-2c, HCPC and GDC standards and guidance, GOV.UK pre-charge bail guidance and police disclosure guidance, and High Court judgments
Short answer: An arrest on its own is not one of the events the GMC, NMC, HCPC or GDC require you to report; the duty to self-report starts when you are charged or accept a caution. But the regulator may still find out at the arrest stage, because police can disclose information to regulators and employers where there is a pressing public protection need. When a regulator learns of a police investigation it will usually wait for the outcome before making its own decision, but it can apply for an interim order at any point if there is a risk. And if the police take no further action, or you are acquitted, the regulator can still look at the same facts on the lower civil standard of proof.
Key takeaways
- Get independent legal advice before any police interview, including a voluntary one.
- Report to your regulator and employer as soon as you are charged or cautioned.
- Expect the regulator to pause its own investigation, but not necessarily to leave you unrestricted.
- Released under investigation has no fixed time limit, so a case can stay open for a long time.
- No further action or a not guilty verdict does not automatically close a regulatory case.
Do you have to report an arrest?
Each regulator's reporting duty is triggered by a charge, caution or conviction rather than an arrest. Good medical practice requires doctors to tell the GMC without delay if they have accepted a caution, been charged or been found guilty of a criminal offence anywhere in the world. NMC Code 23.2 refers to any caution or charge. HCPC standard 9.5 covers a caution, a charge or a guilty finding, and the HCPC's own example says to self-refer once charged, without waiting for court. GDC guidance defines criminal proceedings as starting at charge. The detailed rules for each regulator are set out in our guide to self-referring to your regulator.
Not having to report an arrest is not the same as keeping it secret. GMC guidance also requires doctors to cooperate with formal inquiries and to be open and honest. If your employer, contract or a regulator asks you directly, answer truthfully, and take advice on what to say.
How the police can tell your regulator
Under common law police disclosure, which replaced the Notifiable Occupations Scheme, police can share information about a person with their employer or regulatory body where there is a public protection risk, while ensuring only relevant information is passed on. A published police force policy describes searching daily for people who have been arrested or voluntarily interviewed, and limits disclosure to cases of urgent, pressing social need. So disclosure can happen before any charge.
Information also flows the other way. GMC guidance on sharing information with the police says it may share information where it has a reasonable belief that a criminal offence may have been committed, only disclosing what the police need, and that a doctor who self-referred will usually be told before it shares unless there is a risk of evidence being destroyed.
Stage by stage: police, regulator and you
| Police stage | What the regulator may do, and what you should do |
|---|---|
| Arrest or voluntary interview | The regulator may hear through police disclosure or your employer. Get legal advice before interview, and check your employer's policy on telling them. |
| Released under investigation or on bail | The regulator usually waits. An interim order is possible if there is a risk. Keep a record of dates and cooperate with any regulator enquiry, through your representative. |
| Charge or caution | Your reporting duty starts. Tell your regulator and employer as soon as you can, factually. |
| Court proceedings | The regulator usually awaits the verdict. Keep it updated with hearing dates and outcomes. |
| Outcome | Conviction: the regulator proceeds on the conviction. No further action or acquittal: the regulator decides whether the facts still raise a concern. |
Bail and release under investigation
After an arrest, police can usually hold you for up to 24 hours before charging or releasing you, or longer for serious offences. If you are not charged, you will usually be released in one of three ways: no further action, released under investigation, or on pre-charge bail.
Fixed, reviewable periods
GOV.UK statutory guidance sets an initial bail period of 3 months. It can be extended by an inspector to 6 months, a superintendent to 9 months and, in exceptionally complex cases, to 12 months, with magistrates able to extend further. You must be told before each extension and can make representations. These rules apply where the first arrest was on or after 28 October 2022.
No legal time limit
The same guidance says there is no legal framework underpinning release under investigation, although supervisors should review cases at least every 30 days. GOV.UK warns that police may still investigate and could arrest and charge you later.
Long, open-ended investigations are where regulatory risk builds, because a regulator may decide it cannot simply wait if the allegation suggests a risk to patients.
Your rights in a police interview
If you are interviewed under caution, you will be told: "You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence." You have the right to free legal advice at the police station, and once you ask for it the police cannot question you until you have had it, with some exceptions. The duty solicitor is independent of the police.
A voluntary interview is not an arrest, and the Home Office notice says you do not have to consent to being interviewed, but free legal advice still applies. Because information can pass between police and regulators, it is sensible to get advice before giving the regulator a detailed account of the facts while the criminal case is live. That is practical advice, not a regulator rule, so speak to your defence organisation or a regulatory lawyer as well as your criminal solicitor.
Related courseProfessionalism under scrutiny→Will the regulator wait for the police investigation?
Usually, yes. The GMC's guide for doctors says that where there is an ongoing third-party investigation, such as by the police, it will wait for the outcomes, and that sometimes those outcomes mean it closes the case without opening a full investigation. GMC staff guidance says it will usually await the outcome of a police investigation before making a substantive decision, and may put its investigation on hold, but that a referral to the interim orders tribunal may be indicated. GDC guidance says that where a registrant has been charged it will await the outcome of the trial, but in exceptional cases with a high risk to public protection it can refer to its interim orders committee.
Interim orders are temporary conditions or suspension while the facts are unresolved. A panel deciding them must not decide disputed facts, as the Court of Appeal confirmed in Perry v NMC (2013); it looks at risk. How those hearings work is explained in our guide to the interim orders tribunal, and the difference between interim and final suspension in our guide to suspension.
General Medical Council v Srinivas [2012] EWHC 2513 (Admin)
What happened. A locum GP was charged with sexual offences in 2010 and placed under interim suspension. He was acquitted of all counts by October 2011. The GMC continued to investigate, including alleged alterations to patient records, and applied to extend the interim suspension.
The outcome. The court extended the suspension by only four months, noting the acquittals "cannot prove his innocence" but that the GMC "must continue to act with expedition".
The lesson: an acquittal does not automatically lift regulatory restrictions, but regulators cannot keep you restricted indefinitely while they investigate.
After no further action or an acquittal
The GMC's supplementary guidance on police cases ending in acquittal or a decision not to proceed says there is nothing stopping the regulator from deciding whether regulatory action is required, and that the principle of double jeopardy has no application to regulatory proceedings. Regulatory action is decided on the balance of probabilities, and its purpose is to protect the public, not to punish. An acquittal or a decision not to proceed does not necessarily indicate there is no ongoing risk.
NMC guidance FTP-2c says the police investigate crime while the NMC's role is to protect the public from harm, so it sometimes investigates incidents the police have already looked at. It considers why there was no conviction, while noting that it is not its role to fill perceived gaps in the criminal justice system.
Sadiq v General Medical Council [2025] EWHC 3062 (Admin)
What happened. A doctor was referred to the GMC by his trust in May 2021 following his arrest for sexual assault. The police took no further action. The GMC investigated, and a tribunal found that he had touched a woman intimately without consent, and erased him.
The outcome. The High Court dismissed his appeal, holding that erasure "has not been shown to be wrong".
The lesson: no further action by the police is not the end of the matter. The regulator can prove the facts itself, to a different standard.
What to do now
- 1
Get two kinds of advice
A criminal solicitor for the police case, and your defence organisation, union or a regulatory lawyer for the professional side.
- 2
Check your employer's policy
Some contracts and policies require you to tell your employer about an arrest, even where your regulator does not.
- 3
Report at charge or caution
Tell your regulator and employer promptly and factually, and keep them updated.
- 4
Comply with bail and any interim order
Breaching either is treated very seriously by both systems.
- 5
Keep a timeline
Dates of arrest, interviews, bail reviews and correspondence help your representatives and any interim order review.
- 6
Look after yourself
Long investigations are stressful. Doctors and dentists in England can use NHS Practitioner Health, and most unions and defence organisations offer support.
If an allegation concerns a drink-driving or theft offence, the specific guides earlier in this series on drink driving and theft and shoplifting explain how regulators treat those outcomes.
Related coursePreventing recurrence after a criminal matter→Frequently asked questions
Do I have to tell the NMC if I am arrested but not charged?
The NMC Code refers to a caution or charge, not an arrest. But check your employer's policy, answer truthfully if asked, and take advice, because the NMC may hear from the police or your employer.
Will the police tell the GMC I have been arrested?
They can. Under common law police disclosure, police may share relevant information with a regulator or employer where there is a pressing public protection need, including at the arrest stage.
Can I keep working while under police investigation?
Often yes, unless your employer restricts you or a regulator obtains an interim order. Regulators can seek interim conditions or suspension where there is a risk.
What does released under investigation mean?
You are released without bail conditions while police continue investigating. There is no legal time limit, and you could still be arrested or charged later.
How long can pre-charge bail last?
Initially 3 months, extendable to 6, 9 and in exceptional cases 12 months by senior officers, and further by magistrates.
Should I answer questions in a voluntary police interview?
Get free legal advice first. You do not have to consent to a voluntary interview, and what you say may be used in evidence.
Will the regulator wait until the criminal case ends?
Usually. The GMC says it will usually await the outcome of a police investigation, and the GDC awaits the trial, but both can seek interim orders if there is a serious risk.
If the police take no further action, is the regulatory case closed?
Not necessarily. Regulators decide facts on the balance of probabilities. In Sadiq v GMC (2025) a doctor whose arrest led to no further action was later erased.
Does an acquittal mean the regulator must drop the case?
No. GMC guidance says double jeopardy does not apply to regulatory proceedings and an acquittal does not necessarily mean there is no ongoing risk.
Can the GMC pass my information to the police?
Yes, where it reasonably believes a criminal offence may have been committed, sharing only what is needed. A doctor who self-referred is usually told first.
Will an interim order panel decide whether I am guilty?
No. Interim order panels assess risk and must not decide disputed facts.
Should I tell my employer about an arrest?
Check your contract and policies. Some employers require it, and being open early usually helps your relationship with both employer and regulator.
Primary sources
16 official documents and judgments
- GMC: Good medical practice 2024, domain 4
- GMC: Our fitness to practise processes, a guide for doctors
- GMC: Sharing information with the police, staff guidance
- GMC: Decisions on sharing information with the police
- GMC: Police cases resulting in acquittal or a decision not to proceed
- NMC: Criminal convictions and cautions (FTP-2c)
- HCPC: Self-referral case studies
- GDC: Standards for the Dental Team, principle 9
- GDC: Convictions and cautions guidance
- GOV.UK: Common law police disclosure
- GOV.UK: Pre-charge bail statutory guidance
- GOV.UK: Being arrested, your rights
- Crown Prosecution Service: Bail
- GMC v Srinivas [2012] EWHC 2513 (Admin)
- Sadiq v GMC [2025] EWHC 3062 (Admin)
- Perry v NMC [2013] EWCA Civ 145
