Home Registration of Dentists Registration RequirementsSpecial Registration (Part 5 of the General Register)

Registration of Dentists

Registration Requirements

Special Registration (Part 5 of the General Register)

According to section 9K of the Dentists Registration Ordinance, the following persons may apply for special registration –

  1. the applicant has been selected for full-time employment as a person with special registration in a Schedule 5 institution;
  2. the applicant has obtained a recognized non-Hong Kong qualification;
  3. either—
    1. the applicant has been awarded a Fellowship of the Academy of Medicine in the specialty of dental surgery; or
    2. the Academy of Medicine has certified that the applicant has attained a professional standard equivalent to that recognized by the Academy for the award of a Fellowship of the Academy in the specialty of dental surgery;
  4. the applicant has had adequate and relevant full-time post-qualification clinical experience;
  5. unless the applicant is a person with limited registration or a person with special registration when the application is made, or was such a person at any time before the application is made—the applicant is registered as a dentist under the law of a place outside Hong Kong;
  6. the applicant has not been refused, under section 7A(3) of the Ordinance, to take the Licensing Examination; and
  7. the applicant is of good character.

Note 1: Schedule 5 Institutions include Department of Health, Hospital Authority, The University of Hong Kong and The Prince Philip Dental Hospital.
Note 2: Pursuant to section 29C(3) of the Dentists Registration Ordinance (“the Ordinance”) (Cap. 156), the Secretary for Health has made the Dentists Registration Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules 4 and 5) Notice 2025 which was published in the Gazette on 21 February 2025 to add 35 organisations (comprising 34 non-governmental organisations participating in designated publicly-funded dental programmes and 1 training institution for dental care professionals) to Schedules 4 and 5 to the Ordinance.


In approving an application, the Dental Council—

  1. must specify a period not exceeding 3 years during which the registration is to be in force; and
  2. may impose any condition that the Dental Council considers appropriate.

Forms and Related Guidance Notes (Including Notes to Employers, Certification of Employment and Covering Letter)

Workflow on Submission and Processing Applications for Limited and Special Registration

Frequently Asked Questions