The National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued a notification instructing medical aspirants to pay the required fee for obtaining Additional Qualification (AQ) certificates. These certificates are issued to medical practitioners who have completed additional qualifications, including higher medical education, from the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS).

According to the NMC, applicants who wish to obtain AQ certificates from the NMC must first pay the prescribed fee through NBEMS's Miscellaneous Fee Payment Portal. After completing the payment, applicants must submit a legible copy of the payment receipt in the online AQ application under the 'Relevant PG document, if any' section.

Payment for AQ requests

The NMC emphasised that the verification of AQ requests will only proceed once the payment is successfully received by NBEMS. The commission will then forward the request for verification of the additional qualification(s) to NBEMS.

The NMC issues AQ certificates to registered medical practitioners who have earned higher qualifications under Section 26 of the Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act, 1956, in conjunction with Section 61(2) of the NMC Act, 2019. The certificates are issued after thorough verification of the qualifications by the relevant educational institutes, including NBEMS.

Credential Verification Online Portal

Recently, NBEMS announced that credential verification for qualifications issued by the board will now be conducted through its "Credential Verification Online Portal (CVOP)." This portal, available on the NBEMS website under the "Digital Services" tab, will handle all verification processes once the necessary fee is paid via the Miscellaneous Fee Payment Portal.

Medical practitioners seeking to obtain AQ certificates should ensure they complete the payment process as instructed to avoid delays in the verification and certification process.