Status as of 14 October 2026. The National Medical Register (NMR) is kept by NMC's Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB). NMC's doctor registration form is at application.nmc.org.in/doctor/register. It opens by asking "Are you registered with NMR?" and "Do you have an IMR Number?", then asks for your State Medical Council, registration number and registration date. NMC's rules on the NMR number are changing. Draft amendments published on 11 August 2026 would route registration through a "Unified Registration portal" and give every doctor a UID number. That draft is not final as of 14 October 2026, and NMC has not published a notice that the unified portal is live.
This guide is about the steps and the official text. If you want to know how the NMR differs from your HPID, our HPR guide covers that. It is a general guide, not legal advice.
Two numbers that get mixed up
- Your State Medical Council (SMC) registration number. It is printed on your council certificate, and it is the number NMC's form asks for.
- Your NMR number, or UID. The draft defines the NMR as a register "with a Unique Identification (UID) Number assigned to every medical practitioner registered under State Medical Register (SMR) maintained by the State Medical Councils" (draft, Regulation 2, new clause (cc)).
The draft also says the UID "shall be formed in such a way that the Code of the concerned State / Union Territory and assigned SMR Number shall get embedded" in it (draft, substituted Regulation 6(e)). If that is notified, your SMC number becomes part of your NMR UID.
Step 1: Open the form from NMC, not from a forwarded link
NMC's registration hub is application.nmc.org.in/register. On 14 October 2026 it lists "Doctor Registration: Register as a medical practitioner" alongside PG, UG, student, grievance and foreign temporary permission options. Choose Doctor Registration, which opens application.nmc.org.in/doctor/register. If you have already started, use "Already registered? Login" on the same page.
Medabha's EMR software for India does not create an NMR ID and does not submit this form.
Step 2: Answer the two opening questions
The form opens with:
- "Are you registered with NMR?" (Yes, I am registered with NMR / No, I am not registered with NMR). If you choose Yes, it asks for your "NMR Number".
- "Do you have an IMR Number?" (Yes, I have an IMR Number / No, I don't have an IMR Number). The IMR is the older Indian Medical Register. The form's note reads: "Enter IMR number and select state medical council to fetch doctor details."
Step 3: Enter your SMC details exactly as printed
Under "SMC / Registration Details" the form asks for:
- State Medical Council (SMC). It is picked from a dropdown that lists 30 councils, from Andhra Pradesh Medical Council to West Bengal Medical Council.
- Registration Number
- Registration Date
Type these exactly as they appear on your council certificate.
Step 4: Basic details and address
The form then asks for a salutation (Dr., Prof. Dr., Mr., Ms., Mrs.), your full name, and permanent and current addresses with State, District and Pincode. There is a tick box for "Current Address is same as Permanent Address".
We have not gone past this point, because the next screens need a real doctor's details. Follow the labels on the live form, and keep the acknowledgement or application number it gives you.
Documents to keep ready
The opening screens do not list documents. When the NMR portal launched in 2024, The Hindu reported the Health Ministry as saying a doctor "needs a digital copy of the Degree (MBBS) Certificate, the Registration Certificate of the State Medical Council/Medical Council of India, where the doctor got first-time registration" and "must also have the Aadhaar number ready". That was the 2024 process as the press reported it. Check the live form for what it asks today.
What the rules in force say today
The Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine Regulations, 2023 are still in force. NMC's August 2026 draft quotes their current wording before proposing changes:
- UID. Current Regulation 4(iii): "An UID shall be generated centrally by the Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB), National Medical Commission (NMC) and thereby grant the practitioner, Registration in NMR and Eligibility to practice medicine in India."
- Fee. Current Regulation 4(iv): "A processing fee for generation of UID (as prescribed by EMRB, NMC from time to time shall be payable), in favour of the Secretary, NMC."
- Existing doctors. Current Regulation 11 (Transitory Provisions) asks existing practitioners without the new registration number to update "in the web portal of the Ethics & Medical Registration Board within a period of three months of publishing of these Regulation", and says "no fee shall be charged by EMRB, NMC" for updating the licence.
What the August 2026 draft would change
NMC published the draft Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, notification No. R. 11061/05/2026-EMRB-Reg dated 11 August 2026, and listed it on its What's New page on 14 August 2026. It is a draft. As drafted:
| Topic | Draft wording | Draft clause |
|---|---|---|
| Where you apply | "a person/FMG shall apply to the concerned State Medical Council through Unified Registration portal of the Ethics & Medical Registration Board" | Substituted Reg. 6(a) |
| Decision time | The SMC will consider the application "after charging appropriate fee within a period of 30 days" | Substituted Reg. 6(c) |
| Practice across India | After SMC approval and UID allotment, the doctor "shall be eligible to practice medicine in any State or Union Territory of India without requiring fresh registration & license" in another State | Substituted Reg. 6(f) |
| Register sync | EMRB "shall ensure electronic synchronization of the National Register and the State Register" | Substituted Reg. 4(iv) |
| What the NMR shows | New fields for "Active/Inactive status of licence to practice medicine" and "Details of disciplinary action against the RMP, if any" | Reg. 5(ii)(k), (l) |
| Existing doctors | Update on the EMRB web portal "within stipulated period, as decided by the Ethics & Medical Registration Board", and "no fee shall be charged by EMRB, NMC" for the UID update | Substituted Reg. 11 |
| Additional qualifications | Apply to the SMC "where he / she is primarily registered, through the Unified Registration portal" | Substituted Reg. 7(i) |
| If refused | Appeal to EMRB "within thirty days", with EMRB to decide "within thirty days" | Substituted Reg. 12 |
The draft would also replace the current UID processing-fee clause (Reg. 4(iv)) with the synchronisation clause above. The draft PDF is the text these lines come from.
Dates you may read in the news
These come from the press, not from an NMC notice:
- The New Indian Express reported on 10 September 2026 that NMC said fresh medical graduates applying for a licence would be registered on the NMR automatically, and that NMC Secretary Dr Raghav Langer said no fee would be charged for an NMR registration number.
- ThePrint reported on 2 October 2026 that a senior NMC official expected the unified portal to go live by 15 October 2026. Our HPR guide covers that report in full.
On 14 October 2026, NMC's What's New page has no notice that the unified registration portal is live, and no final notification of the amendment regulations.
If you teach at a medical college
NMC's IT Section issued an Office Memorandum on 3 September 2026, followed by a second on 5 October 2026 (No. N-16015/3/2026-IT-NMC). They ask colleges to update the "NMR/SMR No." of faculty, Junior and Senior Residents, Tutors and Demonstrators on the NMC AEBAS portal. The 5 October OM gives "additional three (03) weeks" and warns that "non updation or incorrect entry of NMR/SMR numbers will result in the automated blocking and rejection of daily attendance by the system." Your college's nodal officer handles this. The 5 October OM encloses the 3 September one.
Sources
- NMC registration hub.
- NMC doctor registration form.
- NMC draft Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, notification No. R. 11061/05/2026-EMRB-Reg dated 11 August 2026.
- NMC Office Memorandum N-16015/3/2026-IT-NMC, 5 October 2026 (with the 3 September 2026 OM).
- NMC What's New.
- National Medical Register.
- Press: The New Indian Express, 10 September 2026; ThePrint, 2 October 2026; The Hindu, 2024.
This article is a general guide, not legal advice. It reflects official pages as of 14 October 2026. The 2026 amendment regulations are a draft until NMC notifies them.
Frequently asked questions
Where is NMC's official NMR registration form?
At application.nmc.org.in/doctor/register, reached from NMC's registration hub at application.nmc.org.in/register. Open it from nmc.org.in rather than from a forwarded link.
What does the NMC doctor registration form ask for first?
Whether you are already registered with NMR, whether you have an IMR number, and then your State Medical Council, registration number and registration date. Basic details and addresses come next.
Has NMC's unified registration portal gone live?
As of 14 October 2026, NMC has not posted a notice on its What's New page saying so. The 15 October date comes from a press report, not an NMC notice.
Will my NMR UID include my state registration number?
The August 2026 draft says the UID shall be formed in such a way that the code of the concerned State or Union Territory and the assigned SMR number shall get embedded (substituted Reg. 6(e)). That is draft wording until NMC notifies it.
I already have an SMC registration. Will I need to do anything under the draft?
The draft's transitory provision asks existing practitioners without an NMR UID to update on the EMRB web portal within a stipulated period, as decided by the Ethics and Medical Registration Board. No period has been announced in an NMC notice as of 14 October 2026.
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This article is general information about clinic software and documentation workflows, not medical, legal or regulatory advice. Check current requirements with the relevant authority before making compliance decisions.