Midwifery Council of New Zealand

Midwifery Council of New Zealand

Practising Certificates

Registered midwives are legally required to hold a practising certificate issued by the Midwifery Council.  An application for a practising certificate must be made online and be paid for in full.  The Council facilitates the renewal of practising certificates by sending reminders to all midwives before the end of each practising year (31 March) in its monthly newsletter.  If we receive your completed application and payment before the second week in March, then we guarantee that your practising certificate card will be received by the start of the new year.  Midwives should make sure that they should complete all areas of the form and complete all the declarations.  Midwives that have any queries regarding declarations should contact the secretariat for clarification.

Notes on how and when to apply can be found on this page.

Notes for all midwives:

  • Applications for practising certificates are made online.  Midwives must log into their online account to apply.
  • All annual practising certificates expire on 31 March.
  • A practising certificate is required even if you work part time or intermittently.
  • If you commence work part way through the year, a discounted fee is payable.
  • There is no refund if you stop work part way through the year.
  • The workforce survey questions are part of the application.
  • It is illegal to work as a midwife without a practising certificate and significant penalties apply (administered by the Ministry of Health).
  • If you do not have a current practising certificate you cannot work as a midwife, you cannot claim maternity fees and you will not have any indemnity cover.
  • Take care of your practising certificate card; it is valuable.  It can be used to obtain controlled drugs as well as order tests and claim fees.  If it is stolen or lost please notify the Police and contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it immediately.

If you hold a practising certificate but do not receive the newletter with the renewal reminder:

Perhaps you have not told us your change of email address?  If your address has changed you can update this online, or contact the Council.  You can call 04 499 5040 or email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  The Council does its best to facilitate this process but all practising certificate expire on 31 March every year and it is your responsibility to ensure that you hold a current practising certificate.

If you have not practised in the current year but wish to return to practise:

If you have practised midwifery at some time during the past three years and can declare that you are competent to practise you can make a normal application  You can apply at the beginning of the year or any time during the year.  Allow a minimum of ten working days between sending in the application and actually receiving your practising certificate card.

If you have not practised midwifery during the last three years or are not able to make the necessary declarations, you will need to make a Return to Practise application. Information about the Return to Practise programme is available on the Return to Practise page.  Contact the Council for the appropriate form.  Return to practise applications are considered by a Council committee that meets at the beginning of each month (but not in January).

If you don't intend to practise next year:

  • You do not need to pay for a practising certificate for that year.
  • Please inform the Council that you will not be practising by email or telephone call.
  • You may elect to go on the Council mailing list.  There is no fee for this.  You will continue to receive all newsletters and consultation documents.
  • You remain on the Midwifery Register so please continue to advise changes of address - you are legally required to do so.

There is information on other pages relevant to practising certificates. Click on the item to go to that page.