Certificate of Completion of Training
The Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) is the certificate that physicians in the United Kingdom receive to indicate that they have completed training in their chosen specialty and are eligible to apply for a post as a consultant or a general practitioner (GP).
This certificate is awarded by the General Medical Council (GMC). This is a self-funding statutory body independent of the government and the Royal Colleges of the various medical specialties.
The GMC took on its role on 1 April 2010 following its merger with the former Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board. Before 2005, hospital doctors' training was assessed and deemed to be complete by the Specialist Training Authority (STA), which was formed by the combined Royal Colleges. The STA awarded a certificate called a Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training, or CCST. Currently these two certificates are considered equivalent; however, the GMC has the authority to change the requirements for acquisition of a CCT so that in future they would not be regarded as equivalent.