Professional registration · 4 min read
Allied health registration in Uganda: the AHPC route for clinical officers, lab, imaging and therapy staff
Which professions the Allied Health Professionals Council regulates, what to bring to register, how foreign trained applicants apply and how to renew your annual practising licence online.
Clinical officers, laboratory staff, radiographers, physiotherapists, environmental health officers and many other health workers in Uganda are regulated by the Allied Health Professionals Council (AHPC), not by the medical or nursing councils. Registration is a one time step; the practising licence is renewed every year, now online. This guide shows how to find out if your profession is on the AHPC list, what the Council asks for and how renewal works.
Check that the AHPC is your council
The AHPC is the corporate body set up under the Allied Health Professionals Act, Cap. 296, to regulate, supervise and control the training and practice of allied health professionals. It publishes its registers of registered and licensed professionals in the Uganda Gazette every year and asks employers and the public to check them.
Its list of registered cadres covers clinical officers (medical, anaesthetic, ophthalmic, ENT and psychiatric), anaesthetic officers, optometrists, theatre assistants, dental technologists and technicians, environmental health officers, health inspectors, vector control officers, nutritionists, the laboratory cadres from assistants to scientific officers, radiographers, sonographers and imaging technologists, physiotherapists, occupational and speech therapists, orthopaedic officers and technologists, pharmacy assistants, dispensers, health educators, chiropractors and cytotechnologists. Pharmacists, doctors, nurses and midwives have their own councils.
What to bring to register as a Ugandan
- Four recent coloured passport photos with a white background.
- Your certified final academic transcript or certificate of qualification.
- A photocopy of the ID card of the school where you trained.
- Your O level and A level certificates.
- The registration fee.
If you trained outside Uganda
- All your academic credentials and a letter from the National Council for Higher Education.
- Evidence of registration with the professional body of your country of origin.
- Evidence of previous employment and a photocopy of your passport detail page.
- Three recent coloured passport photos with a white background.
- Verification and registration fees.
Renew your annual practising licence online
Registration is permanent, but you need a current annual practising licence and, for some purposes, an extract from the register. The AHPC renews both through the eHealth licensing portal at ehealthlicense.go.ug.
- Log in with your email, your phone number without the first zero, or AHPC followed by your registration number. If you have never logged in, use the first login details on the AHPC Online Licensing Steps page.
- Open My Profile, attach your passport photo and complete the profile until it shows 100%.
- On the Dashboard, open the link to renew your licence or extract and click Proceed to payment.
- Pay with SchoolPay from a mobile money number.
- Download and print the licence or extract once it is processed.
Before you open your own unit
Some allied health professionals go on to open a health unit in their own field. The AHPC lists the conditions: you must be registered, hold a current practising licence and extract from the register, have at least four years of experience, supervise only one unit and have it inspected at district level with the checklist signed and stamped by the inspecting officer and the District Health Officer.
Licences and job applications
Public health employers check registration. The Health Service Commission's eRecruitment System asks applicants for their licence number, council registration number and images of both documents, so keep scans of your registration certificate and current licence ready before you apply.
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Frequently asked questions
Which council registers clinical officers in Uganda?
The Allied Health Professionals Council (AHPC), set up under the Allied Health Professionals Act, Cap. 296. Its list includes medical, anaesthetic, ophthalmic, ENT and psychiatric clinical officers.
How do I renew my AHPC licence?
Online at ehealthlicense.go.ug: log in, complete your profile to 100%, open the renewal link on the dashboard, pay with SchoolPay by mobile money and download the licence once it is processed.
What documents do I need to register with the AHPC?
Four coloured passport photos with a white background, your certified final transcript or certificate, a copy of your training school ID, your O and A level certificates and the registration fee. Foreign trained applicants add an NCHE letter, proof of registration and employment abroad and their passport page.
Can I open my own clinic as an allied health professional?
In your own field, after at least four years of experience, with a current licence and extract from the register, and after a district inspection, according to the AHPC requirements.