Check a Physio, Osteopath, Chiropractor or Podiatrist Is Registered
Pick the title on the booking page and see which regulator keeps the register, what the law protects and how to search it: HCPC for physiotherapists and podiatrists, GOsC for osteopaths, GCC for chiropractors, and what applies to sports massage.
Updated
Four of the titles on this site are protected by law and sit on a public register, so a name, a registration number and a few minutes are enough to know whether the person is entitled to use the title.
Who are you about to see?
Pick the title on the booking page. The result says who keeps the register, what the law says about that title and where to look.
What a register entry settles, and what it leaves open
It settles
- That the person is entitled to the title they use.
- That a regulator holds them to a code and can act when standards are not met. The GCC, for example, says it removes chiropractors from the register when they are found unfit to practise.
- Which practice an osteopath works at, on the GOsC search.
It leaves open
- Whether they treat your kind of problem well.
- What they charge. Our price guide covers that.
- Whether the clinic around them is any good. The register is about the person.
Titles that sound clinical but sit on no statutory register
The word physio in a business name is not a registration. A clinic called Something Physio may employ a physiotherapist, an osteopath and a massage therapist, and each needs checking under their own title. The same goes for sports therapist, sports massage therapist, injury specialist and foot health practitioner. Sports therapist and sports massage therapist are voluntary territory, as the sports massage result above explains.
The NHS adds a practical point for physiotherapy: choose a chartered physiotherapist, who has MCSP after the name, and confirm the HCPC registration too.
A routine before you book
- Ask the clinic for the full name and registration number of the person you will see.
- Search the right register for that title. Picking the wrong profession in the list can give a false alarm.
- Check that the name and the town match the booking page.
- For a specialist claim such as pelvic health or nail surgery, ask the clinic what training backs it. A register lists the title, not every special interest.
- Ask about insurance and what they do if a problem needs a doctor.
Where this fits on the site
Every business on the lists here is a clinic or practitioner who treats the problem named in the list title. Browse them by trade: physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, podiatrists and chiropodists and sports massage therapists. Being listed is free and is not a registration check. We tell you how a list is put together on the how we select page, and the NHS or private guide covers getting seen without paying.
Registers and laws behind this page
Each link was opened on 13 November 2026.
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Physiotherapists and podiatrists or chiropodists | HCPC check the register |
| Health Professions Order 2001, article 39 | legislation.gov.uk |
| Osteopaths | GOsC register search and protecting the title |
| Osteopaths Act 1993, section 32 | legislation.gov.uk |
| Chiropractors | GCC patient portal |
| Chiropractors Act 1994, section 32 | legislation.gov.uk |
| Voluntary register for sports massage | CNHC and the Sports Massage Association |
| NHS advice on choosing a private physiotherapist | NHS physiotherapy page |
Registers change daily. This page explains the rules and does not copy the registers.
Written by the Good Physio editorial team.