General Osteopathic Council

What General Osteopathic Council does

The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) is the sole statutory regulator for osteopathy in the United Kingdom, established under the Osteopaths Act 1993. It is registered as a charity in England and Wales (charity number 1172749) and operates as a non-profit. GOsC maintains the public Statutory Register of approximately 5,597 osteopaths, sets and enforces the Osteopathic Practice Standards, assures the quality of osteopathic pre-registration education through Recognised Qualification approvals, investigates concerns about osteopaths' fitness to practise, and protects the osteopathic title from misuse under Section 32 of the Act. It is one of nine UK healthcare regulators overseen by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care.

GOsC's core 'products' are regulatory rather than commercial: the publicly searchable online Register, the o zone member portal for osteopaths and students, a dedicated CPD website, a mobile-friendly Osteopathic Practice Standards website, the o zone app, and a WhatsApp Business contact channel. Technology is administrative in nature, with Google Analytics used for web measurement and no proprietary technology platform disclosed. Revenue is generated primarily through compulsory annual registration fees paid by osteopaths, who must by law be registered with GOsC to practise in the UK, supplemented by income from room hire at its London headquarters and ancillary services such as fitness to practise hearing transcripts.

The organisation is governed by a Council of 10 members and supported by 26 staff, 18 fitness to practise panellists and 4 external Education Committee members. Senior leadership includes the Chief Executive and Registrar Matthew Redford (in post since October 2000), Director of Education, Standards and Development Fiona Browne, and Director of Fitness to Practise Sheleen McCormack. GOsC engages internationally through partnerships with FORE, the European Committee for Standardisation (contributing to EN16686), the Osteopathic International Alliance, the WHO, and MOUs signed in August 2016 with the Osteopathy Board of Australia, Osteopathic Council of New Zealand and Australasian Osteopathic Accreditation Council.

Name

General Osteopathic Council

Legal name

General Osteopathic Council

Website

https://osteopathy.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) is the UK statutory regulator for osteopaths, maintaining the Statutory Register of around 5,597 practitioners, setting Osteopathic Practice Standards, approving education programmes, and investigating fitness to practise concerns under the Osteopaths Act 1993.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Regulation

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical Trials Authorization & Oversight (GCP) (HLAJADAF)

Keywords

• Osteopathy regulation
• Statutory health regulation
• Professional registration
• Fitness to practise
• Osteopathic education

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable activities and registration fees: GOsC is a charity registered in England and Wales (charity number 1172749). It is funded primarily through registration fees paid by osteopaths. Osteopaths must be registered with GOsC by law to practise in the UK and pay an annual renewal fee. GOsC also generates revenue through room hire at its offices near Tower Bridge.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels13 records

Core offering

The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) is the statutory regulator for osteopaths in the UK, established under the Osteopaths Act 1993. It maintains the UK Statutory Register of Osteopaths, sets and enforces the Osteopathic Practice Standards, assures the quality of osteopathic education through Recognised Qualification inspections, and investigates fitness to practise concerns with statutory powers to prosecute misuse of the osteopathic title under Section 32 of the Act.

Product overview

The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) is a regulatory body, not a product company. It provides regulatory services including maintaining a public Register of osteopaths, setting Osteopathic Practice Standards, administering CPD schemes, and offering member resources through its digital platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public Register of Osteopaths Online searchable Register of all osteopaths registered to practise in the UK, maintained by GOsC under the Osteopaths Act 1993. Searchable by surname, postcode, town, county, country or registration number, updated daily, and used by the public to verify an osteopath's legal right to practise (including identification of Welsh-speaking osteopaths).
• o zone Portal Dedicated online portal (the 'o zone') giving registered osteopaths and students self-service access to their registration details, CPD start and finish dates, practising status, contact and Direct Debit updates, regional groups, peer discussion reviews, Chat with GOsC Zoom links, and the International Journal for Osteopathic Medicine.
• CPD Scheme Website Dedicated website hosting the GOsC Continuing Professional Development (CPD) scheme resources, including workbooks, case studies, 'how to' guides, templates, blogs, CPD event listings, regional group contact details, and Peer Discussion Review information for registered osteopaths.
• Osteopathic Practice Standards (OPS) Website Dedicated mobile-friendly website publishing the Osteopathic Practice Standards - the mandatory standards of knowledge, skills, performance, safety, ethics, professionalism, and communication required of osteopaths in the UK - together with accompanying guidance.
• Podcast - In Conversation with the GOsC Long-form podcast series hosted by the GOsC Head of Policy and Education, featuring conversations with GOsC colleagues and external experts on issues affecting osteopaths, educators, students and patients; published on podcast platforms with transcripts available in English and Welsh.

Quantifiable outcome

• 94-99% of patients who had recently seen their osteopath rated them as good (2023 YouGov survey)

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Care Quality Commission, General Medical Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council and other regulatorsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026In May 2026, GOsC joined the CQC, GMC, NMC and other regulators to sign a commitment to nine shared anti-racism principles aimed at tackling racism in the workplace at every level of the health and social care system.
• Osteopathy Board of AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2016GOsC signed a memorandum of understanding with the Osteopathy Board of Australia, Osteopathic Council of New Zealand, and Australasian Osteopathic Accreditation Council in August 2016. The MOU promotes exchange of regulatory information and best practice, streamlines regulatory processes, and encourages related activities between the regulators.
• Osteopathic Council of New ZealandminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2016Part of the August 2016 MOU alongside the Osteopathy Board of Australia and Australasian Osteopathic Accreditation Council. Promotes exchange of regulatory information, best practice, and streamlined regulatory processes between regulators.
• Australasian Osteopathic Accreditation CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2016Part of the August 2016 MOU. The MOU promotes exchange of regulatory information and best practice, streamlines regulatory processes, and encourages related activities between the UK, Australian, and New Zealand osteopathic regulators.
• Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA)coreOthersPSA is the independent body with oversight for the nine UK health and social care regulators, including GOsC. PSA reviews the performance of all healthcare regulators annually and presents findings to Parliament, health ministers, the public, patients, and professional regulatory bodies. GOsC is subject to external monitoring by PSA.
• Forum for Osteopathic Regulation in Europe (FORE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGOsC helped create FORE to promote best practice and develop regulatory mechanisms so patients can have confidence in osteopathic care across Europe. FORE's ultimate goal is to develop the same high standards of education, training and practice throughout Europe that GOsC maintains in the UK.
• European Committee for Standardisation (CEN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrom 2012-2015, FORE (with GOsC involvement) and the European Federation of Osteopaths jointly funded and developed pan-European standards for osteopathy with CEN. The resulting standard is EN16686 - 'European Standard for Osteopathic Healthcare Provision'.
• European Federation of Osteopaths (EFO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJointly funded and developed pan-European standards for osteopathy with CEN and FORE. Standard EN16686 resulted from this collaboration.
• Alliance of UK Health Regulators on Europe (AURE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGOsC works closely with AURE, an organisation that campaigns in the interests of patients for better healthcare standards across the European Union.
• Osteopathic International Alliance (OIA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGOsC works with the OIA and the World Health Organization to promote high standards of osteopathy worldwide. GOsC helps organise an annual regulation forum held at the same time as the OIA's AGM, bringing together representatives from osteopathic organisations to advance osteopathic medicine and practice worldwide.
• National Council for Osteopathic Research (NCOR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCOR was established to provide leadership in osteopathic research development. GOsC is a stakeholder and funder of NCOR. NCOR collates concerns and complaints data which GOsC publishes on its website. NCOR Practice Based Research network is available for osteopaths to join. NCOR's Director (Dr Jerry Draper-Rodi) appears on the GOsC podcast.
• Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoth GOsC and ASA are concerned about individuals using the title osteopath, or aligning themselves to the title, when not registered. Both consider this misleading for the public and potentially placing patients at risk. A joint statement was published in January 2026. ASA has powers to ban misleading or irresponsible advertising.
• Joint Health & Social Care Regulators' Patient & Public Involvement GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSet up in January 2005, acts as a forum in which UK health and social care regulators share ideas and promote good practice in patient and public involvement. GOsC participates alongside eight other UK healthcare regulators. Published the joint leaflet 'Who Regulates Health and Social Care Professionals?'
• Osteopathic Development Group (ODG)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerODG is a collaboration of key osteopathy organisations in the UK including the Institute of Osteopathy, GOsC, Council of Osteopathic Educational Institutions, NCOR, and Osteopathic Alliance. ODG supports the long-term development of osteopathy for the benefit of patients' care and safety. Current projects include Advanced Clinical Practice, Career Development, Evidence, International Collaboration, Leadership, Mentoring, Regional Support, and Service Standards.
• Institute of Osteopathy (iO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe iO is the professional membership organisation for osteopaths. GOsC signposts osteopaths to iO for membership support. Contact: 01582 488455 or [email protected].
• World Health OrganizationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGOsC works with the WHO to promote high standards of osteopathy worldwide, alongside the Osteopathic International Alliance.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• General Chiropractic Council: UK statutory regulator for chiropractors, the closest structural parallel to GOsC. Comparable profession size, statutory basis, register, fitness-to-practise function and PSA oversight make it the most directly comparable peer.
• General Medical Council: UK statutory regulator for doctors. GOsC's Director of Education previously worked at the GMC, and the GMC is a fellow UK healthcare regulator overseen by the PSA with the same statutory register / standards / FTP structure.
• Health and Care Professions Council: UK statutory regulator for 15 health and care professions. Closely comparable structure to GOsC in maintaining a register, setting standards and handling FTP, and subject to the same PSA oversight.
• General Dental Council: UK statutory regulator for dental professionals. Comparable in scale and remit to GOsC, sharing the same PSA oversight regime and statutory framework for registration, standards and FTP.
• General Pharmaceutical Council: UK statutory regulator for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Comparable statutory body under the same PSA framework, with register, standards and FTP functions mirroring GOsC's model.
• Nursing and Midwifery Council: UK statutory regulator for nurses and midwives. One of the nine PSA-overseen regulators that signed the May 2026 anti-racism commitment alongside GOsC, with an analogous register, standards and fitness-to-practise model.

Broad incumbents

• Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care: Statutory oversight body that reviews GOsC and the other eight UK healthcare regulators annually. Not a competitor, but its Standards of Good Regulation directly determine GOsC's regulatory standing.

Regional players

• Osteopathic Council of New Zealand: New Zealand regulator for osteopaths, party to the August 2016 MOU with GOsC. Performs a functionally identical regulatory role but in a different jurisdiction.
• Osteopathy Board of Australia: Australian statutory regulator for osteopaths. Has an MOU with GOsC and offers the closest international functional equivalent, but operates under AHPRA rather than the PSA framework.

Others

• Institute of Osteopathy: Voluntary professional membership body for UK osteopaths. Operates alongside GOsC rather than competing with it — GOsC signposts osteopaths to iO for non-regulatory professional support.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/goscnews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/general-osteopathic-council
• Xx.com/gosc_uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about General Osteopathic Council