The Osteopaths Act of 1993 (315) established the General Osteopathic Council (GOC) with the UK Statutory register of Osteopaths (316). The title 'osteopath' is protected by law and it is a criminal offence to claim to be a osteopath if not registered with GOC (316).
Osteopathy in the UK is registered in the EU regulated professions database as follows: Osteopathy is a directly related regulated profession with the title “Osteopath” recognized under Directive 2005/36/EC (5) ID 4381. General system of recognition - application (primary or secondary) to be defined. All regions. Qualification level: PS4 - Diploma of post-secondary level (exactly 4 years), Art. 11e (7).
5. DIRECTIVE 2005/36/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 22) Amended up to March 2011, (2005).
7. The European Commission. Regulated professions database. Brussels: EUROPA; 2011 [cited 2012 February 10, ]; Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/qualifications/regprof/index.cfm?fuseaction=regProf.index.
315. Osteopath Act 1993, chapter 23, with amendments, The Parliament(1993).
316. General Osteopathic council (GOC). General Osteopathic Council. 2012 [cited 2012 January 11]; Available from: http://www.osteopathy.org.uk/.
