Can an MBBS doctor open a clinic in India? Registration, display rules and titles, from the NMC Act and the 2002 regulations.

Yes. An MBBS doctor who has finished the compulsory rotating internship and is registered with a State Medical Council, or enrolled in the National Medical Register, can open and run a clinic in India. Section 34 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 ties the right to practise to that enrolment, and it says nothing about an MD, an MS or years of experience. What the rules do control is how you get registered, what you display, and which titles you may use on the board and the prescription pad.

What does the law require before you see your first patient?

Section 34(1) of the NMC Act, 2019 reads: "No person other than a person who is enrolled in the State Register or the National Register, as the case may be, shall— (a) be allowed to practice medicine as a qualified medical practitioner". The same subsection reserves three more things for enrolled doctors: holding office as a physician or surgeon, signing a medical or fitness certificate required by law, and giving expert evidence on medicine in court. Section 34(2) sets the penalty for breaking it: imprisonment "which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees or with both."

Doctors registered before the Act do not need to do anything new to keep that right. The proviso to section 33(1) says a person registered in the Indian Medical Register under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, before the NMC Act came into force and before the National Exit Test becomes operational, "shall be deemed to have been registered under this Act".

The professional conduct rules point the same way. The NMC re-adopted the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 on 23 August 2023, when it held its own 2023 conduct regulations in abeyance. Regulation 1.1.3 of the 2002 text says no person other than a doctor with a recognised qualification and registration "is allowed to practice Modern system of Medicine or Surgery." A registered MBBS doctor meets both conditions.

Do you need an MD, an MS or experience before opening a clinic?

No. We found nothing in the NMC Act, 2019, the 2002 conduct regulations or the NMC's Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine Regulations, 2023 that asks for a postgraduate degree or a minimum number of years of practice before a registered MBBS doctor treats patients in their own clinic. The internship is the only period of supervised work the rules require, and it comes before permanent registration.

Experience still matters to how the clinic runs. Some doctors choose a year or two in a hospital or a senior's practice to learn the parts nobody teaches in college: the front desk, the token queue, the day book, the medico-legal case that walks in at 9 pm. That is a choice, not a legal condition. The postgraduate degree changes what you may call yourself, which is covered further down.

How does registration work: internship, state council and the National Medical Register?

Registration happens in two steps. During internship you hold a provisional registration. Regulation 3(i) of the 2023 registration regulations (notified on 10 May 2023) says a person who has passed the qualifying examination "shall be entitled to be registered provisionally for the purpose of internship training" on applying to the State Medical Council.

Permanent registration follows the internship. Regulation 4 of the NMC's Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship Regulations, 2021 (18 November 2021) says: "No medical graduate shall be eligible to permanent registration to practice medicine in India unless he undergoes the compulsory rotating medical internship in India". Regulation 5 sets the length at "not less than twelve months", to be completed within two years.

The 2023 registration regulations also describe a National Medical Register with a unique ID generated by the NMC's Ethics and Medical Registration Board, a licence valid for five years, and a 30-day process to transfer your licence to another state. The same regulation adds: "Until such time that these Regulations and appropriate sections are in force, licence to practice and prevailing system of Registration shall continue." In practice, your State Medical Council is still where you register and renew. Our list of state medical councils has every council's website and explains where the National Medical Register stands.

What must you display in the clinic and on every prescription?

Regulation 1.4.1 of the 2002 regulations: "Every physician shall display the registration number accorded to him by the State Medical Council / Medical Council of India in his clinic and in all his prescriptions, certificates, money receipts given to his patients." Regulation 7.3 makes it professional misconduct not to display the number, or to break regulation 1.4.2. Print the council's name next to the number so a patient or pharmacist can check it.

On prescriptions, regulation 1.5 as substituted in the Gazette of 8 October 2016 says: "Every physician should prescribe drugs with generic names legibly and preferably in capital letters and he/she shall ensure that there is a rational prescription and use of drugs". What goes on the rest of the pad is in our prescription pad maker, and the receipt fields are in our post on what a clinic bill must include.

Which degrees and titles can an MBBS doctor print on the board?

Regulation 1.4.2: "Physicians shall display as suffix to their names only recognized medical degrees or such certificates/diplomas and memberships/honours which confer professional knowledge or recognizes any exemplary qualification/achievements." Regulation 7.20: "A Physician shall not claim to be specialist unless he has a special qualification in that branch." Read together, "MBBS" with your registration number is safe. A specialist label for a branch you hold no special qualification in is the risk.

The regulations do not list approved clinic names. Regulation 6.1.1 does say a physician shall not advertise in a way that invites attention to "his professional position, skill, qualification, achievements, attainments, specialities". The NMC also issued Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication on 6 October 2026, covered in our post on the NMC advertising guidelines. Whether a short certificate course counts as a "certificate/diploma" you may display is a question for your council. Ask before you print.

What about interns, fresh graduates and foreign medical graduates?

An intern cannot open a clinic. Provisional registration is granted "for the purpose of internship training", and permanent registration requires the completed internship. A fresh graduate who has finished internship and holds permanent registration can practise on the same footing as a senior MBBS colleague.

Foreign medical graduates follow the NMC (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021, dated 18 November 2021. Regulation 3: "No foreign medical graduate shall practice medicine in India, unless he is granted permanent registration in accordance with the provisions of these regulations." Regulation 4 lists the conditions: a course of at least fifty-four months, a twelve-month internship at the same foreign institution, registration with the licensing body of that country, supervised internship in India of at least twelve months, and having "cleared the National Exit Test or such other mandated test or tests conducted by the Commission." Regulation 5 keeps graduates who got their degree, or were already studying abroad, before these regulations came into force under "the erstwhile applicable regulations".

Can an MBBS doctor run a clinic with a BAMS or BHMS doctor?

Sharing premises is a business arrangement; what each doctor may practise is set by their own Act. Regulation 1.1.3 ends: "A person obtaining qualification in any other system of Medicine is not allowed to practice Modern system of Medicine in any form." Regulation 1.2.1 adds that a physician "should not associate professionally with anyone who violates this principle", meaning the principle of practising methods of healing founded on a scientific basis. Keep separate registration numbers, separate prescription pads and a clear board that names each doctor's system. The rules for the AYUSH side are in our guide to BAMS, BHMS and BUMS clinic rules. For a joint clinic, write to your State Medical Council before you sign a lease.

Once you are registered, what comes next?

1. Confirm your permanent registration certificate and number with your State Medical Council, and note the renewal date if your council renews registration.
2. Find out which clinic registration law applies in your state. The Clinical Establishments Act, 2010 covers a clinic run by "a single doctor" in the states that adopted it, and several states run their own Acts. Our clinic registration guide shows which applies where.
3. Apply for bio-medical waste authorisation from your State Pollution Control Board. The 2016 rules apply to anyone who generates bio-medical waste, including clinics. See our bio-medical waste guide.
4. Set up the prescription pad, certificate format and receipt with your registration number and council, as regulation 1.4.1 requires.
5. Work through the premises, staffing and money side in our step-by-step guide on how to open a clinic in India.