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Bangladesh: practising without registration, what section 22 of the Act provides

Sources checked · Unofficial summary

Section 22 of the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council Act, 2010 is Bangladesh's law, and it applies to medical and dental practitioners. Under sub-section (1), a practitioner may not practise allopathic medicine, or describe themselves as a medical or dental practitioner, without registration under the Act. Under sub-section (2), a breach of that rule is an offence with the penalty set out below. For the registration rules in section 18, see this register's section page on practising back home.

This page covers only sections 22 and 18 of the Act. The English wording here is this site's own translation of the Bengali text, which the Ministry of Law publishes on the Laws of Bangladesh site.

What section 22(1) says

Sub-section (1) begins with the words "notwithstanding anything in any other law". In this site's translation, it says that no medical practitioner or dental practitioner may practise allopathic medicine, or describe himself or herself as a medical practitioner or, as the case may be, a dental practitioner, without registration under this Act.

The rule has two parts. The first part covers practising allopathic medicine. The second part covers describing oneself as a medical or dental practitioner.

The penalty in section 22(2)

Sub-section (2) says that a person who breaches sub-section (1) commits an offence. The penalty is 3 (three) years' imprisonment, or a fine of 1 (one) lakh taka, or both.

What section 18 provides for registration

Section 18 sets out how the Council registers practitioners. The Council is the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council.

  • Sub-section (1) says the Council registers qualified professional and recognised medical practitioners, enters their names with the required details in a register, and publishes and maintains that register.
  • Sub-section (2) says a practitioner must apply to the Council for registration and entry in the register, in the prescribed manner. The section does not print that prescribed manner.
  • Sub-section (3) says that after an application is received, the Council may register the applicant if it considers the applicant eligible under the prescribed standards and policy. The Council then issues a registration certificate in the prescribed manner.
  • Sub-section (4) says that after a date fixed by the Council, it will not register a practitioner under sub-section (1) unless the practitioner either (a) was provisionally registered under sub-section (4) and later completed an internship approved by the Council at a hospital approved for medical education, or (b) worked in an approved hospital in a post which, in the Council's opinion, gave experience of completing an internship.
  • Sub-section (5) says that after a date fixed by the Council, the Council provisionally registers each person with a recognised medical education qualification and enters that person in a separate part of the register. This applies if the person shows proof that they have been selected for a residential appointment at an approved hospital, and the person is considered, on an overall assessment, eligible to be treated as a registered professional practitioner.
  • Sub-section (6) says that when a provisionally registered person is fully registered under the Act, the Council removes that person's name from the separate part.
  • Sub-section (7) says that if a provisionally registered person works in medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology outside an approved hospital, the Council may remove that person's name from the register, after a prescribed inquiry, until a suitable undertaking not to do so is submitted.
  • Sub-section (8) says that if a registered or provisionally registered person acquires a postgraduate medical qualification listed in the Third Schedule, the Council adds that qualification to the register beside the person's name, on the person's application.

Section 18 names no foreign school or country.

A wording point in section 18 as printed

Sub-sections (4)(a), (6) and (7) refer to provisional registration "under sub-section (4)". Sub-section (5) is the sub-section that describes provisional registration. This page reports the wording as printed and does not resolve the cross-reference.

What this page does not cover

This page does not describe the Council's current examination procedure, fees, forms, schedules, or its list of recognised foreign institutions. The Council's own website was not available for this page. Ask the Council for the current procedure.

Questions people ask

What does section 22(1) prohibit?

Section 22(1) says that a medical or dental practitioner may not practise allopathic medicine, or describe themselves as a medical or dental practitioner, without registration under the Act. The sub-section begins with "notwithstanding anything in any other law".

What penalty does section 22(2) set?

Section 22(2) says that a breach of sub-section (1) is an offence. The penalty is 3 (three) years' imprisonment, or a fine of 1 (one) lakh taka, or both.

What must an applicant do to be registered under section 18?

Section 18(2) says that the practitioner must apply to the Council for registration and entry in the register, in the prescribed manner. Section 18(3) says the Council may register the applicant if it considers the applicant eligible under the prescribed standards and policy, and then issues a registration certificate in the prescribed manner.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary. It is not legal, medical or professional-licensing advice, it is not published by the bodies named, and it promises no admission, examination or registration outcome. The official text and the regulator's own instructions prevail if they differ.

MBBS Register Desk