Dental X-ray registration with the HSE in 2026: the £27 fee, when a practice must tell the HSE about a change, and the paperwork that sits beside it

A dental practice that takes X-rays needs a registration from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) before it uses the equipment. The HSE's list of work that requires registration names "X-ray devices used by dentists, vets, chiropractors and NHS trusts". Dental X-ray sits in the middle tier of the HSE's three: notification for low-risk work, registration for medium-risk work and consent for high-risk work.

From 1 April 2026 the HSE charges £27 for a registration application. That is the whole fee. There is no annual charge in the HSE's fee schedule, and regulation 6 of the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR17) sets no renewal date.

The three tiers and what each costs

The HSE says the average cost of a consent is expected to be up to £6,000. A dental practice does not need one for its X-ray units. If a supplier or adviser suggests otherwise, ask them which regulation they are relying on.

In Northern Ireland the registering body is the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI). Its page says there are "currently no fees associated with notification, registration or consent for work within Northern Ireland", and adds that this is under review.

When to apply

Regulation 6(3) says an employer "must not carry out a registrable practice unless that employer has applied for, and has been issued with, a registration". So the registration comes first, before the first patient image, not after the unit is fitted and in use.

Applications go through the HSE's online service, RADAN. The HSE asks for the extent and purpose of the work, including the approximate number of X-ray generators and the premises where they will be used. Payment is taken during the application.

The registration belongs to the employer. That matters when a practice is bought or changes its legal form, for example a sole trader becoming a limited company. Treat that as a point to raise with your radiation protection adviser and the HSE rather than assuming the old registration carries over.

The changes you must report

Regulation 6(6) covers two events. If the employer stops the registered work, or makes a material change to it, "the employer must immediately notify the appropriate authority of that cessation or material change".

The regulation does not list what counts as material. Events worth checking with your adviser include:

• opening a new site where X-rays will be taken
• closing a site, or stopping X-ray work altogether
• adding a different kind of unit, such as a cone beam CT scanner, to a practice that had only intraoral units
• a change of the employer who holds the registration

"Immediately" means the report should not wait for the next compliance review. A practice that opens a second site in March and tells the HSE at its year-end has not met the wording.

What sits beside the registration

The £27 registration is the cheapest part of radiation protection in a practice. IRR17 also requires written items that inspectors and auditors ask to see.

Regulation 14 says the employer must "appoint that radiation protection adviser in writing" and define "the scope of the advice which the radiation protection adviser is required to give". The adviser's fee is set by the adviser, and we did not find a published rate to quote.

Separate rules govern the exposure of patients, including who may justify and carry out an X-ray. Those are clinical decisions for the dentist and are not covered here.

The CQC registration, GDC fees and ICO fee that a practice also pays are in our regulator fees guide. What the front desk is usually asked to produce at an inspection is in our CQC inspection evidence guide.

A quick check for the practice file

1. Find the HSE registration and confirm the employer named on it is the employer today.
2. Count the sites and X-ray units it was applied for, and compare them with what the practice runs now.
3. If anything has changed, report it through RADAN and keep the confirmation.
4. Check the radiation protection adviser's appointment letter is signed, dated and states its scope.
5. Check each X-ray room has current local rules and a named supervisor.

Physiotherapy and aesthetics clinics

Most physiotherapy and aesthetics clinics do not take X-rays and need no registration. A clinic that adds imaging, or a chiropractor sharing the premises, falls under the same rules. The professional fees for a physiotherapy team are in our physiotherapy fees guide.

In the practice

Overlyft can set up an AI assistant to keep the radiation protection items in its compliance calendar: the adviser's appointment review date, local rules reviews and a prompt to check the HSE registration whenever a site or unit changes. It submits nothing to the HSE and decides nothing about radiation safety. The practice manager or a GDC-registered professional checks anything a tool prepares before it is used. This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.