Anyone who has researched aesthetic treatments in the UK has seen the same two names: Save Face and the JCCP. Clinics display their badges, patients are told to "check the register" and the press often describes them as the way to find a safe practitioner. For clinic owners, the more useful questions are what these registers actually are, what they ask of a clinic, how they differ and why a clinic's own records matter to both. This guide explains the two schemes in plain terms, what the public can and cannot learn from them and how a clinic can prepare. It is general information, not legal advice, and it is based on the registers' own websites and the Professional Standards Authority as read on 5 November 2026.
Key takeaways
- Save Face and the JCCP are voluntary registers. Neither is a statutory regulator, and neither replaces registration with bodies such as the General Medical Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council or General Dental Council.
- The JCCP register is practitioner-based, with no separate clinic register. Save Face accredits both clinics and practitioners.
- Save Face is a private company and a Professional Standards Authority Accredited Register. The JCCP is a registered charity, and clinics should check its current accreditation status on the Authority's list.
- Both expect insurance, training evidence and a complaints process, and Save Face assesses clinics in person.
- Good treatment records and consistent consent and aftercare processes make any register or inspection easier to deal with.
Why registers exist at all
In much of the UK, anyone can currently inject dermal fillers or operate certain devices without a statutory licence, as discussed in this guide to CQC registration for aesthetic clinics. Scotland has now passed a law that will change the picture there, as explained in this guide to the Scottish Act. In England, the government has powers to create a licensing scheme but has set no timescale. In that gap, voluntary registers give patients a way to find practitioners who have shown evidence of training, insurance and standards. They also give practitioners a way to show credibility. Because the registers are voluntary, being on one does not prove that a clinic is lawful, and being absent from one does not prove it is not.
The JCCP register
The Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners is a registered charity. Its register is voluntary and is built around individual practitioners rather than clinics. According to its website, it is divided into two parts: practitioners who are registered with a statutory body, such as doctors, dentists, nurses and pharmacists, and practitioners who are not eligible for statutory registration, such as some beauty and aesthetic practitioners, who require clinical oversight for certain procedures. Practitioners are identified by the treatments they offer and by level of practice.
The JCCP states that joining involves a detailed online application, evidence and a signed self-declaration, and that registrants must follow a joint code of practice, with breaches handled through a fitness-to-practise process. Its materials also refer to premises standards that are checked on a sampling basis and to continuing professional development. The website currently says there are no fees to join or renew, which clinics should confirm before relying on it. The public can search the register by practitioner and treatment on the JCCP website.
Details such as exactly which qualification and insurance evidence is required sit in documents that this guide could not read in full, so applicants should use the JCCP's own current guidance.
The Save Face register
Save Face is a private company that runs an accreditation scheme for clinics and practitioners. Its website says each clinic and practitioner must pass a detailed assessment, which it describes as 116 points, before being accredited. According to its pages:
- Eligible practitioners include registered doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives and prescribing pharmacists who are professionally trained and insured.
- For each treatment offered, practitioners must show procedure-specific training certificates and evidence that the treatment appears on their insurance schedule.
- Clinics are assessed by nurse assessors, and the scheme says it inspects every clinic location listed.
- Products and equipment must be licensed and sourced from licensed pharmacies or reputable suppliers.
- Practitioners must follow a complaints policy.
- Accreditation is renewed annually, with patient feedback monitored during the year.
The Professional Standards Authority lists Save Face as an Accredited Register, and its page for the register records conditions placed after a targeted review, including requirements about how the public can identify registrants and confirm their statutory registration status. Registers can be reassessed and conditions can change, so clinics and patients should check the Authority's current information.
What the Professional Standards Authority accreditation means
The Authority accredits organisations that hold registers of health and care practitioners who are not regulated by law. Accreditation means a register has met standards on governance, standard-setting, education, complaints and information, and only accredited registers and their registrants can use its quality mark. It does not make the register a statutory regulator. The JCCP's own materials describe the register as having Authority approval, but this guide could not confirm that on an Authority page, so clinics should check the Authority's list of Accredited Registers themselves.
How the two differ in practice
- What is registered: the JCCP registers individual practitioners. Save Face accredits clinics and practitioners.
- Who runs it: a charity versus a private company.
- Assessment: Save Face assesses clinic locations in person. The JCCP uses an evidence-based application and sampling of premises standards.
- Who can join: Save Face focuses on regulated healthcare professionals. The JCCP also has a part for practitioners without statutory registration, under clinical oversight.
- Patient checks: both have public searches, and Save Face's guidance tells patients to also verify statutory registration with the General Medical Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council or other bodies.
Records and processes registers expect
Neither register can be satisfied by a badge alone. The themes that appear again and again in their materials, and in inspections more broadly, are:
- Treatment records: who treated whom, when, with which product and at which site. The JCCP provides a treatment log template.
- Informed consent and aftercare: a thorough consultation, documented consent and clear aftercare information.
- Product traceability: products sourced from licensed suppliers and recorded against the client.
- Insurance and training evidence: certificates and insurance schedules kept up to date and easy to produce.
- Complaints handling: a written process and a log of what happened.
- Continuing development: evidence of learning over time.
A practical checklist for clinics
- Decide which register fits: practitioner-focused, clinic-focused or both.
- Read the current requirements on the register's own website.
- Gather training certificates, insurance schedules and statutory registration details for every practitioner.
- Match each treatment you offer with training and insurance cover.
- Standardise consultation, consent and aftercare documentation.
- Record products, batches and areas treated for every session.
- Write down your complaints process.
- Diarise renewals and checks.
How software can help, and its limits
Software cannot make a clinic eligible for a register or replace the evidence a register asks for. It can keep treatment records, session histories, attachments and stock organised so they are easy to produce. CareTrack by CreativeIn Tek offers patient records, visit notes, attachments, treatment plans with numbered sessions, inventory with reorder levels, role-based access and WhatsApp reminders. It does not currently include digital consent forms, SMS reminders or UK data hosting, and CreativeIn Tek does not claim that it makes any clinic eligible for, or compliant with, any register or law.
Frequently asked questions
Is Save Face or the JCCP mandatory?
No. Both are voluntary registers, and neither is a statutory regulator.
Can a clinic join the JCCP?
The JCCP register is for individual practitioners. A clinic's practitioners can register, but no separate clinic register was found on its website.
Does being on a register mean a clinic is legal or safe?
It shows that the clinic or practitioner met that register's standards at the time of assessment. Patients should also verify statutory registration and ask about insurance and aftercare.
Which is better for a new clinic?
It depends on the clinic's staff and goals. Compare each register's current requirements and, if possible, speak to clinics already registered.
Last reviewed: 5 November 2026, against the registers' websites and the Professional Standards Authority. This article is general information and not legal advice. To see how a clinic can keep tidy treatment records, book a CareTrack demo.
