Special Instructions and FAQs for Applicants to the Eswatini Medical and Dental Council

Special Instructions

ECFMG partners with the Eswatini Medical and Dental Council to primary-source verify documents required for registration to practice medicine in the Kingdom of Eswatini. If you are applying to practice as an intern, a medical practitioner, or a specialist on or after 15 July 2018, you must have certain required credentials verified through EPIC prior to submitting your application to the Council.

To have your documents verified through EPIC, complete the following steps:

Step 1 - Confirm that your medical school is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools.

To be eligible for registration with the Council, your medical school should be listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools, available at www.wdoms.org.
Step 2 - Establish an EPIC Account.

See Getting Started for complete instructions. Once ECFMG has processed your request and established your EPIC Account, ECFMG will e-mail you login information so you can access your EPIC Account.
Step 3 - Confirm your identity with EPIC.

See Confirming Your Identity with EPIC for detailed information. Confirming your identity with EPIC requires you to submit an EPIC Identification Form (EIF). Once this form has been accepted by ECFMG, you will be able to upload documents required by the Council to EPIC for primary-source verification.
Step 4 - Upload each document required by the Council and select Eswatini Medical and Dental Council to receive an EPIC Report once the document is verified.

Log in to your EPIC Account and upload the required documents for primary-source verification. The credentials required by the Council in support of your application are:
- Final Medical Diploma (primary qualification)
- Alternate Graduation Document
- Final Medical School Transcript
- Specialist Qualification, if applying for licensure as a Specialist
- Postgraduate Medical Education Credential, including Postgraduate Internship Certificates
- Medical Registration/License to Practice Medicine from the jurisdiction in which you are currently practicing or most recently practiced
- Letter/Certificate of Good Standing from the jurisdiction in which you are currently practicing or have most recently practiced
- Advanced Degree in the Medical Sciences, if applicable
For more information on the credentials verified through EPIC, see Using EPIC.

As you upload each document, be sure to select the Council to receive an EPIC Report once the document is verified. It is very important that you select the Council to receive an EPIC Report for each required document, as you upload it. If you do, the Council will be notified when your document has been sent for verification, and an EPIC Report on that document will be automatically sent to the Council when the document is verified. If you do not select the Council to receive an EPIC Report on a document at the time you upload it, you will be required to send an EPIC Report to the Council once your document is verified.

If your documents have already been primary-source verified by ECFMG for ECFMG Certification or through ECFMG’s International Credentials Services (EICS), you do not need to upload the documents that were previously verified by ECFMG. These documents will be added to your EPIC Portfolio at no cost. Simply provide your ECFMG/USMLE ID and/or EICS ID when you establish your EPIC Account. ECFMG will review your file typically within 10 business days; if your file is acceptable, ECFMG will add your previously verified documents to your EPIC Portfolio.
Step 5 - Submit your application to the Council.

You may apply for registration with the Council while your credentials are being verified; however, your license and registration certificate will not be issued until the required credentials have been verified.
Step 6 - Once all credentials have been verified, ensure that reports on all required documents have been sent to the Council.

If you selected the Council to receive an EPIC Report when a document was uploaded, that report will be sent to the Council automatically when the document is verified.

If you did not select the Council to receive an EPIC Report at the time you uploaded the document, you must go to the “My Reports” tab in your EPIC Account and request an EPIC Report for the Council.

Please note that the Council will not release your license and registration certificate until all required credentials have been verified and reported to the Council.

If you have any questions regarding EPIC and the EPIC verification process, please contact EPIC at info@ecfmgepic.org or +1 (215) 966-3900. Telephone assistance is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time in the United States.

If you have any questions regarding the Council’s application process, please contact the Council at swdmdc@swazi.net.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please also read the general Frequently Asked Questions in the For Physicians section of the website.

About Applying to the Eswatini Medical and Dental Council

I am applying to the Eswatini Medical and Dental Council for registration; do I need to use EPIC?

Beginning 15 July 2018, if you are applying to the Council to practice as an intern, a medical practitioner, or a specialist, you must have the required credentials verified through EPIC in support of your application to the Council.

When do I need to start using EPIC?

If you will be submitting an application for registration to the Council on or after 15 July 2018, you will be required to use EPIC to have your required credentials primary-source verified. You can create your EPIC Account and submit your credentials for verification at any time. You can submit your application for registration to the Council while your credentials are being verified, but please note that all credentials must be verified and reported to the Council before your license and registration certificate will be released by the Council.

How far in advance of applying for registration to the Council do I need to upload my documents to EPIC?

We recommend that you create an EPIC Account and upload your documents to EPIC as soon as possible after you have decided to apply to the Council. Through EPIC, your documents are verified directly with the issuing institution. The time required to complete the verification of documents varies and depends on a number of factors, including the time it takes for the issuing institution to respond to our verification requests.

Which qualifications do I need to submit to the Council through EPIC?

The credentials required by the Council in support of your application are:

Final Medical Diploma (primary qualification)
Alternate Graduation Document
Final Medical School Transcript
Specialist Qualification, if applying for licensure as a Specialist
Postgraduate Medical Education Credential, including Postgraduate Internship Certificates
Medical Registration/License to Practice Medicine from the jurisdiction in which you are currently practicing or most recently practiced
Letter/Certificate of Good Standing from the jurisdiction in which you are currently practicing or have most recently practiced
Advanced Degree in the Medical Sciences, if applicable

About Using EPIC

Will I have access to my medical documents after I apply to the Council?

Yes. The documents that you upload to EPIC remain available to you as part of your EPIC Portfolio. You can use EPIC to send copies of these documents along with reports verifying their authenticity to organizations worldwide at any time throughout your career.

Will the Council have access to my EPIC Portfolio?

No. The Council will not have direct access to your EPIC Portfolio. The Council will have access only to the verification reports that you make available to them through EPIC.

Do I need to wait until all of my documents have been verified before requesting EPIC Reports for Council?

No. You do not need to wait until all your documents have been verified in order to request an EPIC verification report for the Council. As you upload each document, you can request that an EPIC Report on that document be provided to the Council once the document is verified; this report will be sent automatically.

I requested that an EPIC Report be sent to the Council. How do I know if the Council received the verification report and a copy of my document?

When an EPIC Report is sent to the Council, the Council will have access to the report and a copy of your document through the EPIC Report Portal.

If you need to confirm whether the Council has accessed your report through the Report Portal, please contact the Council at swdmdc@swazi.net.

Can I select the Council to receive EPIC Reports only once, or should I do it for every document individually?

An EPIC Report will only be sent for a document if you indicate a report should be sent to the Council for that document. You should request an EPIC Report for the Council for each document required by the Council.

Do I need to use EPIC when applying to the Council if my documents have already been verified by ECFMG for a purpose other than applying to the Council?

If your documents have already been primary-source verified by ECFMG for ECFMG Certification or through ECFMG’s International Credentials Services (EICS), you will need to create an EPIC Account and use EPIC to provide your documents and verification reports to the Council. However, you will not need to upload the documents that were previously verified by ECFMG; they will be added to your EPIC Portfolio at no cost. Simply provide your ECFMG/USMLE ID and/or EICS ID when you establish your EPIC Account. ECFMG will review your file typically within 10 business days; if your file is acceptable, ECFMG will add your previously verified documents to your EPIC Portfolio.

Can I verify additional documents not required by the Council?

Yes. You may upload documents for verification in addition to those required by the Council. In addition to using EPIC in support of an application to the Council, you can use EPIC to build a digital career portfolio of the documents related to your medical education, training, and registration/licensure, and request reports verifying the authenticity of those documents for other organizations worldwide. Please note, however, that there is a fee associated with each document you upload to EPIC for primary-source verification. Therefore, in support of your application to the Council, you only need to upload documents required by the Council.

Additionally, you should not send EPIC Reports to the Council for documents that are not required in support of your application.

See Medical Credentials for more information on the documents you can add to your EPIC Portfolio, including definitions and document specifications.

What if ECFMG cannot obtain verification of my documents?

When you submit a document to EPIC, ECFMG will make up to four verification attempts with the issuing institution. ECFMG is typically able to verify a document within 90 days, and it is not common that a document cannot be verified. If it has not been possible for ECFMG to primary-source verify your documents after four attempts at contacting the issuing institution, please contact ECFMG to discuss next steps.

If I have questions or problems regarding EPIC, should I contact EPIC or the Council?

If you have questions regarding EPIC’s services—such as creating an EPIC Account, uploading your documents, managing your portfolio, the verification process, sending verification reports, or fees—please contact EPIC at info@ecfmgepic.org or +1 (215) 966-3900. Telephone assistance is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time in the United States.

If you have questions regarding applying to the Council, please contact the Council at swdmdc@swazi.net.