Council elections
Nominations for the elected member role on Council open on 23 January 2026 and close at noon on 13 February.
You can find out more about the Council vacancy below and also see some FAQs about the Council elections.
Vacancy
There is one vacancy for an elected member of Council. This role is open to any Member, Fellow or Specialist Associate of the College.
The term of office for this post is five years. A job description for the role will be available shortly.
Find out more about the work of the College Council.
See the current list of Council members.
Council Election FAQs
All Members, Fellows and Specialist Associates of the College are eligible to stand for election to the Council.
There are two routes to stand for election to the Council. The route you choose won't be made known on the College website or the ballot paper.
Route 1 - Supported by Council
The nominating meeting of Council is on 23 January 2026. At this meeting, the Council will agree on a number of candidates to nominate for the position of Elected Council Member. Candidates need to be proposed and seconded prior to the meeting and will have to provide their written consent to stand for election. Nomination forms for Council must be sent to elections@rcpsych.ac.uk by 5pm on 22 January 2026.
Information you'll need to provide
If you're being supported by Council, you'll need to submit the following through the nomination platform by noon on Friday 13 February:
- a 200-word election address which will appear on the ballot paper and RCPsych website
- good standing information: you'll be asked to confirm your good standing with your country's medical council and with regard to College membership fees.
Route 2 - Supported by other members
The second route to stand for Elected Council Member is to submit a nomination that's supported by twelve Members or Specialist Associates who aren't members of the Council. Members can only support one nominee for Elected Council Member.
Information you'll need to provide
If you want to stand under route two described above, you'll need to submit the following through the nomination platform by noon on Friday 13 February:
- the names and email addresses of your 12 supporters (they must all be Members or Specialist Associates who aren't Council members)
- a 200-word election address which will appear on the ballot paper and RCPsych website
- good standing information: you'll be asked to confirm your good standing with your country's medical council and with regard to College membership fees.
| Date | Event |
| 23 January 2026 | Nominations open |
| 13 February 2026 (noon) | Closing date for submission of nominations |
| 18 March | Voting opens |
| 15 April (noon) | Voting closes |
| 16 April | Results declared |
| TBC 16-18 June | Term of office begins at AGM |
If you're eligible to vote (please check eligibility section above), you'll automatically be included in the electorate.
The email address that you have registered with us as your default will be given to the Civica Election Services who will send you an email with a link to the voting site. Please ensure that your email address is updated on the Members' Area.
This link will be unique to you and the voting page can’t be found through a search engine. Once you're taken to the site you can read the candidates’ statements and rank the candidates in order of preference.
If you're having issues with your ballot email or you're eligible to vote but haven't received the email, please contact elections@rcpsych.ac.uk.
Further questions
If you have any questions about elections that aren't answered on the website, please contact the Elections team on elections@rcpsych.ac.uk.