Registering with the MRTB
For internationally qualified medical imaging technologists, sonographers, nuclear medicine technologists and radiation therapists: how registration in New Zealand works, in the order you will meet it.
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At a glance
In New Zealand you generally need to be registered — or clearly registrable — before an employer progresses your application. Plan everything else on top of it.
Medical imaging, MRI, sonography, nuclear medicine or radiation therapy. MRI and sonography are scopes in their own right; mammography is a specialisation inside the imaging scope. Your qualification decides the scope, not your job title.
Are you suitably qualified, and are you currently competent and safe? Every document you supply answers one of those two.
In our experience, most overseas-trained imaging professionals start with a supervised period. It is a normal part of registering, and nothing to worry about.
What you actually have to do
To work here you need two things from the Medical Radiation Technologists Board. Registration says you meet the standard. An annual practising certificate is what lets you practise. You apply for both, and you cannot work without both.
- 1
Work out your scope
Medical imaging, sonography, nuclear medicine or radiation therapy. It follows your qualification, not your job title, and getting it right at the start saves more time than anything else on this page.
- 2
Get your evidence together
Certified copies of your qualifications, clinical references, a certificate of good standing from every regulator you have practised under, and proof of your English.
- 3
Apply to the Board
NZ$922.00 if you qualified overseas. The Board looks at your qualification and your practice against the scope you have named.
- 4
Register, then get your certificate
The fee notice says NZ$510.00, but the Board’s own guidance for international applicants says the first certificate costs nothing — the two disagree, so ask which applies to you. Many people start with a period of supervised practice, which is normal here and not a mark against you.
That is the whole process. Everything below is the detail behind one of those four steps, so read the bits you need and leave the rest.
Section 01
Understanding the Board
The Medical Radiation Technologists Board registers and oversees medical radiation professionals in New Zealand under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act. Its job is to protect the public by making sure everyone practising in a regulated imaging or radiation therapy role is qualified, competent and fit to do so.
The titles and clinical roles are legally protected. You cannot practise, or call yourself a registered practitioner, without being registered with the Board and holding a current practising certificate. That is not a formality — it is the mechanism that tells patients, employers and colleagues you have met a national standard.
Scopes of practice
The Board registers you into a defined scope — medical imaging, MRI, sonography, nuclear medicine or radiation therapy — and you must practise within it. Your qualification and experience are assessed against the scope you apply for, which is why matching your application to the right scope from the start matters so much.
Registration and the Annual Practising Certificate
Registration confirms you have met the standard. The Annual Practising Certificate (APC) is what permits you to work, year to year. Think of registration as the licence and the APC as keeping it current: you must hold a valid APC while working, renewed annually alongside a declaration about your health, conduct and continuing professional development. The Board can ask for evidence of CPD, so keep records from day one.
Section 02
Which professions register with the MRTB
Your scope is determined by your qualification and the work you are trained and experienced to do — not by your job title, which varies from country to country.
Medical Imaging Technologist
Diagnostic images across general X-ray, CT, fluoroscopy and theatre imaging. Technical precision with direct patient care, often across many clinical settings.
Sonographer
The Board defines this scope by three modalities — general, vascular and cardiac ultrasound imaging. Highly autonomous and interpretive, needing strong clinical judgement.
Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Functional imaging with radiopharmaceuticals — PET and SPECT — blending imaging with the safe handling of radioactive materials.
Radiation Therapist
Planning and delivering radiation treatment, most often within oncology services, across a whole course of treatment.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technologist
A gazetted scope of practice in its own right, not part of the imaging scope. There is no mutual-recognition shortcut into it: see Section 03.
Mammography
Mammography is a specialisation within the Medical Imaging Technologist scope, not a separate registration. You register as a Medical Imaging Technologist and practise into it with the appropriate training.
Ask before you apply, not after. Assessment against the wrong scope costs months. We can help you map your background to the right scope so the application is judged against the correct standard from the start.
Section 03
Registration pathways and how you are assessed
At its heart, registration asks two questions: are you suitably qualified, and are you competent and safe to practise within the scope you are applying for? The pathway your application takes is simply the route the Board uses to answer those two questions for your background.
Qualification assessment. The Board first considers whether your qualification is comparable to the New Zealand standard for the scope. Some countries and institutions are well recognised; others need closer examination of course content and clinical hours.
Competence assessment. Beyond the paper, the Board wants assurance you are currently competent — recent practice, employment references and your clinical history.
Requests for more information. Common, and not a red flag: a clearer document, an extra reference, clarification of scope. Responding promptly and completely is the single biggest thing within your control.
Supervised practice
Supervision is common, and nothing to worry about
In our experience supporting internationally qualified medical imaging professionals moving to New Zealand, most candidates are required to complete an initial period of supervised practice.
This is a normal part of the registration journey for many overseas-trained professionals. It gives you time to get to know New Zealand’s healthcare system, equipment, clinical protocols and ways of working.
Candidates trained in the UK and Ireland may have a greater chance of registration without supervision, depending on their qualifications and experience.
If supervision is included in your registration conditions, don’t be discouraged. It doesn’t mean your experience isn’t valued or that your qualifications are inadequate. The important thing is to understand the requirements and make sure your prospective employer can support them.
The possible outcomes
Registration. You go straight on to your practising certificate.
Registration with supervised practice. You work under an experienced colleague for an initial period.
An examination first. Sometimes with supervision afterwards.
A request for more information. The Board asks for more before deciding.
The MRTB assesses every application individually and decides any registration conditions. We can help you understand what supervision would mean for you before you accept a role.
The online examination pathway
For some applicants the assessment leads to an online examination. The Board’s own policy sets the trigger: the examination applies to applicants who “do not hold a substantially equivalent qualification”. In practice equivalence turns on two things together — where you trained, and how recent your practice is. A qualification from one of the six recognised countries backed by three or more years’ practice in the last five avoids the examination; less recent practice than that, and it is required. It is a recognised, formal pathway, not a penalty, and the Board runs one for every one of its five scopes.
This is where scope matters, and it is the single most important thing on this page if you are an MRI technologist or a sonographer. Australian-registered practitioners in diagnostic radiography, nuclear medicine or radiation therapy are exempt from the examination under trans-Tasman mutual recognition. The Board states plainly that those provisions “do not apply to Australian-registered practitioners wanting to register in either the Sonographer or MRI Technologist scopes of practice in New Zealand”. There is no mutual-recognition shortcut into either scope from anywhere. Every applicant goes through the full overseas-trained assessment, so whether you sit the examination comes down to where you trained and how recent your practice is — and for many people in these two scopes, that means sitting it. Anticipate it rather than be caught out.
The exam is sat online under remote proctoring: a supervisor verifies your identity (two forms of ID, one a government-issued photo ID, plus your authorisation code) and oversees the session. The fee is paid in advance and forfeited if you are refused access on the day for failing to establish your identity — have your documents in order.
- 1
Application received
The Board confirms your application and begins its review.
- 2
Qualification assessed
Checked against the New Zealand standard for your scope.
- 3
Competence and recent practice assessed
Your references and recent practice confirm your skills are current.
- ?
Further information, if needed
A routine step — a clearer document or extra detail.
- ✓
Registration decision
Confirmed, sometimes with conditions or a supervised period.
Section 04
Eligibility requirements
The Board’s requirements look like a long checklist. They are easier to satisfy once you understand why each one exists — so that is how they are explained here.
- Qualifications
- Required: a recognised qualification appropriate to the scope you are applying for.
- Why: your qualification is the foundation of safe practice. The New Zealand qualifications that lead to registration are bachelor’s degrees (Level 7 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework), so that is broadly the benchmark. The Board does not simply count years: it assesses whether your qualification is equivalent to, or as satisfactory as, an approved New Zealand qualification for your scope — content, clinical hours and outcomes, not level alone. If you are not certain how yours compares, check before you apply.
- Recent practice
- Required: evidence that you have practised recently and to a sufficient extent.
- Why: skills fade when unused. If you have had a significant break, flag it early so it is addressed rather than discovered mid-assessment.
- English language
- Required: evidence of English language ability — Section 07.
- Why: clear communication is a patient-safety issue: referrals, explaining procedures, precise communication with patients and colleagues.
- Fitness to practise
- Required: a declaration, and sometimes evidence, about your physical and mental health as it relates to safe practice.
- Why: this is about practising safely, not about excluding people with health conditions. The vast majority of declarations raise no issues.
- Professional conduct
- Required: disclosure of any disciplinary history, conditions or investigations.
- Why: the Board must protect patients. Full, honest disclosure — even of matters you think minor or resolved — is always right. Non-disclosure is treated far more seriously than the underlying matter usually is.
- Certificates of Good Standing
- Required: one from every regulator you have been registered with, sent directly to the MRTB.
- Why: they are how one regulator tells another you have no unresolved concerns. They have a limited validity window, which makes their timing one of the trickier parts of an application — Section 05.
The Board is asking whether you are safe to practise. Frame each document as the answer to that question and your application becomes far more persuasive.
Section 05
Preparing your application
A strong application comes down to clean, complete, correctly certified documents, presented well. The Board describes these documents as a legal requirement and says provision of them is non-negotiable, so treat the list as a list rather than a guide.
How it looks matters more than people expect. The Board is forming a picture of you as a professional, and a folder of crooked, half-legible photocopies quietly undermines that picture even when every document is genuine. Clean colour scans, pages straight and square, nothing cut off, consistent file names, certification and translations done properly the first time. Treat it like a portfolio you would be proud to hand over.
Passport
- Why
- Confirms identity and nationality; underpins your visa and right to work.
- Where
- Your existing passport — valid, and not expiring mid-process.
- Mistake
- A passport close to expiry, or a scan that crops the machine-readable strip.
- Tip
- Scan the full photo page flat, in colour, all four edges visible.
Qualification certificates
- Why
- They prove you hold the qualification registration is based on.
- Where
- Your awarding university or college; request certified copies early if originals are missing.
- Mistake
- Only the final certificate, when the Board also wants the detail of what you studied.
- Tip
- Keep certificates and transcripts together — they are assessed as a pair.
Academic transcripts
- Why
- Course content, clinical hours and modules — often what lets the Board map your training to a scope.
- Where
- Your institution’s registry; many issue official transcripts directly.
- Mistake
- Missing pages, or transcripts that do not show clinical placement hours.
- Tip
- If the transcript is light on clinical detail, add a course outline or syllabus.
Employment history and CV
- Why
- Demonstrates recent practice and the breadth of your experience.
- Where
- Compiled by you — accurate and complete.
- Mistake
- Unexplained gaps, or dates that do not match the rest of the application.
- Tip
- Account for every period. A one-line explanation of a break beats an unexplained hole. Build your CV is written for this.
Certificates of Good Standing
- Why
- Confirm good standing with every regulator you have registered with.
- Where
- Requested from each regulator and sent directly to the MRTB — not via you.
- Mistake
- Requested too early so they expire before assessment; or a regulator from years ago forgotten.
- Tip
- Limited validity, so timing is everything. Line them up to arrive when the application is ready, not months before.
Employment references
- Why
- They verify competence and recent practice — so important they have Section 06 to themselves.
- Where
- Current and recent supervisors or managers.
- Mistake
- A referee chosen for seniority rather than knowledge of your clinical work.
- Tip
- Brief your referees properly — read Section 06 before approaching anyone.
Name change documents
- Why
- If your name differs across documents, the Board needs to link them to one person.
- Where
- Marriage certificate, deed poll or equivalent.
- Mistake
- A name difference between a degree certificate and a passport, overlooked.
- Tip
- Check every document carries a consistent name, and include the bridging document if not.
Two certificates of good character
- Why
- A separate requirement from good standing, and the one applicants most often miss entirely. The Board asks for two — one personal, one professional.
- Where
- A professional colleague and someone who knows you personally. Neither is the same thing as a clinical reference or a certificate of good standing.
- Mistake
- Assuming your Certificates of Good Standing cover this. They do not.
Clinical logbook
- Why
- Your record of cases and procedures from training. It evidences the clinical content behind your qualification.
- Where
- Your training institution or your own records. Often left behind in a move — look for it before you need it.
- Mistake
- Finding out it is in a box in another country, six weeks into the application.
Full course curriculum, in English
- Why
- It lets the Board map what you were actually taught against the New Zealand standard for your scope. Required, not a nice-to-have.
- Where
- Your institution’s registry or course handbook for your year of study — not the current version of the course.
- Mistake
- Sending the modern prospectus instead of the curriculum you were taught.
Thesis or dissertation
- Why
- Where your qualification included one, the Board lists it among the documents it asks for.
- Where
- Your institution, or your own copy.
- Mistake
- Omitting it because it feels academic rather than clinical.
Clinical experience form
- Why
- The Board’s own form, capturing your practice in the shape it wants to assess.
- Where
- Downloaded from the Board, completed from your records.
- Mistake
- Filling it from memory so it quietly disagrees with your CV and employment certificates.
Certificates of employment
- Why
- One from every employer you have had in the last five years, confirming the work you have claimed.
- Where
- Each employer’s HR department. Start with the oldest — former employers are the slowest part of most applications.
- Mistake
- A single summary letter in place of individual certificates.
Evidence of two years’ overseas employment
- Why
- Where it applies to you, the Board wants start and end dates, contracted weekly hours and job title.
- Where
- Your employers — ask for it in exactly that form.
- Mistake
- A letter confirming you worked there, with none of the three things the Board asked for.
Certified copies and translations
- Why
- Certification confirms a true copy; translation makes non-English documents assessable.
- Where
- An approved person such as a notary; a recognised, independent translator.
- Mistake
- Wrong or incomplete certification wording; translations not independently certified.
- Tip
- Confirm exactly who may certify and the wording required before you spend money. Getting it wrong means doing it twice.
When everything is gathered, certified and in date at the same time, the application itself takes a fraction of the effort.
Section 06
References are the part most within your control
Your qualification proves what you were trained to do. Your references prove what you do, now, in clinical practice. The Board relies on them to confirm you practise safely and competently. A vague reference leaves a gap the Board may have to fill by asking for more — which means delay.
Choosing the right referee
The instinct is to ask the most senior person available. Resist it. The best referee has directly supervised or worked alongside your clinical practice recently and can speak to it in specific terms. A clinical lead who knows your work beats a department head who barely does.
“I have known Sam for some years. Sam is hard-working and a pleasure to work with. I am happy to recommend Sam.”
No clinical detail, no dates, no scope, no basis for assessing competence.
“As Imaging Lead, I have directly supervised Sam for three years. Sam independently performs general X-ray, CT and MRI to a high standard, including complex and emergency cases, and consistently demonstrates safe, patient-centred practice.”
Specific, dated, scope-clear, credible.
What a reference that never prompts a follow-up contains
- The referee’s full name, job title and professional relationship to you
- How long, and in what capacity, they have known your work
- The specific scope and modalities you work within — settings and responsibilities
- An assessment of your clinical competence, safety and professionalism, with examples
- Confirmation of the dates and the hours or extent of the practice described
- Official letterhead, signature, date and verifiable contact details
Brief your referee
Most weak references are weak because the referee was not told what was needed. Explain that this is for professional registration in New Zealand, share which scope you are applying for, and tell them what the Board values: clinical detail, dates, scope and a clear assessment of competence. Ask early — a referee on leave when you need them is a common, avoidable delay.
We can review references before submission against what the Board looks for and flag anything likely to prompt a follow-up. The content always remains your referee’s own honest, independent assessment.
Section 07
English language requirements
This exists for one reason: patient safety. Clear communication in a clinical setting is non-negotiable, so the Board needs objective assurance.
IELTS (Academic)
Widely accepted. The Board sets minimums overall and in each component — listening, reading, writing, speaking. A strong overall score does not help if one component falls short, so prepare evenly.
OET
The healthcare-specific alternative many clinicians prefer because its tasks are set in medical contexts. Minimum grades apply in each of the four components.
English-medium training and practice
In some circumstances the Board accepts alternative evidence in place of a test — for example an English-medium education and career, or employer references. Eligibility is specific and decided by the Board; check before assuming you qualify.
Typically around two years from the test date. Sitting the test early and then taking many months to assemble the rest of the application is a frequent reason for paying to sit it again. Time it to remain valid through to assessment. And even fluent speakers stumble on technique: sit a timed practice test, find your weakest component, book early — centre availability can be limited.
Which test should I choose?
Either, where accepted. Many clinicians find OET more natural because the content is medical. Pick the one that plays to your strengths.
Can I combine scores from two sittings?
The Board’s rules on combining sittings are specific — check current guidance before relying on it.
What if I narrowly miss one component?
You generally need to re-sit. Build a little time buffer into your plan in case.
Section 08
Completing the application
Once your documents are gathered, certified and in date, the application itself is careful assembly.
- 1
Create your application on the Board’s portal
Work through each section methodically. Read every question carefully — accuracy here saves queries later.
- 2
Upload your documents
Clear, high-quality colour scans, named so the Board can see at once what each file is.
- 3
Pay the fees
Assessment and registration fees as they apply. Keep your payment confirmation.
- 4
Submit
Review everything once more against the requirements. A ten-minute final check is the cheapest delay-insurance there is.
- 5
Respond to any requests
Expect an acknowledgement, possibly requests for further information, then the decision. Check email, including spam, and the portal. A request that sits unanswered for three weeks adds three weeks.
Could a stranger open this application and find everything they need without emailing you? If yes, you have prepared it well.
Understanding the fees
Depending on your circumstances the Board’s charges can include an application or qualification-assessment fee, the registration fee, your Annual Practising Certificate and — if it applies — an examination fee. On top sit third-party costs: criminal history checks, translation, certification. The examination fee is paid in advance and forfeited if you are refused access on the day, so do not pay it until you are ready and your ID is in order.
The Board publishes its prescribed fees in a notice on its website and revises them, so this list doesn’t give amounts: confirm the current figures on the Board’s own schedule before you budget or pay. Where an Ethicare package applies to your placement, APC costs are reimbursed — ask us what your package includes before you rely on it.
Section 09
After you submit
Submitting is a milestone, not the finish line.
Acknowledgement
The Board confirms receipt. Keep your documents and login organised and watch for contact.
Assessment
Qualification, competence and recent practice reviewed against your scope. Timeframes vary with your background and how complete the application is.
Further information
Routine. A fast, complete response keeps things moving.
Registration decision
Confirmed, sometimes with conditions or a supervised period. The moment the move becomes real.
Annual Practising Certificate
Obtain your APC. It is what permits you to practise.
Employment and relocation
With registration, or clear registrability, you are in a strong position to secure a role. This is where planning the move takes over from registration.
What it costs
What the Board charges
The Board charges one registration fee whatever your scope — medical imaging, radiation therapy, nuclear medicine and sonography all pay the same. Figures are GST-inclusive.
Registration — internationally qualified
NZ$922.00
Initial annual practising certificate
NZ$510.00 in the Board’s fee notice. Its own guidance for internationally qualified applicants says the first certificate is issued “at no additional cost” after the cultural competency courses. The two statements disagree, so ask the Board which applies to you.
Annual disciplinary levy
NZ$34.50
Fee notice in effect from 16 February 2026, which revoked all earlier notices. Some Board pages still link the February 2024 document.
Checked 17 October 2026 against MRTB — fees notice. Boards reset their fees on their own schedules, so confirm the current figure before you budget.
Where people get stuck
Almost every avoidable delay traces back to one of these
Incomplete references
Warm but vague, with no clinical detail, dates or scope. The single most common cause of a follow-up request.
Poor-quality scans
Cropped, blurry or greyscale. If the assessor cannot read it, it does not count.
Missing transcripts
A certificate without the transcript that shows course content and clinical hours.
Incorrect certification
Copies certified by the wrong person or with the wrong wording — redone from scratch.
Expired Good Standing
Requested too early, lapsing before assessment, reissued.
Inconsistent names
Passport, certificates and references that differ, with no bridging document.
Gaps in employment history
Unexplained periods that raise questions about recent practice.
The fix for all of these
Prepare everything together, check it as a set, and have it read by someone else before you submit. Most of these mistakes are invisible to the person making them.
Section 11
The questions we are asked most
Can I apply for registration before finding a job?
Yes — and in most cases you should. Because registration usually comes before employment, starting early puts you in a far stronger position when roles arise.
Do I need registration before interviewing?
Not always for an initial conversation, but employers want confidence that you are registrable. Being registered, or clearly on track to be, makes you a much stronger candidate.
How long does registration usually take?
It varies considerably with your background, your scope and — crucially — how complete your application is. A clean, well-prepared application is the single biggest thing you can do to keep the timeline short.
Can I submit additional documents later?
Yes. If the Board requests further information, you provide it during assessment. Responding promptly and fully is what keeps things moving.
Can I work while my application is being assessed?
You cannot practise in a regulated role until you are registered and hold a current APC. Plan your move around that fact rather than assuming you can begin and sort registration out afterwards.
Will I have to work under supervision?
Quite possibly, and that is normal. In our experience, most overseas-trained imaging professionals start with a supervised period. Those trained in the UK and Ireland may have a greater chance of registration without supervision, depending on their qualifications and experience. The Board decides each application individually. If supervision applies, you will need an employer and a supervisor who can support it.
Will I need to sit an examination?
Many applicants do. The Board’s policy applies the examination to anyone who does not hold a substantially equivalent qualification, and equivalence turns on where you trained together with how recent your practice is — a qualification from one of the six recognised countries plus three or more years’ practice in the last five avoids it.
If you are an MRI technologist or a sonographer, assume you will sit it unless told otherwise. Trans-Tasman mutual recognition does not reach either scope, so there is no shortcut into them from anywhere, Australia included. The Board runs an examination for all five of its scopes.
What if my referee has left the organisation?
Common and manageable. A referee can still provide a reference after moving on, provided they knew your clinical work; another suitable supervisor can also step in. Genuine knowledge of your work is what matters, not their current employer.
How much does registration cost?
Typically an assessment fee, the registration fee, your APC, an examination fee if one applies, plus third-party costs such as criminal checks and translations. Figures are not quoted here because the Board updates them — always check its current fees notice.
Can Ethicare review my application?
Yes. We review your documents and references before submission against what the Board looks for and flag likely issues while they are easy to fix. We support and guide; the registration decision always rests with the Board.
The checklist
Forty-five items, in the order you will meet them
Tick as you go. Ticks are saved on this device only, and the list is always the current version, which a downloaded copy never is. Every document below is one the Board asks for — it describes them as a legal requirement and says provision of them is non-negotiable.
01Before you start
Get oriented before you spend money or gather documents.
02Identity and personal documents
The foundations every application needs.
03Qualifications and training
Evidence of what you trained to do.
04Experience and references
Proof your skills are current.
05Good standing and background
Confirmation you are in good professional standing.
06English language
Evidence you can communicate safely in clinical practice.
07If you are applying for a trainee scope
Trainee Nuclear Medicine Technologist, Trainee Sonographer or Trainee MRI Technologist. Skip this stage if it does not apply.
08Submitting your application
Putting it together, cleanly.
09After you submit
Keep things moving to your decision.
What next?
Registration is one part of the decision
How we help
We can read it before the Board does
We review documents and references against what the Board looks for and flag likely issues while they are still easy to fix. We support and guide you through the process; the registration decision always rests with the Medical Radiation Technologists Board.