The Directorate of Health
Revocation of Licenses – Summary
18th June 2025
In recent years, the Directorate of Health has included statistical information on so-called disciplinary cases in its annual report. These cases may, for example, result in a reprimand, restriction of a professional license, or revocation of such a license. The Directorate intends to continue publishing this information.
However, the Directorate is now also publishing a more detailed summary – namely, regarding the main reasons for the revocation of licenses. The intention is to publish more such summaries in the future.
The primary purpose of this publication is to draw the attention of healthcare professionals to the most common factors that lead the Directorate of Health to take disciplinary actions such as those mentioned above.
From 2016 to 2024, the number of license revocations was as follows:
So far in 2025, two individuals have had their professional licenses revoked.
Looking solely at 2024 and the first part of 2025, individuals from six different healthcare professions have had their professional licenses revoked.
The most common reason for license revocation during this period is the theft of medications from the workplace’s inventory. Other reasons include unauthorized access to medical records, issuing false invoices to the Icelandic Health Insurance (Sjúkratryggingar), operating a healthcare service without the required authorization, document forgery, and cases where a healthcare professional is deemed unfit to perform their duties - e.g., due to negligence, alcohol use, or illness.
Revocation of a professional license is the most serious measure the Directorate of Health can take against a healthcare professional and is only applied when it is clear that other measures are not suitable.
A healthcare professional who has had their license revoked has three months to appeal the decision to the Ministry of Health.
A healthcare professional whose license has been revoked may apply to have it reinstated if they can demonstrate that they meet the legal requirements for reinstatement and that the reasons for the revocation no longer apply.
The Directorate of Health publishes a professional license register on its website, listing all healthcare professionals who hold a license issued by the Directorate.
Further Information:
Kjartan Hreinn Njálsson, Assistant to the Director of Health
kjartan.h.njalsson@landlaeknir.is