The online forms on SOAR, designed to avoid repetition and to decrease the work you have to do for future appraisals, are structured around the supporting information for revalidation (as used in the Good Medical Practice). All appraisal forms are listed below describing what each one covers.
In preparation of their appraisal, appraisees are asked to complete the below from their "Current appraisal" dashboard:
- Supporting information
- My practice
- Personal Development Plan
- Self declaration statements
Form 6 is used to provide feedback after the appraisal has been concluded.
SOAR can be used to collate your supporting information throughout the year so you don't (and shouldn't) have to leave it up until your appraisal is due.
For more guidance on content of the forms in relation to your role, please check out the toolkits available.
For ease of use, the main appraisal forms are split by supporting information so users can see at a glance the areas they need to submit to (links below redirects to Good Medical Practice on GMC website in new window):
Domain 1: Knowledge, skills & development
Domain 2: Patients, partnership and communication
Domain 3: Colleagues, culture and safety
Domain 4: Trust and professionalism
Please visit the Supporting Information page for more details.
If you have a lot of training certificates, or perhaps there are sensitive documents that are more appropriate to share with your appraiser in person, it could be that you don't upload everything. Liaise with your appraiser in the first instance, it might be that they are willing to review and accept the supporting information at the appraisal meeting without you needing to upload it all - but remember to document everything presented to the appraisal in the relevant comments boxes, especially if it's not been uploaded. This way, for the purposes of revalidation, the Responsible Officer (RO) can see what was submitted to an appraisal even if it's not on SOAR.
Background information like contact details, GMC number, GMC registration etc, and details and description of the work you do (places, clinical commitments, management responsibilities, private practice etc) and any change to practice since last appraisal.
Information you provide should cover the whole scope of your practice.
The information you provide here will remain on SOAR to save you from having to re-enter same/similar details annually, so all you need to do is review and update the information as appropriate in subsequent appraisals.
Appraisees are expected to commit to some learning activities at their appraisal and this is documented in the appraisal Form 4 summary - which forms their PDP for next year. At every appraisal, appraisees are expected to review the PDP from last year and track and reflect on the progress made on these activities.
A Continuing Professional Development (CPD) log is expected at every appraisal, documenting all learning activities achieved (planned or otherwise) throughout the year and the appraisee's reflections and any change in practice where appropriate.
All appraisees are expected to complete the self-declarations statements on SOAR with regards to their Health, Probity and Complaints/Compliments.
Form 4 is a summary description of the appraisal meeting, and is drafted by the appraiser. An appraisal is considered "complete" when the appraisee has reviewed and approved the Form 4, and the details will be archived accordingly (submitted forms and documents will not be editable at this stage).
Form 4 is also used as proof of appraisal for those who are moving between health board areas or different jobs.
Form 5A is used in lieu of Form 4 if an appraisee has legitimate reasons for not being appraised in a particular appraisal year (April to March). For example, maternity leave, sabbatical, working abroad, etc.
This form is initiated either by the appraiser or local health board admin teams, and signed off by the Appraisal Lead.
Form 5B is used in lieu of Form 4 if for whatever reason, the appraisee fails to engage with the appraisal process after the local team has exhausted their options.
This form is initiated by the appraiser and signed off by the Appraisal Lead.
Use of Form 5B will impact a doctor's revalidation as this will be flagged to the RO.
Form 6A is enabled automatically for appraisees according to individual appraisals on SOAR. Appraisees are asked for their thoughts on how the appraisal went; and they have 8 weeks to complete and submit the form, otherwise it will simply be hidden from view thereafter.
Collated feedback is produced in an anonymised report, and is reviewed by the appraiser and Appraisal Lead as part of their reflection and QA reviews respectively.
Form 6B is created automatically for appraisers for their first ten appraisals on SOAR, thereafter it is optional for appraisers and can be used as a reflective tool on a particularly successful or challenging appraisal. The same 8-week completion timeframe used in 6A also applies to 6B.
Form 7 is NOT for appraisee nor appraiser to complete - it is a read-only form automatically generated post appraisal sign off.
As part of the RoT process, appraisees who are have named-trainer roles are asked to make a self-declaration on their status as a trainer as part of their appraisal submission, which is discussed and summarised accordingly on Form 4 by the appraiser.
The Directors of Medical Education (DMEs) and the Medical Schools / Educational Organisations (EOs) have NO access to any parts of the appraisal forms.
To facilitate access to the RoT material within an appraisal, a Form 7 is automatically generated upon completion of Form 4 consisting of read-only copies of:
Form 7 is the only part of the appraisal process that DMEs and EOs have access to.
More information on RoT processes on SOAR is available. For guidance on the RoT processes itself, please visit the Scotland Deanery website.
This page was last updated on: 16/01/2026
