Know in detail about physical fitness certificate

A physical fitness certificate is a certificate issued by a practicing doctor, who has a medical registration number, to an individual after validating his/her health through a thorough medical examination. It renders that individual medically fit for any personal, organisational or industrial task.

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These days, organisations are getting quite conscious about their employee’s health and fitness, as it affects job quality. Any esteemed organisation thus will require a physical fitness certificate as an important document before employing a new person. Even if the work is a desk job, the certificate validates that person’s fitness to adhere to the working standards of the organisation.

Besides job requirements, the certificate is also needed for personal aspirations, like indulging in adventure sports, mountaineering, trekking, or any other athletic activity.

Physical fitness certificate: Some other applications for the certificate

Insurance – Some insurance companies demand the certificate to ensure that a person is not addicted to drugs and is free from any infectious disease or terminal illnesses. In those cases, they may even reject your insurance application.
Education – The certificate may also be required by an educational institution before admitting a student to some course.
Pilot license – Yes, pilots need to be physically fit to drive a plane. So, this certificate is mandatory for them.
Indian Army – Well, of course, they will need a physical fitness certificate to employ a person in the army.
Extending services – Are you in some government/private service, and do you not want to retire soon? The physical fitness certificate can help extend the years of your service in a particular job.

Physical fitness certificate: What is included in the certificate?

The physical fitness certificate should include the following:

The title of the certificate in bold at the top
To whom the certificate is addressed (the employer, insurer or anybody else)
The date of the medical examination – when it was conducted
NAP (Name, address, phone number) of the medical practitioner
Designation and qualifications of the medical practitioner
Any additional observation or note, if applicable
Closing signature and registration number of the medical practitioner

If any of these details are missing, the certificate may be termed invalid by the concerned organisation.

Take a look at the sample below:

Source: Pinterest

Physical fitness certificate: Rules that you need to abide by

While issuing the certificate, you need to check these rules to prevent making any mistakes:

The certificate can only be issued by a registered medical practitioner.
Any physical/medical examination that needs to be conducted to issue the certificate must be done with the individual’s consent and in his/her awareness.
Any statement or observation should be discussed thoroughly with the individual before penning it down on the certificate. And the physician should understand his/her employment requirements properly before doing so.
If the purpose of the certificate is to get insurance, the physician should not disclose any information to the insuring company or anyone else without seeking permission from the individual. Also, if the insurers want to re-examine the person, they need to seek consent and not disclose the information gathered from such examinations without the same.
The medical practitioner should also not disclose any information beyond what is covered by the individual’s consent.
The medical practitioner should also understand that insurers, employers or any other concerned organisation are dependent on the certificate to learn more about the current physical condition of the individual.
The practitioner should keep a copy of the original certificate for at least two years. He may also keep a register with all the details of the certificate, like the date of issue, name of the individual and purpose of issuing the certificate.
While a medical practitioner can demand some basic fees for issuing the certificate, insurers are required to pay the fees if the certificate is meant for getting insurance.

Physical fitness certificate vs fitness certificate

Many people use the terms interchangeably, but it is a grave mistake. A fitness certificate is issued by any concerned physician after a person recovers from an illness and is ready to join work. This certificate only renders a person fit for the illness he was suffering from. On the other hand, a physical fitness certificate is issued after a thorough medical examination of the person’s current state of health. It includes intricate details of the individual’s state of health, medical history, family history, past illnesses, accidents, or any other condition as applicable.

Physical fitness certificate: Validity

The certificate is valid for 12 months from the date of issue under normal circumstances. Once this period gets over, the certificate may need to be re-issued after conducting a detailed medical examination, as deemed necessary by the registered medical practitioner.

If the individual falls sick or suffers from an accident within 12 months, the physical fitness certificate will be termed invalid. On recovering from the situation, the certificate will need to be re-issued after conducting the medical examination again. In such cases, the medical practitioner can reject the certificate if he/she feels that the person is no longer fit to work on the said assignment.

Physical fitness certificate: Legal liabilities

As the primary purpose of the certificate is to validate an individual’s physical capacity to work on the said assignments, any moment of carelessness can have legal implications. The medical practitioner can be called to court to defend his stand or find himself stuck in any dispute between the employer and the employee. If the certificate is proven to be false or contains misleading information about the individual, the medical practitioner may face the consequences by Section 197 of the IPC (Indian Penal Code).

FAQs

What happens if I don’t fall ill or face any accident after obtaining the physical fitness certificate?

Even if you are healthy throughout the 12 months, you will need to submit for re-examination, as the certificate will be termed invalid after the specified period.

Can I get the certificate issued by my family doctor?

If the person is a registered medical practitioner, he/she is eligible to conduct the medical examination and issue the certificate.

What if I have a normal fever during the 12 months?

You may need to check with your medical practitioner and see if you need to get your certificate re-issued after recovery.

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