What a DVD means on a doctor's profile
The DVD, also written DDVL, is the two-year postgraduate diploma in dermatology and venereology, the diploma route into skin practice.
The DVD — Diploma in Venereology and Dermatology, written DDVL (Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy) by many universities — is the two-year postgraduate diploma in skin, sexually transmitted infections and leprosy. A DVD holder is a dermatologist who treats skin disease and, increasingly, runs cosmetic procedures; the MD (Dermatology) is the three-year degree in the same branch. Both abbreviations are counted here. A dermatologist's qualification is worth checking because the cosmetic market attracts practitioners with no dermatology training at all.
A postgraduate diploma is two years of training after the MBBS, entered through NEET-PG and awarded by a university under the same regulations as the degrees; the National Medical Commission's Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023 set two years as its length against three for a broad-speciality degree. A diploma holder is a trained specialist in the branch, and may go on to complete the MD in Dermatology or a DNB with the diploma counted towards it. Many profiles here record both — the diploma first, the degree later.
How to check whether a doctor holds a DVD
- Read the register entryA doctor's record on the Indian Medical Register names the qualification the state medical council recorded at registration, and further qualifications where the doctor has had them added. If the doctor says they hold a DVD and the register shows only the primary degree, the DVD has not been registered — which is common and not by itself a warning, but it does mean the register cannot confirm it.
- Check the college was recognised for the courseThe NMC's College and Course Search lists which institutions are recognised for which courses. a DVD from a college not recognised for it on the year in question is a qualification the NMC does not recognise, whatever the certificate says.
- Ask the awarding body when it mattersUniversities verify degrees on request, usually for a fee; a hospital credentialing a doctor does this, and a patient can ask whether it has been done. On this site a qualification is marked verified only when it has been checked against the awarding body and the date is shown; otherwise it is marked as supplied.
113 doctors record a DVD
None of them has the qualification checked against the awarding body yet. All are recorded as supplied. Counts are read from the live database and refresh hourly.
Specialities they practise
Where they practise
Questions people ask
- Is a DVD a recognised qualification in India?
- Yes, when awarded by an institution recognised for it. The National Medical Commission maintains the list of recognised qualifications and of the institutions permitted to award each; a DVD from a college that was not recognised for the course in that year is not a recognised qualification, and a registering body can refuse to enter it on the register.
- Is DVD enough to practise as a specialist?
- Yes. A postgraduate diploma is a recognised specialist qualification in its branch, and diploma holders practise as specialists across India. It is shorter than the three-year degree in the same branch and does not by itself qualify the holder for super-speciality training, which is entered from an MD, MS or DNB.
Every profile lists its qualifications as supplied and says which of them have been checked against the awarding body and when. Where none has, the profile says so.
General information about medical qualifications in India, checked against the sources listed on 25 Sep 2026. Not advice about your situation. Errors can be reported through the corrections process.