Sick note for mental health, from a UK doctor
Stress, anxiety, depression or burnout can stop you working as surely as a physical illness. A GMC-registered UK doctor assesses you online and, if it is clinically right, signs a note for your employer.
- Mental and physical health assessed with equal weight
- Online questionnaire, no appointment or waiting room
- Signed by a GMC-registered UK doctor
- Full refund if the doctor cannot issue a note on clinical grounds
£47 · No appointment needed · UK-registered doctors
£47
What your note contains
- Your name and date of birth
- The dates the doctor assesses you as unfit for work
- A reason for absence the doctor can stand behind
- Doctor’s name, GMC number, signature and date
- A PDF you can forward to HR
Need help now? If you have seriously harmed yourself, or you do not feel you can keep yourself safe, call 999 or go to A&E now. For urgent mental health help, call 111 and choose the mental health option, or use 111 online. Samaritans are free to call on 116 123, day or night. A sick note is not the right first step in a crisis.
The short answer. Yes, you can get a sick note for mental health. Stress, anxiety, depression and burnout are genuine reasons to be off work, and employers must treat mental and physical health as equally important. For the first 7 days you can self-certify. After that, a GP fit note or a private doctor’s note for work is the usual evidence.
Reasons people are signed off for mental health
The doctor looks at how your symptoms affect your ability to do your job, not at a label. People commonly come to us with:
- Stress, including stress caused or made worse by work, that has reached the point of affecting sleep, concentration or physical health. Time off for stress.
- Anxiety, from constant worry to panic attacks that make the commute or the workplace hard to face. Time off for anxiety.
- Depression, where low mood, lack of energy or loss of motivation make ordinary work tasks feel impossible. Time off for depression.
- Burnout, the exhaustion and detachment from your job that can build up after a long period of workplace stress. Being signed off for burnout.
There is no standard number of days off for any of these. The right length depends on you, how severe things are and what treatment you have, and the doctor sets dates on that basis. If you are off after a death, see time off work after a bereavement.
How to get signed off work for mental health
Up to 7 days: self-certify. Tell your employer you are not well enough to work. You do not need a doctor, and you should still get the sick pay you are entitled to.
More than 7 days in a row: your employer can ask for medical evidence. You can ask your GP for an NHS fit note, or use a private doctor if your employer accepts private certificates. Government guidance lets employers accept a private certificate in the same way as a fit note, if they agree.
If you claim benefits: Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) need an NHS fit note. A private note is not a substitute for one, so go to your GP.
Whichever route you take, the doctor may decline if a note is not clinically appropriate, or if you need a different kind of care first. If that happens with us, you receive a full refund.
Your rights while off with your mental health
Acas is clear that physical and mental health problems both count as sickness, and that employers must treat them as equally important. A mental health absence is sick leave like any other, with the same sick pay rules.
Your employer can stay in touch while you are off, but for mental health absence Acas advises agreeing the purpose, type and amount of contact so it helps rather than overwhelms. You can ask for contact by email instead of calls, or through one named person.
If a mental health condition has a substantial effect on day-to-day life and has lasted, or is likely to last, at least 12 months, it may count as a disability under the Equality Act 2010 (England, Scotland and Wales). That brings a duty on your employer to make reasonable adjustments, and extra protection if they consider dismissal. Can you be dismissed while off sick?
People signed off for their mental health often worry about being seen out, or about answering a work email. What you can and cannot do while off sick covers those questions.
How it works
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1
Tell the doctor what is happening
An online questionnaire about your symptoms, how long they have lasted, how they affect work, and any treatment or support you already have.
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2
A UK doctor assesses you
A GMC-registered doctor reviews your answers. If anything suggests you need urgent help, they will tell you where to get it rather than issue a note.
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3
Your note, or a full refund
If a note is appropriate, it arrives as a signed PDF by email. If the doctor declines on clinical grounds, you are refunded in full.
Common questions
Can I get a sick note for mental health?
Yes. Stress, anxiety, depression and burnout can all make you unfit for work, and employers must treat mental and physical health as equally important. A doctor assesses a mental health absence in the same way as any other illness. If you are a student, see sick notes for university courses.
Can you self-certify for stress?
Yes. Self-certification covers any illness, including stress, for absences of up to 7 days. You tell your employer you were not well enough to work, and you do not need medical evidence. Your employer can ask for a fit note or other medical evidence once you have been off for more than 7 days in a row.
How long can a doctor give a sick note for mental health?
There is no fixed length for a mental health absence. It depends on you, your symptoms and the doctor’s assessment. For NHS fit notes, a single note can cover at most 3 months during the first 6 months of a condition. On a private note, the doctor sets the dates they can clinically support, and you can ask for a new assessment if you are still unwell when it ends.
Can a doctor refuse a sick note for mental health?
Yes. A doctor only issues a note when they think it is clinically right. If your answers suggest you need urgent support, a face-to-face assessment or ongoing treatment, the doctor will say so and point you to the right help. If we cannot issue a note on clinical grounds, you get a full refund. If it is your GP who has said no, see when a GP can turn down a note.
Do I have to tell my employer what is wrong?
You do need to tell your employer you are off sick, by their deadline. When you self-certify, you do not need to give medical evidence. On an NHS fit note, the rules allow the condition to be described less precisely if full detail would harm your wellbeing or your position at work. On a private note, you can raise the wording with the doctor, who will only write what is accurate.
Can my employer refuse a sick note for anxiety?
A private certificate is accepted at your employer’s discretion, so they can choose not to accept it, whatever the illness. They cannot treat anxiety as less genuine than a physical illness. If they want an NHS fit note, you can ask your GP for one.
Can I use this note to claim Universal Credit?
No. Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claims need an NHS fit note. Use your GP for benefit claims.
Related
Sources. The legal, pay and clinical facts on this page were checked against these primary sources on 27 October 2026. Rules and rates change, and your employer’s own policy may add to them, so check your contract or HR policy too.
Get a sick note for your mental health
Answer the questions in your own time, with no appointment. A GMC-registered UK doctor assesses you and decides whether a note is right. £47.
Start your assessmentAssessed by a GMC-registered UK doctor. Full refund if a note cannot be issued on clinical grounds.