Fit notes for Universal Credit and ESA
When a Universal Credit or New Style ESA claim needs a fit note, how to add it to your account or send it to DWP, and how long you keep sending them.
The short answer. Universal Credit needs a fit note if your health affects your capability to work for longer than 7 days: you enter its details in your online account and keep renewing it until your Work Capability Assessment decision. New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) also needs a fit note, sent online or by post. A private medical certificate cannot be used for either claim.
Benefit claims need a fit note. We provide private sick notes for employers. A private note is not an NHS fit note, and it cannot be used for a Universal Credit or ESA claim. For a benefit claim, ask your GP surgery for a fit note.
Universal Credit: the fit note steps
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1
Get a fit note
If your health affects your capability to work for longer than 7 days, ask your GP surgery for a fit note. It can be printed or digital.
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2
Add the details to your account
GOV.UK says you will be asked to provide details from your fit note in your Universal Credit online account. Report the health condition there too.
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3
Watch for the expiry date
You get a reminder before a fit note runs out. If your health still affects your capability to work, get a new one when it expires.
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4
Complete the questionnaire if asked
If your capability to work is affected for longer than 28 days you may need a Work Capability Assessment. You get a letter and a WCA50 questionnaire.
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5
Keep going until the decision
You must keep getting fit notes until you have been sent a decision about your assessment.
Getting a fit note for Universal Credit
A fit note can be issued by a doctor, registered nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist or physiotherapist. For most claimants that means the GP surgery. Fit notes are free if you have been ill for more than 7 days when you ask. Some surgeries let you request one through the NHS App, if your surgery offers it.
Our sick note rules page covers who can issue a fit note and what it must contain. If you are unsure how a fit note differs from other evidence, sick note or fit note sets out the difference.
How long can a doctor give a sick note for Universal Credit?
The length is the clinician’s decision, within the fit note rules. In the first 6 months of a condition a single fit note can cover at most 3 months. Once a condition has lasted longer, there is no limit if it is clinically appropriate.
When do you stop sending sick notes to Universal Credit?
GOV.UK says you must continue to get fit notes until you have been sent a decision about your Work Capability Assessment. If your health still affects your capability to work, get a new fit note when the old one expires. If you do not, you may be expected to work or look for work. Changes to your health, better or worse, or a new condition, should be reported in your Universal Credit account straight away.
The Work Capability Assessment
If your health affects your capability to work for longer than 28 days, you may need a Work Capability Assessment. It helps decide how far your condition limits your capability to work. You get a letter, complete a Capability for Work (WCA50) questionnaire, and can send copies of other medical information with it. The assessment can be in person, by video call or on the phone. You might not get one if you earn over £881 a month.
How do I send my sick note to ESA?
For New Style ESA, you need a fit note if you have not been able to work for more than 7 days in a row. After you apply, DWP contacts you by phone and tells you when to give the evidence and where to send it.
- Online: use the GOV.UK send your fit note service. You need your National Insurance number and either a digital fit note or a photo or copy of a printed one.
- By post: send it to Freepost DWP ESA 26.
- Other medical evidence: anything that is not a fit note must be posted.
The Allied Health Professional Health and Work Report, which some employers accept instead of a fit note, cannot be used for ESA. The rules on this page are for Great Britain. In Northern Ireland there is a different way to apply for ESA and a different assessment questionnaire, and GOV.UK sends Universal Credit claimants there to the Northern Ireland service.
Moving from sick pay to benefits
If your Statutory Sick Pay is ending, or you do not qualify, your employer must give you form SSP1, which supports a Universal Credit or ESA claim. You cannot be paid New Style ESA while you are getting SSP, but you can apply up to 3 months before your SSP ends. Our statutory sick pay guide explains when SSP stops. If you work for yourself, see self-employed sick pay. Our guide to the wider rules on sick leave covers the employer side.
Where a private sick note fits
A private note has one job: evidence of sickness absence for an employer. If you are employed and need evidence for time off work, a private sick note from a GMC-registered UK doctor is something your employer can choose to accept, as DWP guidance allows with the employer’s agreement. It does not replace the fit note DWP asks for, so if you are claiming Universal Credit or ESA as well, you still need a fit note from your GP surgery.
Common questions
Do I need a fit note for Universal Credit?
Yes, if your health condition or disability affects your capability to work for longer than 7 days. You provide the details in your Universal Credit online account.
How long can a doctor give a sick note for Universal Credit?
In the first 6 months of a condition, a fit note can cover at most 3 months. After that there is no fixed limit if it is clinically appropriate. The doctor decides the length.
When do you stop sending sick notes to Universal Credit?
GOV.UK says you must keep getting fit notes until you have been sent a decision about your Work Capability Assessment. Without a new fit note you may be expected to work or look for work.
How do I send my sick note to ESA?
Use the GOV.UK send your fit note service with your National Insurance number and a digital fit note or a photo of a printed one. You can also post it to Freepost DWP ESA 26. Any other medical evidence must be posted.
Can I use a private sick note for Universal Credit or ESA?
No. GOV.UK asks for a fit note for both and does not offer a private medical certificate as an alternative. Ask your GP surgery for a fit note instead.
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.
Off work and need a note for your employer?
This is for absence from work only, not for benefit claims. A GMC-registered UK doctor reviews your online questionnaire and issues a private sick note if clinically appropriate.
Request a sick note for workAssessed by a GMC-registered UK doctor. Full refund if a note cannot be issued on clinical grounds.