Publication, Part of Fit Notes Issued by GP Practices
Fit Notes Issued by GP Practices, England, June 2025
Official statistics
Methodological Change and Restatement of Time Series
This publication is the first created using an updated data processing methodology, therefore there will be some variation in counts compared to previous publications. Data has been restated back to April 2015 in the accompanying csv files using the new methodology - previous versions are available on the relevant historic publication page.
23 October 2025 09:30 AM
Duplicate fit notes printed
The csv containing data on the number of duplicate fit notes printed by sub ICB location has been removed due to a data quality issue. This is currently being investigated and once resolved a replacement file will be uploaded to this page. No other files are affected.
21 January 2026 00:00 AM
Summary
The Statement of Fitness for Work (the Med3 form or 'fit note') was introduced in April 2010 across England, Wales and Scotland. It enables healthcare professionals to give advice to their patients about the impact of their health condition on their fitness for work and is used to provide medical evidence for employers or to support a claim to health-related benefits through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
A fit note is issued after the first seven days of sickness absence (when patients can self-certify) if the healthcare professional assesses that the patient’s health affects their fitness for work. The healthcare professional can decide the patient is 'unfit for work' or 'may be fit for work subject to the following advice...' with accompanying notes on suggested adjustments or adaptations to the job role or workplace.
In 2012, DWP funded a project to provide general practice's with the ability to produce computer-generated fit notes (eMed3) and this included the capability to collect the aggregated data generated.
Fit notes are issued to patients by doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and pharmacists following an assessment of their fitness for work. While they can be written by hand, most fit notes provided by general practice are now computer-generated.
This quarterly statistical publication is produced by NHS England in collaboration with The Work and Health Unit, jointly sponsored by DWP and the Department of Health and Social Care. It presents data on electronic fit notes issued in general practices in England for a given period.
This is a ‘cumulative’ data collection. Weekly data collected will continue to be added to existing data. All data for all reporting periods is updated in each quarterly publication. From April 2019 all publications will contain data from practices who have TPP as their system supplier (which was not previously available), and accounts for around 40% of practices in England, consequently publications from this date may not be comparable to previous publications.
All GP practices are mapped using current NHS geographies and recent changes may have resulted in a small number of practices not being mapped historically. These are shown as 'Unallocated' but are included in the England total.
NHS England will publish data on a quarterly basis in October, January, April and July.
Key Facts
Decrease in fit notes
2,625,667 fit notes were issued in Q1 2025-26, a decrease of 34,327 (1.3%) compared to Q1 2024-25 (2,659,994).
Average rate per 100,000 patients
The highest regional average rate per 100,000 registered patients for Q1 2025-26 was 2,867 fit notes (North West). The lowest regional rate was 1,734 fit notes (London).
Fit notes for 5 weeks or longer
1,176,314 (44.8%) fit notes were for 5 weeks or longer in Q1 2025-26 compared to 1,142,364 (42.9%) in Q1 2024-25.
Increase in fit note episodes
1,056,985 fit notes episodes took place in Q1 2025-26, an increase of 2,237 (0.2%) compared to Q1 2024-25 (1,054,748).
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Source: Fit note eMED3 data set, NHS England |
Resources
Last edited: 21 January 2026 10:02 am