Access and support for the Secure Data Environment
The NHS England Secure Data Environment (SDE) is a secure data and research analysis platform. Sign into the SDE portal and view our user guidance.
User guidance
Access guidance on setting up your account and getting started in the SDE.
News and updates
SDE service agreement
The terms and conditions for the use of Secure Data Environment (SDE) services are outlined in this Service Agreement.
Disclaimer:
The Service Agreement sets out the terms and conditions which define the service, as well as the roles and responsibilities of NHS England SDE [recipients] and NHSE as the provider. NHS England will update the Service Agreement from time to time, issuing new versions on this webpage.
Note that this is an example version only and should you apply for the NHSE SDE you will receive the most up to date version of the Service Agreement with any specific terms (including pricing) based on your application.
Contact us
To register your interest in the SDE, complete the NHS England SDE expression of interest form.
For technical issues, including accessing the SDE, contact the National Service Desk at [email protected] or phone 0300 303 5035.
For data import support, contact [email protected].
For data results output support, contact [email protected].
For any other general queries, contact [email protected].
Information and times of planned maintenance, during which the NHS England SDE may be unavailable, are published on our announcements and outages page.
Drop-in sessions
Drop-in sessions are available to all SDE users for support with the SDE environment and its tools, including data sets and programming. These regular sessions are held by the SDE data specialist team every week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to 11am GMT (excluding public holidays) via Microsoft Teams.
You do not need to book to attend. Sessions invites are sent with SDE user account activation emails. Alternatively, contact [email protected] for more information.
Further information
The NHS England Secure Data Environment (SDE) is a secure data and research analysis platform. It is part of an interoperable NHS Research Secure Data Environment network.
The NHS England Secure Data Environment (SDE) can be configured to provide the right tooling and compute power for your analytical requirements.
Who hospital episode statistics (HES) are for, how they are used and how to apply for access. This includes the local authority HES Data Extract Service.
The Safe Data Access Professionals Group helps share expertise, best practice and knowledge between organisations engaged in providing secure access to confidential sources of data from the health and social science research sector. This is aimed at promoting best practice when generating Safe Outputs in Safe Settings. These free data awareness training courses and modules provide you with best practice information on working with statistical data.
Information, dates and times for planned maintenance on the NHS England Secure Data Environment (SDE) during which the system may be unavailable.
Last edited: 4 November 2025 10:55 am