Mental Health Sick Note
Mental health conditions are clinically valid reasons to take time off work, issued by a UK GP with full sensitivity and confidentiality.
When your mental health makes work impossible, the last thing you need is to explain yourself in a waiting room. Get a signed GP sick note. No appointment needed.
✔ Covers anxiety, depression, burnout, PTSD, OCD and related conditions.
✔ Treated with full clinical sensitivity and confidentiality.
✔ Most same day, or by 9am the next morning. From £47.
✔ Full refund if the GP cannot issue.
GET STARTED 
Accepted by most UK employers, universities and insurers, subject to their own policies. All consultations are subject to clinical assessment and certificates are issued only where clinically appropriate.
Need ongoing documentation? See also our stress leave certificate, mental health support letter and sick note for anxiety.
Get your medical certificate delivered straight to your inbox from £47
How It Works
Complete short online consult
No appointment required.
Complete a short medical questionnaire and upload any supporting evidence.
Doctor reviews your evidence
A GMC-registered doctor reviews your submission individually.
✔ Full refund if a certificate cannot be issued.
Receive your certificate
Most certificates are issued same day, almost all by 9AM the next morning. Delivered as a signed PDF. A doctor will email you if more evidence is needed.
Certificate security
Every MedicalCert certificate can be checked as genuine
Each certificate is issued with anti-tampering protection and its own verification reference. If your employer, university, airline or insurer wants to confirm the document came from a GMC-registered doctor, they can check it against MedicalCert records. Altered or copied documents do not pass that check.
Very happy, I ordered my Medical Certificate in the early morning hours and before noon time of same day I had it on my inbox. Speedy service and they present the health condition precisely, get to the point.
They meet the incredibly fast turnaround stated (certificate/letter sent before 9am the following morning if the doctor feels that a letter/certificate is appropriate) which is incredibly quick and I am really grateful for the help provided!
Very easy and quick to get my certificate. And the certificate was approved from the specific company to travel with my dog. I will use them again. Well done.
Second time using this company and they are fabulous! Always great, fast, friendly service. Highly recommend!
This was my second time using Medical Cert, and once again the service was exceptionally quick and professional. Everything was handled efficiently, with clear communication throughout.
I found the service very straight forward and quick. Exactly what I needed to get my Padi medical form signed before our holiday. Thank you very much.
Process was easy and responses were quick. I would recommend their service.
Fast efficient service for medical certificates. I used the not fit to fly service and was provided with a certificate the next day, the price is very reasonable and enabled a flight credit refund with my airline. Would recommend and would use again if needed.
A fast and efficient service. It wasn't complicated and the Fit-to-fly note was accepted by the Airport without any further questions. Thank you.
Ideal for me, I am looking to get a certificate for some medical issues I have. So this is the perfect solution for me, uploading docs was easy and the forms very straightforward to fill in. Will definitely use them again. Many thanks.
Quick and reasonably pain-free. Received their standard certificate as well as my requested bespoke certificate, by email, by 9am the following morning. Both completed properly, signed and stamped as required. More expensive than my GP, but infinitely quicker and easier.
One of the best experiences. It's easy to get a GP note.
Excellent. My GP refuses to issue DWP MED 3 Fit Notes to students. MedicalCert were excellent and extremely helpful in providing a necessary certificate. Highly recommended.
You were amazing, you kept me updated and replied promptly to any queries I had. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
They helped me, they were very professional and nice.
Very pleased. Quick service with very professional letter provided.
Great service, pretty straight forward and easy to use the website.
I was recommended Medical Cert by a friend and was so impressed with the service received. I would recommend using a laptop rather than a phone. Overall a fantastic and fast service.
Mental Health Sick Note
A mental health sick note is a medical certificate from a GMC-registered doctor confirming that a mental health condition is affecting your ability to work and certifying a period of absence. Mental health conditions are treated in UK law in the same way as physical illness. Employers should consider valid medical evidence and must not discriminate because of a disability, but workplace absence procedures and evidence requirements can vary. MedicalCert issues mental health sick notes same day, online, through GMC-registered UK doctors. No GP appointment, no waiting room. Submit before 9pm and receive your certificate the same day, or by 9am the following morning.If you need help right now
A sick note is not urgent care. If your life is at risk, or you have seriously harmed yourself, call 999 or go to A&E now.
If you need urgent help and it is not an emergency, call 111 and select the mental health option, or use 111 online. Samaritans are open day and night on 116 123, free to call.
A mental health emergency is as serious as a physical one, and asking for help is never a waste of anyone's time.
Can You Get a Private Sick Note for Mental Health?
Yes. A private sick note for mental health is issued by a GMC-registered doctor after an online consultation, usually the same day, without an NHS GP appointment. Acceptance is a matter for your employer's absence policy: GOV.UK tells employers that, if they agree, an employee can give another appropriate form of evidence.
Many employers ask for evidence earlier than day 8, and a private certificate is appropriate in those cases. Where an absence is long, or where you are claiming a benefit rather than sick pay from an employer, an NHS certificate may still be required, so check what is being asked for before you apply.
Do You Need a Doctor's Note for Mental Health?
Mental health absence follows the same 7-day rule as physical illness. You can self-certify the first 7 calendar days, and from day 8 your employer can require written medical evidence. Stress and anxiety are no exception: you can self-certify for either without seeing a doctor. A formal psychiatric diagnosis is not required: certification records how your symptoms affect your ability to work.
Which mental health conditions can a sick note cover?
A sick note can be issued for any mental health condition that is affecting your ability to work, including anxiety, depression, stress, burnout, PTSD and panic attacks. The certificate describes how your symptoms limit what you can do at work, so the list below is indicative rather than exhaustive.
We issue sick notes for a wide range of mental health conditions. Each condition has a dedicated page with specific guidance on symptoms, workplace rights, and how to apply.- Anxiety, generalised anxiety, health anxiety, and anxiety-related work absence
- Depression, clinical depression, low mood affecting your ability to work
- Stress, workplace stress, occupational stress, being signed off with stress
- Burnout, emotional exhaustion, detachment, reduced professional performance
- Panic attacks and social anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder
- PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder following traumatic events
- OCD, obsessive-compulsive disorder affecting daily functioning
- Bipolar disorder, manic and depressive episodes affecting work capacity
- Bereavement, grief, distress following the death of a close person
Can you get a sick note for ADHD, exhaustion, or stress and anxiety together?
Yes, if the doctor assesses that your symptoms are affecting your ability to work. A certificate can name more than one condition, so stress and anxiety can be recorded together on a single note. If your exhaustion is linked to work, our burnout page is the closest match. ADHD has no page of its own, and the same test applies to it as to every other condition: the certificate records how your symptoms affect what you can do at work, not the diagnosis alone.
Can a doctor refuse to give you a sick note?
Yes. A doctor issues a certificate only after assessing your fitness for work, and only where, in their clinical judgement, your condition is affecting it. If a MedicalCert doctor cannot issue one, you receive a full refund. Our anxiety sick note page covers refusal in more detail.
When Do You Need a Mental Health Sick Note?
0, 7 calendar days
Self-certification. You can inform your employer you are unwell without a doctor's certificate. Mental health is a valid reason. All calendar days count including weekends. Your employer's own absence policy may still ask for evidence for short or repeated absences, and a private certificate can be used where they do.8+ calendar days
Your employer can ask for medical evidence: an NHS fit note, or a private sick note if your employer accepts one. MedicalCert provides same-day mental health sick notes, no GP appointment needed. Submit online, receive your certificate by email the same day.Some employers request documentation earlier than 7 days, particularly where there is a pattern of short-term mental health absences, or where their own absence policy specifies a shorter trigger. A private MedicalCert sick note is fully appropriate in these cases even within the first seven days. You can also apply for a certificate to cover a period of absence that has already begun.
How long can a doctor sign you off work for mental health?
It is a clinical judgement, and there is no set length for any mental health condition. For an NHS fit note, GOV.UK guidance allows a maximum of three months at a time during the first six months of a condition, with a review date where one is needed. Once a condition has lasted longer than six months, a note can cover any clinically appropriate period.
Sick Pay for Mental Health Absence
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) applies to mental health absence in exactly the same way as physical illness. If you are off sick with a mental health condition and meet the eligibility criteria, your employer must pay SSP.Current SSP rules (from 6 April 2026: Employment Rights Act 2025)
SSP is payable from your first day of absence. The previous three-day waiting period has been abolished. The lower earnings limit has also been removed, so employees no longer need to earn above a minimum weekly threshold to qualify. The current rate is £123.25 per week for up to 28 weeks, or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. These changes are particularly significant for part-time workers and those in lower-paid roles, who previously did not qualify or received nothing for the first three days of a mental health absence.Your employer may offer enhanced sick pay beyond SSP under a contractual scheme, check your employment contract. SSP is the legal minimum. If SSP ends after 28 weeks, you may be eligible for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), a Med3 note from an NHS GP is required for ESA claims specifically.
Your Legal Rights: Mental Health and Sick Leave
Equal treatment
Under UK employment law, mental health conditions must be treated with the same seriousness as physical illness. Dismissing, disciplining, or penalising an employee for taking certified mental health sick leave, or for having a mental health condition, can amount to unlawful discrimination, and may also be unfair dismissal. A discrimination claim has no minimum service requirement. An ordinary unfair dismissal claim currently requires two years of continuous service, falling to six months on 1 January 2027 under section 25 of the Employment Rights Act 2025.Equality Act 2010: disability protections
A mental health condition is likely to meet the Equality Act disability definition if it has had a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities for 12 months or more, or is likely to. This applies to many common conditions including depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, PTSD, OCD, and eating disorders. Where this threshold is met, your employer has a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments and cannot discriminate against you on grounds of your condition. Recurring episodes, even if each individual episode is shorter than 12 months, can collectively satisfy the test.Confidentiality
Under the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988, your employer cannot ask a doctor who has been responsible for your care for a medical report without telling you first and obtaining your consent. You are not required to share clinical details beyond what appears on the certificate itself. The certificate confirms your condition and its impact on work, it does not reveal the content of your consultation. You can choose how much additional context to share with your manager or HR.Employer contact during absence
An employer may make reasonable contact while you are off sick, but it should not be excessive, pressurising, or distressing, particularly for mental health conditions. Acas guidance says the employer and employee should agree how often contact will be and how they will contact each other, and that the purpose, type and level of contact should be agreed so that it is not overwhelming. Acas guidance is not law, but an employment tribunal can take it into account. Persistent or intrusive contact that worsens your condition could support a claim that the employer breached its duty of care.What Your Mental Health Sick Note Includes
Your certificate is issued as a signed PDF, verifiable by your employer via QR code. It includes:Certificate contents
- ✔ Your full name, date of birth, and contact details
- ✔ Condition confirmed as affecting fitness for work (e.g. "anxiety", "depression", "stress and burnout", "PTSD")
- ✔ Certified period of absence, from and to date
- ✔ "Not fit for work" or "may be fit for work" with recommended adjustments
- ✔ Recommended workplace adjustments, where included
- ✔ GMC registration number of the signing doctor
- ✔ Unique QR code for employer verification
How to Get a Mental Health Sick Note Online: Same Day
Complete the online consultation
Describe your mental health condition, current symptoms, how long they have been present, and, critically, how they are preventing you from working. You don't need a formal diagnosis. Be specific about the functional impact: inability to concentrate, leave the house, manage social interactions, maintain routine, or perform tasks safely. Upload any supporting evidence if available (previous GP letters, prescriptions, referral letters).
A GMC-registered doctor reviews your case
One of our experienced GPs reviews your submission the same day and assesses whether your mental health symptoms are impairing your capacity for work. The doctor may contact you for further information before issuing. If the doctor cannot clinically support a certificate, you receive a full refund, no exceptions.
Certificate delivered to your inbox
If clinically appropriate, your signed certificate arrives same day (submit before 9pm) or by 9am the following morning. Forward it directly to your employer, HR, or payroll team. The embedded QR code allows your employer to verify the doctor's credentials and certificate authenticity instantly.
For condition-specific guidance including legal frameworks, symptoms, and return-to-work information, see the dedicated pages below.
