Your registration rights
The rule surgeries get wrong most often
GP practices are not required to ask for proof of identity, address or immigration status — and they cannot refuse to register you because you don’t have those documents. Asking is allowed (it helps match NHS records); demanding them as a condition of registration is not.
- GP care is free for everyone — registration, appointments and consultations, regardless of immigration status.
- You don’t need your NHS number (helpful, not required — find it via the same NHS app you can find your NI number in... and if you’ve never had one, registering creates your record).
- A practice can only refuse on limited grounds — typically a formally closed list or living outside the area when they aren’t taking out-of-area patients. Never because of health conditions, disability, age, race — or paperwork.
How to register
- Find a surgery — search “find a GP” on the NHS website with your postcode (or use Sorted’s postcode lookup to see local services).
- Register online through the NHS “Register with a GP surgery” service — most practices use it — or fill in the GMS1 form at the practice.
- That’s it. It’s free, and you can usually book as soon as the registration is processed. New patients are sometimes offered a health check.
Registering near work instead of home
Since 2015, English surgeries can accept out-of-area patients — handy if appointments only work near your job. They don’t have to say yes, and out-of-area patients may not get home visits, so weigh it if you have ongoing conditions.
Homeless, moving around, or just visiting
- Homeless? You can register using a friend’s address, a day centre, a hostel — or the surgery’s own address. No fixed address is required. (Housing crisis? See homeless help.)
- Staying somewhere under 3 months? Ask for temporary registration — you stay registered at your usual practice too.
- New to the UK? You can register regardless of immigration status — no visa, BRP or eVisa check is part of GP registration.
- Emergencies: immediately necessary treatment must never be refused while paperwork is sorted.
If a surgery turns you away
A refusal has rules too
If a practice refuses to register you, it must write to you within 14 days explaining why. “No proof of address” is not a lawful reason. If that happens: stay calm, ask for the refusal in writing, and contact NHS England or your local Integrated Care Board — and register at another nearby practice in the meantime so your care isn’t delayed.
Do this now
Search “find a GP” on nhs.uk, pick a surgery, and register online in about ten minutes — no documents needed. Then book anything you’ve been putting off.
While you’re at it: check you’re not missing free prescriptions and dental via the NHS Low Income Scheme.
Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland
The same spirit applies UK-wide — GP care is free and registration is straightforward — but each nation runs its own process: NHS Inform for Scotland, NHS 111 Wales guidance for Wales, and registration via your local practice with a medical card system in Northern Ireland (nidirect). The out-of-area scheme described above is England-specific.