Right to Choose
NHS Right to Choose for an ADHD assessment: the complete guide
NHS Right to Choose is a legal right in England that lets you ask your GP to refer you to an approved NHS-funded provider of your choice for an adult ADHD assessment, free on the NHS. Because you pick the provider, it can sometimes mean a shorter wait than the standard local list, which runs to years in some areas. This page maps the whole journey in order: understand the right, check eligibility, compare the routes, choose a provider, and ask your GP. This is information only, not medical advice, and only a clinician can diagnose ADHD.
Information only, not medical advice and not a diagnosis. Right to Choose is an England-only right. Eligibility is confirmed by your GP and the chosen provider. Costs, waits and provider lists change, so confirm the current position before you proceed.
Your Right to Choose journey, in order
From understanding the right to asking your GP.
- 1
Understand what Right to Choose is
A plain-English explainer of the legal right, who it is for, and how the referral works step by step.
Read the explainer - 2
Check if you are likely eligible
A quick checklist for England that indicates whether you are likely eligible and what to do next. Your GP and provider confirm it.
Open the eligibility checker - 3
Compare it with private and the NHS waitlist
See the three routes side by side on cost, wait and referral.
Compare the three routes - 4
See typical cost and wait together
The cost-and-wait tool puts realistic, sourced figures for all three routes in one view, not one or the other.
Open the cost and wait tool - 5
Choose a provider
What to look for in an approved provider: qualifications, regulation, the assessment itself, and aftercare with your GP.
How to find a provider - 6
Ask your GP, word for word
A free copy-paste letter and a spoken script to request your Right to Choose referral by named provider.
Get the GP letter template - 7
Or take the whole pack on paper
The printable request pack bundles the eligibility checklist, provider checks, the GP letter and the what-happens-next timeline as one download.
Get the request pack
Why this route matters
Waits for an adult ADHD assessment on the standard NHS list have grown long in many parts of England, reaching several years in some areas. Because the law lets you choose an NHS-contracted provider for a routine first appointment, Right to Choose can sometimes reach an assessment sooner while it stays free on the NHS. The legal basis is set out by NHS England in the NHS Choice Framework, and there is plain-language patient guidance on the NHS website.
One thing to be clear about: the right is to choose the provider, not an automatic referral. Your GP still has to agree that a specialist referral is clinically appropriate before making it, the same judgement they apply to any referral. For most adults whose difficulties point to ADHD that referral is straightforward, but the GP's clinical decision is a genuine step, not a rubber stamp. If a GP is unsure about the route itself, the eligibility and GP-letter pages below give you the words to make the request clear.
For published waiting-time figures with named sources, see our NHS adult ADHD waiting times tracker. For the wider picture of how to get assessed at all, start at the ADHD assessment guide.
Who is eligible
You can use Right to Choose for an adult ADHD assessment in England if your GP agrees a specialist referral is clinically appropriate, the provider you pick holds an NHS contract for that service and is led by a named consultant or clinician, and you are not already receiving ADHD care from another NHS service. You are generally not eligible if you are under urgent or crisis care, currently getting mental health care through your GP surgery for the same need, detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 or in a secure setting, or serving in the armed forces. Your GP and the chosen provider confirm eligibility.
These conditions are set out in NHS England's patient-choice rules and summarised by the charity ADHD UK. To check your own situation, use the eligibility checker.
Getting medication on the NHS afterwards: shared care
If you are diagnosed with ADHD and a specialist starts medication, ongoing prescribing and monitoring can transfer to your GP under a shared care agreement, so you collect NHS prescriptions from your usual practice. A shared care agreement is voluntary: a GP or practice is not obliged to enter one and can decline on clinical or capacity grounds. If your GP declines, you may need to keep getting prescriptions through the specialist service. Because of this, it is worth asking your GP about their shared care position early, not after diagnosis.
Shared care is the normal way ADHD medication moves from a specialist to primary care once the dose is stable, and NICE describes this specialist-led pathway in its guideline NG87 on ADHD diagnosis and management. It remains a local, voluntary arrangement, and acceptance varies between practices: research by the charity ADHD UK in 2024 found that around half of GPs in England would not enter a shared care agreement for ADHD medication following a private diagnosis. Because Right to Choose is an NHS route, your prescribing during treatment is NHS funded through the chosen provider; shared care is the separate, voluntary question of whether your own GP takes over long-term prescribing.
Local pauses and restrictions
The legal right to choose a qualifying NHS provider applies across England, but what is available in practice depends on local NHS policy. Some integrated care boards have paused or restricted new ADHD Right to Choose referrals, so a provider that is available in one area may not be commissioned in another. Always check the current position with your GP and your local integrated care board before you proceed.
This is a moving picture rather than a permanent block: the legal framework is unchanged, but individual integrated care boards have introduced local rules. The patient-choice basis is the NHS Choice Framework; the live local detail sits with your integrated care board. For how to check your own area and what to do if it is paused, see is Right to Choose paused in my area?
What we do not do
We do not run assessments, prescribe, or diagnose, and we do not publish specific providers' prices or wait times unless they come from a named, dated source. We explain the route in plain English and point you to the NHS and your GP. Only a registered clinician can assess and diagnose ADHD. You can read how we are funded and stay independent on our funding page.
Related questions
- Can my GP refuse a Right to Choose referral?
- Can my GP refuse shared care for ADHD medication?
- Is a private ADHD diagnosis accepted by the NHS?
- If I move or change GP, can my ADHD medication stop?
Frequently asked questions
What is NHS Right to Choose in one sentence?
It is a legal right in England that lets you ask your GP to refer you to an approved NHS-funded provider of your choice for a routine first appointment, including many ADHD assessments, so the assessment is still free on the NHS.
Why do so few people know about it?
It is not widely advertised, and most people assume their only options are their local NHS service or paying privately. Right to Choose sits in between: it is an NHS route, so it is free, but you get to choose the provider, which can sometimes mean a shorter wait. The standard NHS waiting list for an adult ADHD assessment can run to years in some areas.
Does Right to Choose cost anything?
No. It is an NHS route, so the assessment is free at the point of use. You are choosing a different NHS-funded provider, not paying privately.
Does it apply outside England?
No. Right to Choose is an England-only right. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own NHS systems. If you live there, you can still ask your GP about the free NHS ADHD assessment route where you are.
Who is eligible for Right to Choose for an ADHD assessment?
In England you can use Right to Choose if your GP agrees a specialist ADHD assessment is clinically appropriate, the provider you pick holds an NHS contract for that service, and you are not already getting ADHD care from another NHS service. You are generally not eligible if you are under urgent or crisis care, detained under the Mental Health Act, in a secure setting, or serving in the armed forces. Your GP and the chosen provider confirm eligibility.
After a diagnosis, will my GP prescribe and monitor my ADHD medication?
Often, but not automatically. Once a specialist has diagnosed ADHD and started and stabilised medication, ongoing prescribing and monitoring can transfer to your GP under a shared care agreement. A shared care agreement is voluntary: a GP or practice is not obliged to enter one and can decline on clinical or capacity grounds. If your GP declines, you may need to stay with the specialist service for prescriptions. It is worth asking your GP about their shared care position early.
Can my local area pause or restrict Right to Choose for ADHD?
Yes. Although the legal right to choose a qualifying NHS provider applies across England, what is available in practice depends on local NHS policy, and some integrated care boards have paused or restricted new ADHD Right to Choose referrals. Check the current position with your GP and your local integrated care board before you proceed.
Editor, ADHD Helper
Adam leads ADHD Helper's editorial coverage of adult ADHD, and he writes it from lived experience: Adam has ADHD himself, diagnosed as an adult, and has been through the assessment routes and the daily workarounds this site covers. He is the founder and managing director of Muswell Rose and researches the plain-English explainers on getting an ADHD assessment through NHS Right to Choose or privately, and on the products and tools people use to manage ADHD, drawing on guidance from the NHS, NICE and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He is clear that the site is information, not medical advice, and that diagnosis is for a registered clinician.
Last reviewed: 30 July 2026