A private GP can issue a fit note in some cases, but what you get is not the same as an NHS fit note, and whether your employer must accept it is a separate question. If you are choosing health insurance partly for the remote GP that comes with it, the fit note is a small detail worth checking before you buy. Sick-note rules are easy to overlook, so it is worth raising on a call-back. The person who rings is an FCA-authorised broker, able to explain how fit notes are handled by the GP services on the policies they arrange, and requesting that ring-back takes only the form on this page.
What a fit note is, and what a private GP adds
The fit note (formally the Statement of Fitness for Work, or Med 3) is the form a healthcare professional uses to say whether your health affects your fitness for work. GOV.UK's guidance for patients and employees, last updated 6 October 2023, says it can be issued by "a doctor, nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist, or physiotherapist" after a health and work assessment, which can be face to face, by video, by telephone, or from another professional's written report. You do not need one for the first seven calendar days of sickness, because you can self-certify for that time.
The same guidance draws a line round private practice. A healthcare professional working privately who is not treating NHS patients "may produce other forms of medical evidence, including private medical certificates or Allied Healthcare Professionals Work Report", which "may be accepted by your employer as medical evidence in the same way as a fit note, but this would be subject to their agreement". So a private GP's document can do the same job, only if the employer agrees to take it.
Can Bupa provide a sick note?
In the Bupa By You policy guide (BINS 14718, page 6), a free digital GP appointment, or your own GP, is the first step for most problems. That describes a way into treatment and referral. Whether a Bupa digital GP will write a sick note or fit note, and in what circumstances, can be asked of Bupa by the broker; raise it when they ring you back. For how Bupa's GP routes and referrals work, see Bupa private GP access.
Can a Vitality GP issue a sick note?
Vitality's Membership Guide (print code VHTCR0002 08/2024, a copy hosted on an intermediary's website, mytribeinsurance.co.uk, read 10 October 2026, pages 9 and 16 to 17) lists "Video consultations with a Vitality GP" at "Full Cover", for members aged 1 or over, booked through an app, 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 4pm on Saturdays. It also says "There is no benefit available for the fees of a private GP that is not a Vitality GP, or a GP not in our private GP network." That is a statement about who the plan pays, not about fit notes. Whether a Vitality GP will sign you off work is a question for the broker to put to Vitality after you send the form.
Remote GP services that do mention fit notes
Two insurance-linked GP services say outright that their GPs can issue fit notes.
| Service | What the page says |
|---|---|
| WPA Remote GP Services, an optional benefit on some WPA schemes (WPA website, read 29 October 2026) | "If necessary, the GP can issue and email a private fit note to you." The FAQ on the same page adds: "Patients should check that their employer will accept a private fit note. Private fit notes are not acceptable for statutory sick pay." |
| Friendly GP+ with National Friendly's private medical insurance (National Friendly website, read 29 October 2026) | "The GP can also issue fit notes if necessary." The same section says the member covers the cost of medication and delivery fees. |
Other insurers' remote GP services may do the same; these two are simply ones that say so on their own websites. The way these services describe it matches the GOV.UK distinction above: the GP can write something, and acceptance rests with the employer. If a fit note matters to you, ask for each insurer you are weighing whether its GP service issues them and what that costs.
Will my employer accept a private fit note?
The employer decides. GOV.UK's guide for employers and line managers (last updated 6 October 2023) says private medical certificates "can be accepted as medical evidence in the same way as a fit note subject to your agreement"; if the employer does accept one, it need not ask for a further fit note. The guidance does not oblige an employer to accept one.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is where it bites. The employee guide says that when a healthcare professional decides on a fit note that you are not fit for work, this "is evidence which an employer can accept as eligibility for SSP"; a private certificate, as above, counts only if your employer agrees to treat it like a fit note. WPA's page, quoted above, is blunter about its own GPs' notes: it says private fit notes are not acceptable for SSP. If SSP matters, check with your employer before relying on a private note. Company sick pay is set by your contract and handbook, so read the sick pay section there or ask HR before relying on a document from a remote service.
What a private fit note costs, and what the NHS charges
On the NHS side, the GOV.UK patient guide says "You will not have to pay for a fit note if you have been ill for more than 7 calendar days". For the first seven days, if an employer wants medical evidence, "the healthcare professional may charge a fee, and this cost should be covered by the employer". Under a remote GP service the position depends on the service: Friendly's page above puts the cost of medication and delivery on the member, and Vitality's guide says you pay for a prescription from a Vitality GP yourself and Vitality reimburses eligible expenses from the Primary Care benefit, up to the benefit limit. If a separate charge for the fit note itself would matter to you, a broker can go through it free when they call you back. Our page on private GP cover across insurers sets the GP-fee wording side by side.
Fit note details people trip over
Is a sick note the same as a fit note?
In everyday speech, yes: “sick note” is the everyday name, and the official one is the Statement of Fitness for Work. A private medical certificate from a private GP is a different document, as above.
Can a physiotherapist or pharmacist sign one?
Since 1 July 2022, according to GOV.UK, doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists can all certify them, where it is appropriate.
How long can one fit note cover?
In the first six months of a health condition, a fit note can be issued for at most three months at a time, and the length is the clinician's judgement. You can go back to work before it ends, with your employer's agreement, without seeing the clinician again.
Can a GP give me a fit note for stress at home or trouble at work?
GOV.UK says a clinician cannot give one for non-medical problems such as problems at home or relationship trouble at work, though they may point you to other support.
Tell the broker a fit note matters to you and ask which insurers confirm theirs in writing, using the form on this page.
Sources: GOV.UK, "Fit note: guidance for patients and employees", last updated 6 October 2023, and "Fit note: guidance for employers and line managers", last updated 6 October 2023, both read 1 November 2026; GOV.UK, "Fit note" collection, last updated 9 July 2024; WPA, "Remote GP Services", and National Friendly, "Private Medical Insurance", both read 29 October 2026.