In the UK, a general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who provides general support with all aspects of your health. (In other countries, this might be called a ‘family doctor’, ‘primary care physician’, or ‘PCP’).
Groups of doctors work together in a building called a GP surgery (sometimes called a GP practice). The first step to accessing NHS healthcare is to register with an NHS GP surgery.
Who can register?
In England, Wales, and Scotland, anyone can register with an NHS GP surgery.
This includes:
- people living in the UK temporarily
- people who have moved to the UK from other countries
- people who are homeless
- people who have no fixed address
- people who don’t have any ID documents
- people seeking asylum and refugees
- people who do not have an NHS number or CHI number
If you’re only going to be living in the area for a short time, a GP surgery can offer you a temporary registration.
What does it cost to register?
There is no fee to register with a GP surgery in England, Wales, or Scotland.
How do you register?
If you’re not registered with a GP surgery:
- in Cymru/Wales: use the NHS 111 Wales website to find a local GP surgery and use the instructions on the GP surgery website.
- in England: read the information on the NHS England website. If you’re a refugee or a person seeking asylum in England, NHS England has published information about registering with a doctor for refugees and people seeking asylum.
- in Northern Ireland: read the information on the NI Direct website.
- in Scotland: read the information on the NHS Scotland website.
If a GP surgery says that you can’t register with them, see the information on our Common Medical Issues (and what you can do) page to find out what to do next.
When you register, you may be asked to show proof of your identity, immigration status, or address. Remember, in England, Scotland, and Wales, a GP surgery is not supposed to require you to show ID documents, proof of your address, or proof of your immigration status to register you with the surgery – it’s not a valid reason to deny you registration.
How do you choose a GP surgery?
You’re often able to choose which GP surgery you register with.
You can ask local trans support groups to see if there’s a GP surgery or particular GP that their members would recommend.
Some trans community organisations have created lists and maps of GPs that they have had positive experiences with in the past:
These pages can be helpful when you’re choosing a new GP surgery, but remember that someone else’s positive experience with a GP in the past doesn’t guarantee that a GP will be helpful to you!