How Do I Find Out My Nhs Number

How do I get a NHS number UK?

If you have never had NHS care or treatment – You can register with a GP surgery to get an NHS number. If you do not already have an NHS number, you’ll be assigned one during registration. You’ll get a registration letter in the post and your NHS number will be shown in the letter.

Is my NHS number the same from birth?

Your NHS Number is unique to you. Using your NHS Number to identify you correctly is an important step towards improving the safety of your healthcare.

Does everyone have an NHS number?

Everyone who is registered with the NHS in England and Wales has their own unique NHS Number. You will be given your NHS Number in writing, when you register with a GP. Your NHS Number helps healthcare staff to find your health records.

Why can I find my NHS number?

An online service enabling people to look up their NHS number quickly and easily was used 4.6 million times in its first year. The Find your NHS Number service, set up by NHS Digital, allows people to request their NHS number through a simple process on the NHS website.

In the 12 months from its launch in February 2021, a total of 4.6 million notifications containing NHS numbers were sent – 3.7 million by text message, almost 557,000 by email and over 345,000 by letter.
An NHS number is a unique 10-digit number which helps healthcare staff identify people correctly and match their details to their health records.

Your NHS number can be found in most documents or letters sent from the NHS, as well as prescriptions. It can also be found through the NHS App and through some GP online services. The Find your NHS Number service has made it easier for people to complete forms and access services, such as booking a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination via the NHS website.

Though it’s not necessary to know your NHS number to book a vaccination through the NHS website, it makes it easier to locate your details on the booking system. Some local online appointment booking services also require your NHS number. Find your NHS Number has also reduced the workload for GP practice staff, as previously the main way to find out an NHS number was through GP practices – so it has additionally cut the number of journeys people had to make, reducing carbon.

Latest figures show that the service has been used to notify people of NHS numbers 5.5 million times between 1 February 2021 and 18 April this year. James Hawkins, Executive Director of Product Delivery at NHS Digital, said: “This is a fantastic, simple and user-friendly service which has brought benefits to millions of people since it was launched last year.

Not only has it made it easier for people to book appointments and supported the roll-out of the Covid vaccination, it has also reduced the burden on GP practices.
In addition, with less than 10% of notifications sent by letter, the service is as carbon neutral as possible and is contributing to our sustainability goals.” Find your NHS Number can be used by anyone registered with a GP in England by entering their name, date of birth and postcode.

Their NHS number will then be sent by text message, email or letter to the contact details held by their GP.

Find your NHS Number is at www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/online-services/find-nhs-number/

Between February 1, 2021, and January 31, 2022, 4,632,107 notifications were sent by the Find your NHS Number service – 3,729,910 by text message, 556,998 by email and 345,199 by letter. From February 1, 2021, to April 18, 2022, 5,585,510 notifications were sent – 4,516,278 by text message, 665,773 by email and 403,459 by letter.

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How do I ask for a NHS number?

Other ways to get your NHS number – If you cannot get your NHS number online you can:

find it on any letter from the NHS like a prescription or appointment lettercall your GP surgery and ask them for your number

What is an example of a NHS number?

Use of the NHS Number across the NHS – Your NHS Number is unique to you and is the only National Unique Patient Identifier used to help healthcare staff match patients to their health records. Everyone registered with the NHS in England and Wales has their own NHS Number.

What is an NHS card?

What is an NHS smartcard? – An NHS smartcard is a plastic card containing an electronic chip and is used along with a PIN. It looks like a ‘chip and PIN’ bank card. A smartcard is personalised by printing the end user’s name, photograph and unique user identification number on it. The end users are typically the healthcare workers working for NHS England. Smartcards were introduced in 2004 and are one of the ways for healthcare workers to strongly authenticate themselves.

Can someone have two NHS numbers?

Patient does not respond to a request from the GP Practice to verify their details, in the case of a duplicate registration. After you have raised the duplicate case and have chased the patient without a response, please let PCSE know and we can log this to the National Back Office to see if they have further information on their side to help with merging the numbers.

Receiving medical records after a duplicate patient record has been merged. Once the two NHS numbers are merged, a transit label will be generated for any medical records that are linked to the patient but that are not at the current practice. This will enable the movement of the records as per the usual process.

New patient registers without NHS number and there are two NHS numbers on the Spine. If you discover the patient has two NHS numbers, first make sure they relate to the same patient (based on the information the patient provided on the registration form).

If both numbers do belong to the same patient, you should use the number that is registered to a current practice.
One patient, with two records, one with and one without an NHS number.
PCSE would not see this as a duplicate as 2 NHS numbers have not been allocated to the patient.
If you have two entries on your system for a patient but only one NHS number, then you should merge the clinical system records.

For advice on how to do this please contact your system supplier. An incorrect registration results in an additional record being created, with an NHS number. If the incorrect record that was created resulted in an extra NHS number being allocated, then please raise an online form by visiting the following link,

How do I update my NHS details?

How to change your NHS record contact details – Adding a mobile phone number to your NHS record To add a mobile phone number:

Log in.
Go to More,
Select Account and settings,
Select Manage NHS account.
Then select Contact details,
Select Add a mobile phone number to your NHS record,
Follow the on-screen instructions.

You can also add your mobile phone number online, Adding an email address to your NHS record To add an email address:

Log in.
Go to More,
Select Account and settings,
Select Manage NHS account.
Then select Contact details,
Select Add an email address to your NHS record,
Follow the on-screen instructions.

You can also add your email address online, If you have more than one phone number or email address on your NHS record To choose which phone number you want to keep on your NHS record:

Log in.
Go to More,
Select Account and settings,
Select Manage NHS account,
Then select Contact details,
Choose which mobile phone number you want to keep on your NHS record.
Follow the on-screen instructions.

To choose which email address you want to keep on your NHS record:

Log in.
Go to More,
Select Account and settings,
Select Manage NHS account,
Then select Contact details,
Choose which email address you want to keep on your NHS record.
Follow the on-screen instructions.

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What to do if your name, address, date of birth or NHS number are incorrect If these details are incorrect or out of date, contact your GP surgery and ask them to update your details. They will then update your NHS record. Any changes made there will appear in your account when you log in to the NHS App or website.

How do I find out who my GP is UK?

How can I find out what GP I am registered with? – If you have not been to see an for some time, you may not be sure what GP practice you are registered with or even if you are still registered at all. In England, the NHS is legally obliged to keep a list of all patients registered with GP practices.

How old is the NHS?

5 July 2023 marks 75 years of the National Health Service – Treating over a million people a day in England, the NHS touches all of our lives. When it was founded in 1948, the NHS was the first universal health system to be available to all, free at the point of delivery.

75 years of the NHS Our partners

Can I check my NHS appointment online?

Hospital appointments – You can only book hospital appointments in your NHS App if you have been referred through the NHS e-Referral Service. You may have other hospital referrals not shown in your NHS App. You can contact your GP surgery or healthcare provider for further details.

Do I have to change GP if I move Scotland?

Changing GP – You might change GP if you move to a different area or you’re unhappy with your healthcare. You can change your GP at any time without having to give a reason. When you’ve registered with a new GP, you’ll no longer be registered with the old one. You can then make an appointment to see the new GP immediately.

Can I access my NHS?

Access your NHS services Log in to your NHS account to access services online on your computer, tablet or mobile phone. You do not need to download anything. Log in to your account to: get your NHS COVID Pass.

Can you share your NHS Number?

A6.2: Assessing what is Confidential Patient Information – As set out above Confidential Patient Information cannot simply be defined by a specific data item (for example name or postcode) alone, as it needs to be considered more broadly to take account of the circumstances of the record and disclosure.

There may be some other information provided at the time, or which can be inferred from the context of the disclosure, that means that it becomes Confidential Patient Information. This assessment needs to take into account what patients might reasonably expect to happen to their data in the particular circumstances in question and whether they might reasonably expect the national data opt-out to apply based on the information provided to them.

The national data opt-out patient facing information and resources are found on the national data opt-out webpages – this, and other relevant patient information and communications, should be considered when making the assessment. The national data opt-out public communication materials make it clear that the national data opt-out is limited to Confidential Patient Information and that patients cannot opt out of registration data.


Type of data and context of disclosure	Is it CPI	Rationale
Name and date of birth on its own drawn from registration data	No	Anyone can register to receive medical services whatever their state of health. This is identifiable, but it does not reveal anything about an individual’s health, care or treatment.
Sample of NHS numbers drawn from registration data	No	NHS number on its own is not Confidential Patient Information – it is an administrative number assigned by the NHS. However, for someone with access to other NHS data it can act as the key to identify an individual. It is for that reason that it is protected by safeguards.
Name and address drawn from registration data	No	As for NHS number, name and date of birth, this is not Confidential Patient Information. However, connecting this identifying data to other information may make it Confidential Patient Information. For example for a very small number of patients who have no other correspondence address and where the address is an in-patient setting for people with severe learning disabilities or a specialist nursing home that cares for those with dementia then it may become Confidential Patient Information. This would be the case where the address itself said something about the individual’s health, care or treatment.
Name and address – drawn from clinical records for example of those with a specific condition in order to write to them about a research study.	Yes	Although the disclosure is on the surface of it demographic only – the circumstances of the disclosure may reveal something about a person’s health, care or treatment if this is shared with a third party. However, where a clinician involved in the patient’s care has written directly to the patient there is no disclosure of Confidential Patient Information and the opt-out would not apply.
Name and address drawn for a Patient Administration System (PAS) in a Mental Health Trust	Yes	The information is disclosed by a mental health trust and would constitute Confidential Patient Information as it does give some information about a person’s health, care or treatment especially if it discloses that the person has either registered with the Mental Health Trust or has been treated.

What is NHS online?

NHS 111 online allows patients to get urgent healthcare online. It also helps to manage increasing demand on NHS 111 telephone services. Get help online or on the phone. New services are available through NHS 111 online to support the response to coronavirus (COVID-19).