This page is information, not medical advice. It does not diagnose. It explains the routes to an ADHD or autism assessment in England, and what each one actually involves.
There are three ways to get assessed in England: through your local NHS service, through Right to Choose, or privately. They have different waits, different costs, and different rules. Most people don't know the second one exists.
Your GP refers you to your local NHS ADHD or autism service. You wait in that service's queue.
There is no single national waiting list — it depends entirely on where you live. Some areas are years. NHS England estimated up to 735,000 people had an open referral for ADHD services as of December 2025.[ADHD Centre] Some trusts report waits of a year and a half or more.
This is the route most people are put on by default. It's not the only one.
If you're registered with a GP in England, and your GP agrees you need an assessment, you have a legal right to choose which provider carries out that assessment. That includes independent providers that hold an NHS contract.[NHS Choice]
This is the route most people don't know about, and it's often faster.
How to ask for it: ask your GP by name. Say "I'd like to be referred under Right to Choose." Name the provider you want. Don't accept a local referral by default — say which one you're choosing.
The catch: the GP has to agree the referral is appropriate. You can't self-refer.[Psychiatry UK] And Right to Choose does not guarantee a faster assessment — it lets you choose the provider, but the wait depends on that provider's capacity.
Right to Choose is England only. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have different routes.
You can pay for a private assessment, usually without a GP referral. It's the fastest route — often within weeks, not years.[Psychiatry UK]
It's also expensive. A private ADHD assessment typically costs £700 to £1,100, with titration and prescriptions charged separately.[ADHD Centre] Some providers offer payment plans.
If you go private, one thing to think about: some GPs won't enter a shared care agreement with a private provider, which means you may end up paying privately for medication too. Ask your GP about their position before you commit.
If your GP says they've referred you, and it should be quick — it usually isn't.
A referral puts you on a waiting list, and how long you wait depends on which list. Some areas have introduced caps on how many assessments a provider can deliver in a year. If a provider hits its cap, it still has to accept referrals, but it places people on a waiting list until capacity opens.[ICB guidance]
Psychiatry UK, a major Right to Choose provider, currently quotes 32 to 40 weeks for an adult ADHD assessment, and 44 to 52 weeks for titration after that.[Psychiatry UK] So a year or more is realistic.
Gather your evidence. Write down the things you've noticed, when they started, and how they affect your daily life. Old school reports, if you have them. Notes from anyone who knows you well. The assessment asks for a developmental history, and it's easier to gather it now than in the week before the appointment.
Ask about interim support. Some services offer support while you wait. Ask what's available.
Don't stop asking. If your referral has been sitting for months with no contact, ask your GP to check on it. Referrals do get lost.
Most research on ADHD and autism is based on white boys and men. If you're a woman, a person of colour, or someone who masks, you may be told you don't fit the criteria when what's really happening is that the criteria don't fit you. That's worth knowing before an assessment, and worth saying at one.
If you're waiting for an assessment, theMedicationpage is for what happens after. If you're not sure it's you yet,Is this me?is where to start.