Private ADHD Assessment Cost UK

How much does a private ADHD assessment cost in the UK?

Most private UK clinics charge somewhere between £300 and £1,200 for an ADHD diagnostic assessment, with many of the better-known online providers clustering in the £500–£900 band. Those are typical ranges, not quotes – prices vary by clinic, by whether you see a consultant psychiatrist or a specialist nurse, and by what is bundled in (a full written report is sometimes an extra line item). Child and adolescent assessments usually sit towards the upper end because they involve school questionnaires and developmental history work with parents.

The assessment fee is only the start, and that is where many families get caught out. If medication is recommended, titration – the monitored period of starting and adjusting the dose – is almost always charged separately, and ongoing private prescriptions continue until (and unless) your GP agrees to take over. The checker above puts those pieces together and, crucially, tells you whether the free NHS Right to Choose route is open to you before you spend anything.

What you are actually paying for

A proper ADHD assessment is not a quick questionnaire. Under NICE guidance a diagnosis should only be made by an appropriately qualified clinician – typically a psychiatrist, ADHD specialist nurse or suitably trained clinical psychologist – based on a full clinical interview, developmental and psychiatric history, validated rating scales and, for children, information from school. A typical private package includes:

• Pre-assessment screening questionnaires for you (and for children, parents and teachers).
• A structured diagnostic interview of around 1.5–3 hours, sometimes split over two appointments.
• A written diagnostic report – check whether it is included or costs extra, and whether it is detailed enough for employers, universities or the NHS.
• A treatment recommendation – medication, coaching, therapy or a combination.

Clinics providing regulated healthcare activities in England must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) – look the provider up before paying, and be wary of any service offering a diagnosis from a single short questionnaire.

Titration: the cost most people forget

If you want to try medication, the prescriber starts low and adjusts the dose over several weeks or months, with regular reviews of symptoms, side-effects, blood pressure and pulse. Privately, each element is usually billed:

• Follow-up/titration appointments – often several are needed before the dose is stable.
• Private prescriptions – you pay the clinic's prescription fee plus the full pharmacy cost of the medicine, because private scripts are not subsidised by the NHS.
• Annual reviews – ADHD medicines are controlled drugs, so ongoing prescribing requires periodic review for as long as you remain a private patient.

Realistically, budget an extra £500–£1,500 (estimate) on top of the assessment for the titration period, and ask every clinic for its full fee schedule – assessment, per-appointment, per-prescription and annual review – before you book. Some heavily advertised low assessment prices are recovered through higher titration and prescription fees.

Right to Choose: the free route in England

If you are registered with a GP practice in England, the NHS Choice Framework gives you a legal right to choose your provider when your GP refers you for a consultant-led or mental health service. In practice that means you can ask your GP to send an ADHD referral to any provider in England that holds an NHS contract for ADHD assessment – including several well-known independent providers whose NHS waiting lists are often far shorter than local NHS pathways.

Under Right to Choose:

• The assessment costs you nothing – it is NHS-funded.
• Titration is NHS-funded too, and medication is dispensed on NHS prescriptions at the standard NHS prescription charge (free in some cases, and prescription charges do not apply in Scotland and Wales – though Right to Choose itself is England-only).
• The diagnosis is an NHS diagnosis, which avoids the arguments that sometimes follow a private one.
• Transfer back to your GP under shared care is more routinely accepted, because the whole pathway stayed inside the NHS.

You still need your GP to agree that a referral is clinically appropriate, and waiting times vary between Right to Choose providers – commonly several months, and they move around, so compare each provider's currently published wait. Right to Choose does not apply in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, where the free option is a standard NHS referral.

Worked example

Sam, 29, registered with a GP in Manchester, suspects ADHD and wants medication if diagnosed. Paying privately, a typical path might be: assessment £700, then four titration reviews and private prescriptions adding roughly £900 over four months – about £1,600 in year one (estimates). If Sam's GP then declines shared care, private prescriptions and reviews continue indefinitely. Via Right to Choose, Sam instead asks the GP to refer to an NHS-contracted provider: the assessment and titration cost £0, medication is charged at the standard NHS prescription rate, and the trade-off is the wait – typically some months, though often far shorter than the local NHS ADHD service.

Shared care: the biggest financial risk of going private

Shared care is the arrangement where, once your dose is stable, your GP takes over routine NHS prescribing while the specialist stays involved for reviews. It is what makes ADHD medication affordable long-term – but it is voluntary for GPs. A practice can decline shared care, and some local NHS boards explicitly advise their GPs not to enter shared-care agreements with private (non-NHS-commissioned) providers.

If shared care is refused after a private diagnosis, you are left paying the clinic's prescription and review fees for as long as you take medication – depending on the medicine and dose this commonly runs to well over £1,000 a year (estimate). Three protections before you spend anything:

• Ask your GP practice in writing whether it would accept shared care from your chosen clinic – before you book.
• Prefer the Right to Choose route in England: because the provider is NHS-commissioned, prescribing stays in the NHS system.
• Get the clinic's ongoing-cost schedule so a refusal is an annoyance, not a shock.

How this checker works

The tool applies typical published UK clinic fee ranges – £300–£1,200 for the assessment (child and adolescent work usually towards the top), plus an estimated £500–£1,500 for titration appointments and private prescriptions in the first months – and combines them into a low–high budget. It then checks Right to Choose eligibility on the one criterion that matters: whether your GP practice is in England. It deliberately gives ranges rather than a single figure because private prices genuinely vary that much between clinics. It does not screen whether you have ADHD – only a qualified clinician can do that, so speak to your GP if you recognise the symptoms described on the NHS ADHD pages.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a private ADHD assessment cost in the UK?

Most UK clinics charge somewhere between £300 and £1,200 for the diagnostic assessment itself, with many well-known providers sitting in the £500 to £900 band. These are typical ranges only – prices vary by clinic, by clinician seniority and by whether the fee includes a written report. Medication titration is almost always charged on top.

Is the NHS Right to Choose route really free?

Yes. If you are registered with a GP in England and your GP agrees a referral is appropriate, you can ask for it to be sent to any provider in England that holds an NHS contract for ADHD assessment. The assessment and titration are then NHS-funded, and you only pay the standard NHS prescription charge for any medication, not private fees. Right to Choose does not apply in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

What is titration and why does it cost extra?

Titration is the supervised period after diagnosis when a clinician starts ADHD medication at a low dose and adjusts it over several weeks or months. Privately it usually means several follow-up appointments plus private prescriptions, and clinics typically charge for each element – often adding several hundred pounds to £1,500 or more to the total. Always ask for the full titration price list before booking an assessment.

What is shared care and what happens if my GP refuses it?

Shared care is an agreement where your GP takes over routine prescribing on the NHS once your dose is stable. It is voluntary – GPs can and do decline shared care with private clinics, and some local NHS boards advise their GPs not to accept it. If shared care is refused, you keep paying private prescription and review fees indefinitely, which can add up to well over £1,000 a year. Ask your GP about their shared-care policy before you pay a private clinic.

Will the NHS accept a private ADHD diagnosis?

Sometimes, but it is not guaranteed. NHS services are not obliged to accept a private diagnosis and some will re-assess you before prescribing. A diagnosis made through Right to Choose is an NHS diagnosis, which is one of the main financial advantages of that route.

How long does a Right to Choose ADHD assessment take?

Waiting times vary widely between providers and change constantly – commonly several months from referral, compared with waits that can stretch to years on some standard NHS pathways. Check each provider's currently published waiting time before choosing, as the shortest queue moves around.

Do I need a GP referral for a private ADHD assessment?

Many private clinics accept self-referral, so you can book directly without seeing your GP. A GP referral is required for the Right to Choose route, because the legal right applies at the point your GP makes an NHS referral. Even when self-paying, telling your GP is sensible so your records stay joined up.

Sources: ADHD symptoms, diagnosis and treatment from NHS – ADHD; patient choice rights from the GOV.UK – NHS Choice Framework; provider registration checks via the Care Quality Commission. Price ranges reflect typical fees published by UK private clinics in 2026 and are estimates only – they vary by clinic and change over time. This page is general information, not medical advice; consult your GP or a qualified clinician about assessment and treatment.