NHS inform, Scotland’s national health information service, says there is not a single test or checklist that can confirm ADHD. The NHS pages for England, Wales and Scotland mention an assessment. For adults, those pages start with a GP. This page covers all four UK nations.

This page is not medical advice. It gives general information only.

Is there an NHS ADHD test?

NHS inform, for Scotland, says this on its page for adults, updated 23 June 2026:

There isn’t a single test or checklist that can confirm if you have ADHD or not.

NICE’s ADHD guideline is called NG87. It is one of the NICE guidelines for England and Wales. Recommendation 1.3.2 says:

A diagnosis of ADHD should not be made solely on the basis of rating scale or observational data.

NICE adds that rating scales are “helpful added tools”.

Where each nation says to start

Each row below uses that nation’s own pages.

Nation	What the nation’s own pages say about where to start	Page and date
England	Adults: make a GP appointment if symptoms affect your studies, work or relationships. Children: talk to a teacher first. If you are still worried, you may want to see a GP. To ask for an assessment, speak to a GP or the school’s special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO).	NHS website, adult and child pages, reviewed 19 March 2025
Wales	Both pages say NHS Wales adapted them from the NHS website, and give the same first steps. For adults, make a GP appointment. For children, talk to a teacher, then see a GP or the SENCO.	NHS 111 Wales, adult and child pages, updated 4 July 2025
Scotland	Both pages say there is no standard approach to assessing ADHD in Scotland. They say how you are assessed depends on your health board area (adults) or the area the child lives in (children). Adults: speak to your GP practice, which can discuss your concerns and next steps. Children: the page says it may help to talk to the child’s teachers first, and that the GP can discuss your concerns.	NHS inform, adult page updated 23 June 2026, child page updated 18 June 2026
Northern Ireland	The nidirect ADHD page starts by describing ADHD in school-age children and speaks to parents. It says to tell your doctor your concerns. It says the doctor may refer the child to a specialist if the doctor thinks the child has ADHD, and the specialist may want to speak to the parent and the child’s teachers.	nidirect (no date shown)

For Northern Ireland, there is a Department of Health reply to a Freedom of Information request (DOH 2026-0116, issued 30 June 2026). It says there is currently “no commissioned service for ADHD in Northern Ireland”. It also says there is “no regionally commissioned ADHD Assessment pathway”. It says the person who asked may wish to contact the HSC Trusts, “who may be in a position to provide further information”. It says a needs assessment report describes “care pathways from each HSCT at the time the report was commissioned”.

The GP appointment

Adults in England and Wales

On its page for adults, the NHS website for England says the GP:

“will ask about your symptoms and how they affect your life”
may also want to consider other conditions, “such as autism, Tourette’s or anxiety”
“may decide to refer you” for an assessment with a mental health professional who specialises in ADHD

NICE has a recommendation for adults who do not have a childhood diagnosis of ADHD. It covers primary care and general adult psychiatric services in England and Wales. The adult should be referred to a mental health specialist trained in ADHD for assessment “where there is evidence of typical manifestations of ADHD” that:

“began during childhood and have persisted throughout life”
“are not explained by other psychiatric diagnoses (although there may be other coexisting psychiatric conditions)”
“have resulted in or are associated with moderate or severe psychological, social and/or educational or occupational impairment”

Children and young people in England and Wales

The NHS website for England says:

start by talking to one of the child’s teachers
the teacher will usually make a referral to the SENCO
if you are still worried, you may want to make a GP appointment
at that appointment, the doctor “will ask about the child or young person’s symptoms and how these affect their life”

If support is not helping, it says to speak to a GP or the SENCO about a referral.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists’ advice is to start by speaking to your GP. It says the GP should ask you and your child about three things:

the challenges they are having
how significant the challenges are
which situations and settings they happen in

NICE says primary care practitioners should find out how severe the problems are. They should also find out how the problems affect the child and the parents or carers. They should find out how far the problems reach across different settings. Where the problems affect development or family life, NICE says to consider watchful waiting of up to 10 weeks. NICE also says to consider group-based ADHD-focused support for parents or carers. It then says what should happen if the problems persist:

If the behavioural and/or attention problems persist with at least moderate impairment, the child or young person should be referred to secondary care

NICE describes secondary care here as “a child psychiatrist, paediatrician, or specialist ADHD CAMHS”. CAMHS means child and adolescent mental health services. For severe impairment, NICE says “referral should be made directly to secondary care”.

Who decides if a GP referral is appropriate?

NHS England’s patient choice guidance covers England. It was published on 19 December 2023. It says this about who decides whether an elective referral is clinically appropriate:

GPs, dentists, and optometrists are responsible for determining whether an elective referral is clinically appropriate for a patient.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists notes that some people “struggle to be referred for an ADHD assessment”. It says the reason might be a lack of knowledge about adult ADHD, or that their challenges are thought to be caused by something else.

Questions about a private diagnosis and an NHS GP practice are covered in our shared care guide.

What happens after a referral

Who carries out the assessment

An adult’s appointment “will be with an ADHD specialist such as a psychiatrist”, says the NHS website for England. For a child, the assessment is with “one or more ADHD specialists”. The examples it gives are a paediatrician or child and adolescent psychiatrist.

NICE, for England and Wales, says who may make the diagnosis, in recommendation 1.3.1:

ADHD should only be diagnosed by a specialist psychiatrist, paediatrician or other appropriately qualified healthcare professional with training and expertise in diagnosing ADHD

NHS inform, for Scotland, says on its page for children, updated 18 June 2026: “Your GP can’t formally diagnose ADHD.”

What an adult’s assessment covers

The NHS website for England describes what the specialist asks about:

They’ll ask about the history of your symptoms, particularly if they started when you were a child, and how these symptoms affected you at school.

The assessment will focus on different areas of your life, including:

work and education
family and friends
medical history, including any mental health issues

The specialist “may want to contact someone who knows you well, such as a family member or close friend”, the NHS website adds. The Royal College of Psychiatrists notes what a thorough report on the assessment would include. One item is information from others who know you, “especially how you were as a child, if available”.

What a child’s assessment covers

The NHS website for England says the specialist will:

talk with you and your child about any symptoms and about family life
also ask about the child’s development, such as how old they were when they learned to walk or read
usually contact a SENCO or a teacher, or both, to see how the child is doing at school

It says there may be some forms to fill in.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists states that a specialist with training in ADHD will need to carry out the child’s assessment. It says the specialist will consider four things:

behaviour
symptoms in different areas of their life, such as school and home
medical history, including any other current or previous conditions
mental health

The NHS website for England mentions a test on its page for children and young people. It describes what may happen at an assessment:

They may also ask your child to do a computer-based test to help assess their symptoms.

NICE, for England and Wales, lists one such test under recommendation 1.3.1:

As an option, use QbTest to help diagnose ADHD in people aged 6 to 17 years

NICE’s QbTest guidance says it “should only be used with standard clinical assessment by a healthcare professional”.

What the diagnosis rests on

For England and Wales, NICE says the diagnosis should rest on three things:

“a full clinical and psychosocial assessment of the person”
“a full developmental and psychiatric history”
“observer reports and assessment of the person’s mental state”

Recommendation 1.3.3 says symptoms should “meet the diagnostic criteria” in DSM-5 or ICD-11. They should also “cause at least moderate psychological, social, or educational or occupational impairment”.

On when symptoms began, the NHS website for England says: “These symptoms usually start before the age of 12.” NICE says in its Context section that symptoms “should be evident in early life, if only in retrospect”. Recommendation 1.3.3 also says:

exclusion based on … an uncertain time of onset is not recommended

Right to Choose in England

Right to Choose is an NHS route in England. The NHS says: “You can ask for an NHS appointment at any clinic, including a private clinic, if it provides ADHD services for the NHS in England.” A referral is needed. NHS England’s patient choice guidance says: “The legal rights do not extend to self-referrals or any referral other than from or on behalf of a GP, Dentist, or Optometrist.” Our Right to Choose guide explains the steps.

Finding a clinic

You can compare private ADHD clinics on our clinics page. Not every UK clinic is listed.

Sources

Sources checked on 21 October 2026.

Your Guide to Getting an NHS ADHD Test in the UK