Guidance

NHS licence requirements

Helps providers of NHS services to understand whether they need a licence from Monitor or are exempt.

Documents

Details

All providers of NHS healthcare services in England need a licence from Monitor, unless they are exempt. The licence sets out the conditions that licence holders have to meet in order to provide NHS services.

NHS providers are responsible for determining if they are exempt, and for applying to Monitor for a licence if they are required to hold one.

This guidance helps providers of NHS services understand whether they need a licence, or if they are exempt from the requirement to hold a licence.

Published 20 December 2013
Last updated 30 July 2019 + show all updates
  1. Published updated guidance. Changes have been made to section 7 on small and micro providers. This reflects the change in how this type of provider is categorised using applicable turnover rather than the previous year's accounts.

  2. First published.