How to Send a Fit Note for ESA: Upload It Online or Post It

Updated September 2026

If you have claimed New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), the DWP needs a fit note (the official name for a sick note) to show that you cannot work while it assesses you. There are two ways to send it: upload it online with your National Insurance number, or post it to Freepost DWP ESA 26. Below: both routes, when the first one is due, who can issue it and what to do about gaps and appeals. Universal Credit works differently.

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The Short Answer

Online: use the GOV.UK service Send your fit note for your ESA claim. You need your National Insurance number and either a digital fit note or a photo or copy of a signed printed one.
By post: send it to Freepost DWP ESA 26. Any other medical evidence, such as a consultant's letter, must be posted.
When: the DWP tells you during your application when to send it. After that, send a new one before each runs out until your Work Capability Assessment (WCA) decision.

Sending Your Fit Note Online

Go to gov.uk/send-fit-note and choose Start now. You will need your National Insurance number and one of these:

a digital fit note completed by the healthcare professional
a photo or copy of a printed fit note signed by the healthcare professional

Photograph the whole page in good light with all four edges showing and check that your name, the dates and the issuer's name are readable. DWP guidance says a fit note without the issuer's name or signature is not valid and could be rejected. Keep the original: a duplicate is only issued if it is lost, and Citizens Advice warns you might have to pay for one. The service is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

Sending Your Fit Note by Post

If you prefer paper, post the fit note to:

Freepost DWP ESA 26

GOV.UK gives the address as that single line, and as a Freepost address it needs no stamp. Citizens Advice says you can give the DWP a copy and keep the fit note itself. Write your full name and National Insurance number on everything you send, keep a photo of every page and ask the Post Office for free proof of postage.

GOV.UK says any other medical evidence, such as a hospital letter or a consultant's report, must be posted to the same Freepost address. The WCA50 questionnaire is different: it goes to the Health Assessment Advisory Service at the address printed on the form, and our guide to a medical evidence letter from your GP covers what to send with it.

When to Send Your First Fit Note

GOV.UK says you will be told during your application when to send a fit note: after you apply, the DWP phones you to say when to give evidence and where to send it (not applied yet? See how to apply for ESA). Three rules sit behind that call:

The first 7 days are self-certified. Your own declaration is enough for the first 7 days, and when you claim by phone it can be a spoken one (Medical Evidence Regulations 1976, regulation 5). From day 8 you need a fit note, which is free once you have been ill for more than 7 days.
A backdated claim needs cover. Citizens Advice says to claim from the date you first had limited capability for work and to give the DWP a fit note from that date. ESA can usually be backdated up to 3 months; see whether ESA can be backdated.
Waiting days are a separate rule. The first 7 days of a New Style ESA claim are normally unpaid (ESA Regulations 2013, regulation 85), with exceptions such as a claim starting within 12 weeks of Statutory Sick Pay ending or terminal illness.

Who Can Give You a Fit Note

Since 1 July 2022 a fit note for ESA can come from a GP or hospital doctor, a registered nurse, an occupational therapist, a pharmacist or a physiotherapist. They must assess you first: in person, by phone or video or from another healthcare professional's written report. In the first 6 months of your condition each fit note can cover up to 3 months; after that it can run for any period the professional thinks right, up to an indefinite period.

GOV.UK says an Allied Health Professional (AHP) Health and Work Report, which some therapists write for employers, cannot be used for ESA. DWP guidance adds that an employer's note that only confirms you are off work is not enough either.

Fit Notes During the Assessment Phase

New Style ESA starts with an assessment phase, paid at the assessment rate for the first 13 weeks or longer if your WCA decision takes longer (see the ESA assessment rate and the 13 weeks). The law expects evidence for each day until you have been assessed (Medical Evidence Regulations 1976, regulation 2), and your fit notes are what let the DWP treat you as having limited capability for work until the decision (ESA Regulations 2013, regulation 26).

So check the end date on each fit note, book the next appointment a week or two before it and send the new one straight away. A fit note is not a substitute for the WCA50, though. The questionnaire asks how your condition affects 17 everyday activities, and a diagnosis on a fit note scores nothing by itself, so start recording your bad days now.

Free printable: the ESA & UC Symptom Diary

Your fit note says you cannot work. The WCA50 asks exactly how. This monthly PDF is built around the 17 WCA activities, with weekly and monthly bad-day counts against the majority of days rule, so the detail for the form is already on paper.

Get the free diary

After the WCA Decision

Once a decision maker has decided you have limited capability for work, whether you are placed in the work-related activity group or the support group, the legal requirement to keep sending fit notes ends. DWP guidance says the evidence is needed until you have undergone the assessment (ADM U2145). GOV.UK still says you may need to send fit notes regularly, so if the DWP asks for one, send it. If your health gets worse or you develop a new condition, report it as a change of circumstances.

If You Are Found Fit for Work

If the WCA finds you do not have limited capability for work, your ESA stops. What happens to fit notes next depends on how you challenge it:

First fit-for-work decision, or the first since you were last found to have limited capability for work: you can appeal straight to the tribunal without a mandatory reconsideration first, and your decision letter should say so (DWP guidance ADM U7020; Citizens Advice). Once the appeal is registered, ESA can be paid while it waits, as long as you keep sending fit notes (ESA Regulations 2013, regulations 26(3) and 87). Citizens Advice calls this Payment Pending Appeal.
ESA is not paid during a mandatory reconsideration. You can still ask for one, but the payment only starts once an appeal is registered.
Keep fit notes continuous from the decision date. The award normally starts the day after your old award ended, or from the date your fit notes cover if later (ADM U7050).
When it does not apply: it is only open if ESA could be paid while you appeal, so not if your New Style ESA has already ended at the 365-day limit, if you claim Jobseeker's Allowance instead or if you were treated as fit for work for not returning the WCA50 or for not attending. Nor does it apply to a second fit-for-work decision with no finding of limited capability for work since the first, even on a new claim. Claiming Universal Credit as well does not stop it. Your decision letter says which route applies.

If the decision letter has arrived, the free Decision Analyser shows where the points were lost, and our ESA tribunal guide covers the next steps.

Gaps and Late Fit Notes

Ask for a fit note that covers the gap. Fit note guidance for healthcare professionals says a fit note can be backdated to an earlier assessment date or to an estimated date your condition started affecting you.
A gap can pause payment, not end the claim. If fit notes stop while you wait for the WCA, the DWP can suspend payment, but DWP guidance says it cannot decide you are not entitled without carrying out the WCA (ADM U2430 to U2433).
Answer every request within six weeks. If your last fit note has ended, the DWP has asked for a new one and you neither send one nor contact it within six weeks, you can be treated as not having limited capability for work from the day after the last one ended (ESA Regulations 2013, regulation 28). Contacting the DWP inside the six weeks to ask for your capability for work to be decided also stops the rule.
If a fit note is genuinely impossible to get, other evidence can be accepted (Medical Evidence Regulations 1976, regulation 2(1A)), such as from an osteopath who treats you instead of a GP (ADM U2151).

Universal Credit and Older ESA Claims

The upload service and the Freepost address are for ESA claims. On Universal Credit you report your health condition in your online account and give the details from your fit note there, with a reminder before it expires, until you have been sent your WCA decision (GOV.UK). Our Universal Credit sick note guide covers that route.

If you claim both, the two are separate systems, so follow each benefit's instructions; you still have only one Work Capability Assessment. If you get income-related ESA (see New Style versus income-related ESA) and the DWP asks for a fit note, follow its letter, because the GOV.UK service is written for New Style ESA claims.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland ESA is run by the Department for Communities, so the GOV.UK service and Freepost DWP ESA 26 are not the route there. nidirect says you will usually need to supply medical certificates throughout the assessment phase: send them as the ESA centre tells you. The fit note rules quoted in this guide are for England, Wales and Scotland.

Official sources

This guide reflects the official ESA and fit note rules. For the source material, see:

Guidance only, not legal advice. Rules can change - always check GOV.UK for the latest.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I upload my fit note for ESA?

Use the GOV.UK service Send your fit note for your ESA claim at gov.uk/send-fit-note. You need your National Insurance number and either a digital fit note completed by the healthcare professional or a photo or copy of a printed fit note they have signed. The service is also available in Welsh. Keep the original, because a replacement is only issued if it is lost.

What is the address for posting an ESA fit note?

GOV.UK gives the address as Freepost DWP ESA 26. It is a Freepost address, so you do not need a stamp. GOV.UK says any other medical evidence, such as a hospital or consultant letter, must be posted to the same address. Your completed WCA50 questionnaire goes to the address printed on that form instead.

Do I need a fit note for the first 7 days of ESA?

No. For the first 7 days you can self-certify, and if you claim by phone a spoken declaration can count (Medical Evidence Regulations 1976, regulation 5). From day 8 you need a fit note, which is free once you have been ill for more than 7 days. The first 7 days of New Style ESA are also normally unpaid waiting days.

Who can give me a fit note for ESA?

Since 1 July 2022 a fit note can come from a GP or hospital doctor, a registered nurse, an occupational therapist, a pharmacist or a physiotherapist. They must assess you first, in person, by phone or video or from another professional's written report. An Allied Health Professional Health and Work Report cannot be used for ESA.

Is sending a fit note for ESA the same as for Universal Credit?

No. On Universal Credit you give the details from your fit note in your online account. For New Style ESA you use the GOV.UK upload service or post it to Freepost DWP ESA 26. If you claim both, follow each benefit's instructions. You will still have only one Work Capability Assessment.

Do I still need fit notes after my WCA decision?

Once the DWP has decided you have limited capability for work, the legal requirement ends, because the evidence is needed until you have been assessed. GOV.UK still says you may need to send fit notes regularly, so send one if asked. If you are found fit for work and appeal, keep sending fit notes: ESA can then be paid while the appeal waits, but only once the appeal is registered.

What happens if my ESA fit note runs out?

Get a new one as soon as you can, because the healthcare professional can backdate it to cover the gap. While you wait for the WCA, a gap can lead the DWP to suspend payment. If it asks for a new fit note and you neither send one nor contact it within six weeks, you can be treated as not having limited capability for work from the day after the last one ended.

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