How do you register an independent clinic with Healthcare Improvement Scotland?
To register an independent clinic with Healthcare Improvement Scotland, send the pre-registration form, complete the application, documents and policies on the HIS portal, and pay the £3,996 fee when HIS asks. A complete application takes a minimum of six months, and the clinic may not trade until HIS grants registration.
Who has to register
The National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 defines an independent clinic as a clinic, not in a hospital, in or from which services are provided by a medical practitioner, dental practitioner, registered nurse, registered midwife, registered pharmacist, registered pharmacy technician or dental care professional. Service includes consultations, investigations and treatments.1
HIS gives a private GP and a nurse led cosmetic clinic as examples. A service in a hospital, a service that is part of the NHS, a GPhC registered pharmacy, an employer's own occupational health service, and services offering only first aid or only talking therapies do not register as independent clinics.2 Online services with no premises for patients register as independent medical agencies, regulated since 2025.3
Providing an unregistered independent healthcare service is an offence under section 10Z9 of the 1978 Act, and services may not trade until registration is granted.4 With a minimum of six months to process, registration needs to start well before the planned opening date. The Healthcare Improvement Scotland hub sets out how HIS regulates registered services after that.
The steps
- Confirm you are an independent clinic. Read HIS's definition, its exemptions and its worked scenarios. A professional who rents a room and stays self-employed is usually the provider, and registers. One working under practising privileges in an already registered service usually does not.
- Decide who the provider is. An individual or a body corporate. A later change of legal entity means a new application and a new fee, so choose once.
- Send the pre-registration form. Email it to the independent healthcare team. HIS replies with a log-in to its eForms portal. With several services, send one form first and say there are more.
- Complete the application. Part 1 or Part 2 for the provider, Part 3 for a manager if you will not manage the service yourself, Part 4 for the service and Part 5 for its quality. Each person gives 15 years of employment history and two referees.
- Upload the documents and policies. Insurance certificates, proof of ownership or a lease, a fire risk assessment, and the policies every applicant sends, from consent to complaints, each as its own named file.
- Pay the fee when HIS asks. No payment before the fee request. The fee is not refunded if the application is withdrawn or fails, and paying early does not make it faster.
- Host the registration visit. The application is allocated to an inspector, who visits before registration is granted.
The sequence is HIS's own.4 An application is complete only when every relevant part of the form, every supporting document and every policy is in, and the fee is paid. HIS says incomplete applications will be refused.5
The policies every applicant sends
| Policy | What HIS points you to |
|---|---|
| Arrangements for dealing with emergencies | A resuscitation policy, with the Resuscitation Council (UK) |
| Consent policy | The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 and your professional regulator's consent guidance |
| Chaperone policy | GMC guidance on intimate examinations and chaperones |
| Protecting people from harm or abuse | Adult support and protection, and child protection if you treat children |
| Privacy, dignity and respect | The Health and Social Care Standards |
| Medication policy | HIS's medicines governance audit tool and its principles for remote prescribing |
| Information management policy | Data protection, and how records are kept and shared |
| Infection prevention and control policy | The National Infection Prevention and Control Manual |
| Participation policy | How patients will evaluate the service |
| Complaints policy | HIS's name and address, and that patients can complain to HIS at any time |
| Duty of candour policy | HIS's duty of candour template for providers |
Services that employ staff add recruitment and induction, training and development, bullying and harassment, whistleblowing, equality and diversity, and clinical governance policies. Laser and IPL services add laser safety local rules, and services offering practising privileges add the policy and contract.5
What it costs
For 2026/27 an application to register an independent clinic is £3,996, and an independent hospital £5,708. The annual continuation fee for a clinic runs from £1,372 for a single-handed non-surgical practitioner to £3,928 for surgical, dental and controlled drug weight loss services. There are no discounts.6 HIS also invoices separately for Disclosure Scotland background checks.5
- Service type, independent clinic or medical agency ______
- Provider, individual or body corporate ______
- Manager named and Part 3 completed on ______
- Pre-registration form sent on ______ Portal log-in received on ______
- Supporting documents uploaded on ______
- Policies uploaded, each checked against HIS's guidance, on ______
- Fee request received on ______ Paid on ______
- Registration visit on ______
After registration
HIS calculates an initial Service Risk Assessment score, which sets your first inspection, usually 18 to 24 months after registration. Between inspections it asks for a self-evaluation, an annual return each December and notifications as events happen.7 The booking, records and consent processes a clinic opens with are the ones its first inspection will look at. The guide to preparing for an HIS inspection covers that visit, and clinic AI in Edinburgh covers the wider rules for a new clinic in the city.
Questions
How long does HIS registration take?
HIS says a full and complete application takes a minimum of six months to process, and some take longer. The clock starts only when every part is in and the fee is paid.
I rent a room in someone else's clinic. Do I register?
Usually yes. HIS's scenarios say a self-employed professional renting a room is the provider of the service and a separate legal entity, so the service must register. A practising privileges contract with an already registered provider usually means you do not.
Can I start seeing patients while my application is processed?
No. HIS says services are not permitted to trade until registration is granted, and providing an unregistered service is an offence.
Is the registration fee refunded if I withdraw?
No. HIS's fees information says the registration fee is not refunded if the application is withdrawn or the service cannot meet the requirements of registration.
Sources
- 1Healthcare Improvement Scotland, 2026Background and legislationRead source
- 2Healthcare Improvement Scotland, 2026Information for service providers, independent clinicsRead source
- 3Healthcare Improvement Scotland, 2026Information for service providers, independent medical agencyRead source
- 4Healthcare Improvement Scotland, 2026Register a new independent healthcare serviceRead source
- 5Healthcare Improvement Scotland, 2026Independent healthcare registration guidance for applicants, May 2026Read source
- 6Healthcare Improvement Scotland, 2026Independent healthcare services fees information 2026/27Read source
- 7Healthcare Improvement Scotland, 2024Independent healthcare regulation, provider handbook, July 2024Read source
Written by the wai team from Healthcare Improvement Scotland guidance, checked on 15 October 2026. This is guidance, not legal advice. HIS does not endorse wai or any software.