See an Irish Medical Council registered GP by video without leaving home, usually the same day. Your GP can issue a medical certificate for your employer, school or college where it is clinically appropriate. You are paying for the consultation, not for a certificate.
Consultations are with GPs registered with the Irish Medical Council. See our doctors.
Read this before you book
If you need the Certificate of Incapacity for Work to claim Illness Benefit, cover for days before your consultation, or a report for an insurer or an occupational health service, an online consultation cannot give you that and you should not book one for that purpose. Each of those is set out below with the person or body who can actually do it.
WHAT WE CERTIFY
A Private Medical Certificate, for Four Situations
This is the complete list of what a sick-cert consultation with us produces — not a sample of a longer one.
Your employer
A private medical certificate stating that you are unfit for work and the dates it covers. This is the certificate a statutory sick pay claim depends on.
A school, college or exam board
For a missed exam, an assignment extension or a deferral. Institutions set their own deadlines for submitting one — check yours before you book, because a certificate that arrives late is no use to you.
A return to work
A certificate confirming you are fit to return, including a return on light duties with the restrictions written out, rather than a blunt fit-or-unfit verdict.
A child’s absence
A parent or guardian can book for a child under 16 and must be present for the consultation. The certificate is issued in the child’s name.
If the absence is from college rather than work, the certificate is usually only half of it — most Irish institutions run their own extenuating-circumstances or deferral process, with its own form and its own deadline. We set out how that side works in student sick certificates in Ireland.
A certificate is a clinical decision, not a purchase
You are paying for a consultation with an Irish Medical Council registered GP. If, having assessed you, the GP concludes that a certificate is not clinically appropriate, they will not issue one, and the consultation fee still applies. Any service that guarantees you a certificate before a doctor has seen you is telling you something a doctor cannot honestly promise.
OUT OF SCOPE
What an Online GP Cannot Certify — and Who Can
Six things people regularly ask us for that we have to turn down. Each names the reason and where to go instead.
The social welfare cert for Illness Benefit
Claiming or extending Illness Benefit needs a Certificate of Incapacity for Work — a Department of Social Protection document, not a private certificate. It is completed on the Department’s own certificate and normally submitted straight to the Department through its eCert system by a doctor set up to certify for it. The certificate we issue will not open or extend an Illness Benefit claim.
Go to: Your own GP, who can complete and submit the Department’s certificate. The Department pays the doctor for it, so it is free to you.
Days before your consultation
A doctor can only certify a period they have a clinical basis to assess. Our GPs certify from the date of the consultation onwards. If you have already been out for a stretch, say so at the start — the GP can record when your symptoms began, but the certified cover runs from the assessment.
Go to: If you need earlier days covered, that is a conversation with your own GP, who holds your record, and with your employer about their absence policy.
A certificate without an assessment
There is no form to fill in that produces a certificate. You are booking a consultation with a doctor, and the certificate is an outcome of their clinical judgement. If the GP concludes a certificate is not appropriate, they will not issue one and the consultation fee still applies.
Go to: Nobody, honestly. Any service that guarantees a certificate before a doctor has seen you is promising something a doctor cannot promise.
Insurance, travel-cancellation and occupational health reports
These are reports on your medical record, requested by an insurer or an employer and answered from your notes. We hold a record of your consultation with us and nothing else, so any report we wrote would be misleading by omission.
Go to: Your own GP practice, which holds your records, or the occupational health provider your employer names.
Anything needing an examination or a test
Pre-employment medicals, driver medical reports, fitness-to-fly clearance, sports and diving certificates and anything certified on a measurement all depend on something being done to you in person.
Go to: A GP practice, an occupational health service or a travel clinic, in person. See our medical certificates guide for which body handles which form.
Ongoing mental health care
A GP can assess how you are and, where there is a clinical basis, certify a short absence for mental-health reasons in the same way as for a physical illness. What an online consultation is not is a mental health service: we do not run one, and mental-health medication needs an in-person assessment.
Go to: Your own GP for continuing care and medication, or the HSE’s mental health services. In a crisis, call 999 or 112.
Medical certificates and letters in Ireland — the full list of forms a GP can and cannot complete, including driver medicals, firearms reports and the Primary Medical Certificate.
Verified against Citizens Information, gov.ie and Medical Council sources as of August 2026. Rates, forms and eligibility criteria are set by those bodies and change — confirm on the official page before you act on anything here.
What your certificate shows
Employers and colleges generally accept a certificate from any Medical Council registered doctor, provided it identifies the doctor and the period covered. Every certificate we issue carries all of the following.
Your full name and date of birth
The dates you are certified as unfit, and the duration
Any return-to-work restrictions the GP records
The date of issue and a unique certificate number
The GP’s name, qualification and Medical Council registration number
The practice name, address and contact details
A QR code an employer can scan to check the certificate is genuine
What it deliberately does not show
A certificate is handed to people who are not entitled to your medical history, so it is written accordingly.
No diagnosis beyond what is needed to justify the absence
No test results, medication list or clinical notes
No history from before the consultation — we do not hold it
Verifiable, without exposing you
The QR code on the certificate opens a verification page confirming the document is genuine and current. Seeing the fuller detail requires entering your date of birth, so a certificate left on a desk does not hand your information to whoever picks it up.
HOW IT WORKS
What Actually Happens, Step by Step
A real consultation with a doctor, not a form that returns a PDF.
1
Book a time
Pick a slot — same-day is usually available, 7 days a week. The price for the time you choose is shown before you pay.
2
Describe what is wrong
A short questionnaire before the call, so the GP starts with your symptoms, their timeline and what you need the certificate for.
3
Talk to the GP
A video consultation with an Irish Medical Council registered doctor, who assesses you and decides what is clinically appropriate.
4
Get the certificate
Where the GP issues one, it lands in your account as a signed PDF, usually within a couple of hours. Forward it to HR or upload it to your employer’s portal.
WHAT A CERTIFICATE IS WORTH TO YOU
Sick Pay in Ireland, and Which Certificate Unlocks It
Under the Sick Leave Act 2022, an employee with at least 13 weeks' continuous service is entitled to 5 days of statutory sick leave per calendar year, paid by the employer at 70% of normal daily pay up to a maximum of €110 a day. The days do not carry over into the next year, and the entitlement is conditional on a certificate from a registered medical practitioner — which is the certificate this page is about.
The Act allowed for that entitlement to be raised by ministerial order, and the increase to seven days was widely reported in advance — but the order was never made, so the entitlement remains at five days. Your contract may give you a more generous company scheme; check it before you assume the statutory floor is all you get.
Once statutory sick pay runs out, Illness Benefit from the Department of Social Protection is the next step — and that needs the Department's own Certificate of Incapacity for Work from your own GP, not a private certificate. We compare the two systems in detail, including the PRSI conditions and the three waiting days.
You are paying for a consultation, not a certificate. Your GP will assess you and issue a certificate where it is clinically appropriate. The fee covers the assessment either way.
Certificates cannot be backdated. A GP can only certify a period they have assessed, so cover runs from the date of your consultation.
This is not a social welfare certificate. We issue certificates for your employer or college. Claiming Illness Benefit requires a Certificate of Incapacity for Work, which a doctor submits to the Department of Social Protection — we do not currently provide that.
Not for emergencies. If you need urgent care, call 999 or 112.
What it costs
from €35
Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm
from €50
Evenings, weekends and bank holidays
One fee for the consultation. There is no separate charge for a certificate where the GP issues one, and the price for your chosen time is shown before you pay. See full pricing.
Yes, where it is clinically justified. An Irish Medical Council registered GP can assess you by video and issue a private medical certificate for an employer, a school, a college or an exam board, covering a stated period of absence. Nothing in Irish law requires a certificate to come from a face-to-face consultation. What the GP cannot do is certify an absence they have no clinical basis to assess — the fee buys the consultation and the doctor’s judgement, and the certificate is an outcome of that judgement rather than a product you are purchasing.
Do I need a sick cert for one day off work in Ireland?
It depends on your employer, not on the law. Statutory sick pay is conditional on a certificate from a registered medical practitioner, so if you want the day paid under the statutory scheme you need one. Many employers allow self-certification for one or two days under their own absence policy and only ask for a certificate after that. Check your contract or staff handbook first — it is the cheapest thing you can do before booking anything.
How much does a sick cert cost in Ireland?
A consultation with us is from €35 Monday to Friday between 8am and 5pm, and from €50 in the evenings, at weekends and on bank holidays. The price for the time you pick is shown before you pay. There is no separate charge for the certificate itself — you are paying for the consultation, and the GP issues a certificate where it is clinically appropriate. Because the fee is for the assessment, it applies whether or not the GP concludes a certificate is warranted.
How quickly can I get a sick cert online?
Same-day appointments are usually available, seven days a week between 8am and 10pm, and where the GP issues a certificate it normally reaches your account within a couple of hours of the consultation ending. If your employer or college has a deadline for submitting one, book with time to spare rather than on the deadline itself — the consultation still has to happen, and a slot at the time you want is not guaranteed.
Will my employer accept an online sick cert?
In Ireland there is no legal requirement that a certificate come from a face-to-face consultation, and employers generally accept a certificate from any Medical Council registered doctor that carries the doctor’s registration number, your details, the dates covered and the practice’s contact details — all of which ours does, along with a QR code they can scan to check it is genuine. That said, some employers set their own sickness-absence policy naming a required form or a required doctor, particularly where they run an occupational health service. Check before you book.
Can a doctor backdate a sick cert in Ireland?
Our GPs certify from the date of the consultation onwards, so cover does not run backwards. A doctor can only certify a period they have had a clinical basis to assess. If you have already been out of work for several days, say so at the start of the consultation and be specific about dates: the GP can record when your symptoms began, but the certified period starts at the assessment. Where earlier days matter for pay, that is a conversation with your own GP, who holds your record, and with your employer.
Is a sick cert the same as a social welfare cert?
No, and this catches people out. A Certificate of Incapacity for Work is a Department of Social Protection document used to claim or extend Illness Benefit. It is completed on the Department’s own certificate and normally submitted straight to the Department through its eCert system by a doctor set up to certify for it. The certificate we issue is a private certificate for your employer, school or college, and it will not open or extend an Illness Benefit claim. If that is what you need, go to your own GP — the Department pays the doctor’s fee, so the certificate is free to you.
How many days of statutory sick pay am I entitled to in Ireland?
Under the Sick Leave Act 2022, an employee with at least 13 weeks’ continuous service is entitled to 5 days of statutory sick leave per calendar year, paid by the employer at 70% of normal daily pay up to a maximum of €110 a day. The Act allowed for the entitlement to rise and an increase to 7 days was widely reported in advance, but the order was never commenced, so it remains at 5 days. Your contract may give you a more generous company scheme. Citizens Information sets out the current rules in full.
Does a sick cert say what is wrong with me?
It states the medical reason for the absence in the terms the GP judges appropriate, and nothing beyond that. There is no diagnosis detail, no test results, no medication list and no clinical notes on it. A certificate is a document you hand to people who are not entitled to your medical history, so it is written accordingly — and the QR verification only reveals fuller detail to someone who can enter your date of birth.
Can I get a sick cert for stress or anxiety?
A GP can assess how you are and, where there is a clinical basis for it, certify a short absence for mental-health reasons in the same way as for a physical illness. Be aware of what an online consultation is not: we do not run a mental health service, and mental-health medication needs an in-person assessment, so continuing care belongs with your own GP or the HSE’s mental health services. If you are in crisis, do not book an appointment — call 999 or 112.
Can I get a sick cert for my child’s school?
Yes. A parent or guardian can book a consultation for a child under 16 and must be present for the video call. The GP assesses the child and, where clinically appropriate, issues the certificate in the child’s name for the school, creche or exam board. If your child needs to be examined — an ear looked into, a chest listened to — the GP will tell you so and you will be advised to be seen in person.
How can my employer check that my certificate is genuine?
Every certificate carries a unique document number and a QR code. Scanning it opens a verification page on this site confirming the document was issued by us and is still valid, without revealing any medical detail. To see fuller detail, the person checking has to enter your date of birth, so a certificate left on a desk does not hand your information to whoever picks it up. The certificate also carries the practice’s phone number and email for employers who would rather ring.
Unwell and need to be assessed?
Speak to an Irish Medical Council registered GP, usually the same day. From €35 Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm, from €50 evenings, weekends and bank holidays. A certificate is issued where clinically appropriate.
