Private ADHD assessment in London: costs, waiting times and what happens

A private adult ADHD assessment in London usually costs somewhere between a few hundred pounds and well over a thousand, takes place across one to three appointments, and results in a written report within two to four weeks. The assessment itself is a structured clinical interview covering childhood, school, work history and current functioning, alongside questionnaires completed by you and, where possible, someone who knew you as a child. Diagnosis is made by a clinician, not by a questionnaire score.

The reason this question gets asked so often is that NHS waiting lists for adult ADHD assessment in England have become long enough that many people consider paying privately rather than waiting. That is a legitimate choice, but it comes with decisions attached: who assesses you, what the report is actually for, whether medication can be prescribed and continued, and what happens afterwards. Getting those answers before you pay matters more than the fee itself.

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TL;DR:

• A private ADHD assessment is a structured clinical interview, usually one to three appointments, with questionnaires and a developmental history rather than a single test.
• Costs in London vary widely and follow-ups, titration and annual reviews are usually billed separately, so ask for the full first-year figure, not the assessment fee.
• Ask before booking whether the clinician can prescribe, who would provide shared care with your GP, and whether the report will be accepted by your GP, university or employer.
• NHS Right to Choose in England lets your GP refer you to a qualifying private provider at NHS expense, which is worth checking before paying out of pocket.

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Table of Contents

• What a private ADHD assessment actually involves
• What it costs, and what the fee does not include
• Who is qualified to diagnose adult ADHD
• Private versus NHS, and how Right to Choose fits in
• What happens after a diagnosis
• How to choose a provider without wasting money
• What to prepare before your appointment
• How Mind a Porter fits in
• FAQ
• Sources

What a private ADHD assessment actually involves

There is no blood test for ADHD and no scan that settles it. Diagnosis is clinical, based on the pattern of difficulties across settings and across your life, and on the degree to which those difficulties cause impairment. That is why a proper assessment takes time rather than a single sitting.

A typical assessment includes:

• A developmental history. What you were like at primary school, whether reports mentioned attention or behaviour, when difficulties started. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition, so symptoms must have been present in childhood, even if nobody named them then.
• A structured diagnostic interview. Usually the DIVA-5 or a similar instrument, working through the diagnostic criteria for inattentive, hyperactive and combined presentations.
• Standardised questionnaires. Self-report measures such as the ASRS, plus an informant report from a parent, sibling or long-standing friend where possible.
• Functional impact. How the difficulties affect work, study, relationships, finances, sleep and driving. Impairment is part of the diagnosis, not an optional extra.
• Screening for alternatives. Anxiety, depression, trauma, sleep disorders, thyroid problems and perimenopause can all mimic aspects of ADHD, and a careful clinician will consider them rather than reach for the first available explanation.

What it costs, and what the fee does not include

Fees vary enormously between providers, and the headline assessment price is only part of the total. In London, most private adult ADHD assessments sit somewhere between a few hundred pounds and roughly £1,500, with a written report included in that figure at some services and charged separately at others.

The costs that catch people out are these:

• Titration. If you start medication, finding the right dose usually involves several short appointments over weeks or months, each charged individually.
• Repeat prescriptions and annual reviews. Ongoing medication requires monitoring, often at six or twelve month intervals, and some providers charge an annual "shared care" or maintenance fee.
• Medication costs. Prescriptions dispensed privately are paid for at full price rather than the NHS charge, which can be a substantial monthly cost depending on the drug and dose.
• Reports for third parties. A letter for university disability services, an employer, or an occupational health assessment may be a separate fee.
• Re-assessment elsewhere. If a GP or a specialist service will not accept the original report, you may be asked to repeat the process. This is the most expensive possible outcome and the most worth preventing.

Pro Tip: Ask for the total cost of the first twelve months in writing, including titration, prescriptions, reviews and any letters you may need. The number that matters is not the assessment fee, it is the first-year figure.

Who is qualified to diagnose adult ADHD

Diagnosis should be made by a clinician with specific training and experience in adult ADHD: a consultant psychiatrist, a specialist ADHD nurse prescriber working within a team, or in some cases a clinical psychologist as part of a multidisciplinary assessment. What matters is not the title alone but whether the person routinely assesses and treats ADHD in adults.

Be cautious with services that offer a diagnosis from a questionnaire alone, that cannot name the assessing clinician, or whose report is a page of text without evidence. A useful report will set out the developmental history, the diagnostic criteria met, the differential diagnoses considered, the degree of functional impairment, and clear recommendations.

If your GP later needs to take over prescribing under a shared care agreement, they will be looking for exactly that level of detail. Our explainer on what registration with professional bodies means is a reasonable starting point for checking credentials.

Private versus NHS, and how Right to Choose fits in

The NHS pathway usually starts with a GP appointment and a referral to an adult ADHD service, followed by a wait that varies from months to several years depending on where you live. In London the variation between boroughs is large.

There is a middle option that many people do not know about. In England, NHS Right to Choose allows you to ask your GP to refer you to a qualifying provider of NHS-funded care, and a number of independent providers are commissioned this way for ADHD assessments. You do not pay, and the wait is often shorter than the local service. It is not available for every provider or every service, and your GP must agree to refer, but it is worth asking about explicitly before you spend your own money.

Choosing between the routes comes down to urgency, complexity and what happens next:

• NHS local service: free, comprehensive, and often the most integrated with medication and follow-up, but the wait can be long.
• Right to Choose: free at the point of use where available, often faster, though the range of providers varies.
• Fully private: fastest, most expensive, and requires you to check that the report will be accepted downstream.

What happens after a diagnosis

A diagnosis is not the end of the process, it is the point at which decisions begin. The main options are medication, psychological support, workplace or study adjustments, and practical strategies. Many people use a combination.

Medication, usually a stimulant or a non-stimulant such as atomoxetine, is initiated by a prescriber and adjusted over weeks. It is not a cure and it does not teach skills, which is why coaching and psychological work are often part of the picture. For adults diagnosed later in life, there is frequently a period of re-reading the past, and that is worth having support for rather than managing alone. Our article on ADHD therapy for adults covers what psychological support adds.

If you were also experiencing anxiety, low mood or burnout, those need attention in their own right. The ADHD therapy service page explains how clinicians work with the overlap rather than treating one problem as the explanation for everything.

A diagnosis of ADHD is a clinical judgement about a lifelong pattern of difficulties and their impact, made by a trained clinician using a developmental history, diagnostic criteria and a consideration of alternatives. It cannot be established by a questionnaire score alone.

How to choose a provider without wasting money

Ask these questions before you book, and treat vague answers as a warning.

1. Who will assess me, and what is their specialist training in adult ADHD?
2. How long does the assessment take, and across how many appointments?
3. Is a written report included, and what does it contain?
4. Can you prescribe if I am diagnosed, and who monitors me afterwards?
5. Will you enter a shared care agreement with my GP, and what do you need from them?
6. What is the total cost for the first year, including titration and reviews?
7. What is your policy if the assessment concludes I do not have ADHD?

That last question tells you a great deal. A service that can only diagnose, and has no pathway for a negative or complex outcome, is selling a product rather than providing an assessment.

What to prepare before your appointment

Preparation makes the assessment more accurate and often shortens it.

• Collect school reports if you have them, particularly any that mention attention, organisation, behaviour or underachievement.
• Ask a parent or sibling to complete an informant questionnaire and to recall what you were like between ages six and twelve.
• Write down the specific difficulties with examples: missed deadlines, lost items, abandoned projects, interruptions, difficulty starting tasks.
• Note when the difficulties began and whether they have been lifelong rather than recent.
• List any current medication, sleep problems, and significant stress or hormonal changes, since these affect attention.
• Bring the questions you want answered, including what the diagnosis would and would not change for you.

How Mind a Porter fits in

Mind a Porter connects you with psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists across London for online and in-person work, including clinicians who support adults through and after a neurodevelopmental assessment. If you are waiting for an assessment, or have just received one, psychological support can run alongside it rather than after it.

• Use the matching questionnaire to describe what you are struggling with and be matched to clinicians who work with adult ADHD.
• Browse therapists directly if you already know the kind of support you want.
• Book a short discovery call to ask how a clinician works with ADHD, executive function and the anxiety that so often accompanies it.

FAQ

Can a GP diagnose ADHD?

A GP can refer you, and can share care once a specialist has diagnosed and stabilised treatment, but a GP does not usually make the diagnosis itself. Diagnosis normally sits with a specialist clinician or team.

How long does a private assessment take from first contact to report?

Commonly two to six weeks in total: a wait for the appointment, one to three appointments of 45 to 90 minutes, then two to four weeks for the report. Some providers offer faster turnaround at a premium.

Is a private diagnosis accepted by the NHS?

It can be, but acceptance is not automatic. GPs are entitled to satisfy themselves that the assessment was adequate, which is why choosing a provider that already works with shared care agreements matters.

What if the assessment says I do not have ADHD?

A good assessment will tell you what it thinks is going on instead, whether that is anxiety, depression, trauma, a sleep disorder or something else, and will recommend a route forward. That outcome is still useful, even though it costs the same.

Sources

• NICE NG87, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management
• NHS, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• NHS, Right to Choose
• NHS, ADHD in adults
• Royal College of Psychiatrists, ADHD in adults