If you do not respond within 60 days, a notification will be raised with your GP practice indicating that your address details may be out of date.

Your GP practice will then review the information they hold and, where appropriate, make reasonable attempts to contact you.

Following this review, they may confirm your existing details, update your address, or – where there is evidence that you are no longer resident at the recorded address or no longer under the practice’s care – remove you from their patient list.

This is not a scam, it is a legitimate communication.

Your GP surgery should be aware, as communications were sent out to them by NHS England. It may not have been communicated to all practice staff, such as receptionists.

If you are still concerned, please speak to the practice manager.

This process is set out within the Policy and Guidance Manual used to support the management of patient registration records.

If you are not the named patient, but wish to confirm the address on their behalf, you can only do this if the patient is an adult who lacks capacity (for example, they are not able, they have dementia), and you are on of the following:

• a relative of that person
• the primary carer of that person,
• a donee of a lasting power of attorney granted by that person
• a deputy appointed for that person by the court under the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 M2.

Apart from these circumstances, third parties should not be completing this process on behalf of another.

If you cannot or do not want to create an NHS account, you do not have to; this is not mandatory. You can choose one of the other options in the letter/email.

However, to use the ‘confirm your address’ function, you will need an NHS login.

Some people cannot use this feature, including:

• anyone under 16
• people with ‘sensitive status’ on their record
• people registered with a specialist GP, such as:
  • Defence Medical Services (DMS)
  • Ministry of Defence (MOD)
  • Prison and Young Offender
• people who do not use NHS login

You might not know if you have ‘sensitive status’ or if you are registered with a specialist GP.

If you’re not sure, contact your GP surgery for help.

The letter is from PCSE, sent out on behalf of NHS England.

If you receive a letter that is not addressed to you, please return it to the NHS; details will be given on the envelope.

Once it has been returned, the patient named in the letter will be removed from the GP patient list as part of this process.

You do not need to do anything.

If we do not receive a response within 60 days, the patient named in the email or text message will be removed from the GP patient list as part of this process.

Please contact the NHS England Customer Contact Centre; either by email at england.contactus@nhs.net, or by calling 0300 311 22 33. They will take the relevant details, and take action accordingly.

Patients currently do not receive confirmation.

Once your information is processed, a notification is sent to the the clinical system of the relevant GP practice, instructing them to update your details as appropriate.

You should only contact the GP if the information is wrong – as per the communication you will have received.

Please follow 1 of the 3 options in the communication you received to confirm your address.

Before a patient is removed from a GP list, a number of steps are taken to verify their details. GP practices are required to follow established NHS procedures when reviewing patient registrations.

All GP list maintenance is in line with best practices, as outlined in the NHS England Primary Medical Service Policy and Guidance manual.

The wording of these communications is developed through extensive user research and consultation with members of the public, NHS England stakeholders, and subject matter experts to ensure it is clear, accurate, and fit for purpose.

The reference to potential removal from a GP practice list is included to provide transparent information about the possible outcome if address details cannot be confirmed.

It is intended to explain the process clearly, rather than to cause concern or distress.

NHS England regularly reviews patient communications and welcomes feedback to help improve their clarity, accessibility, and overall user experience.

Patients have 60 days to respond to communications before a notification is raised with their GP practice, indicating that they may no longer be registered at the recorded address, or that their address details may be out of date.

This notification remains on the patient’s record for up to 3 months; or until it is reviewed by the practice.

GP practices will use the information available to them to verify the patient’s details (for example, whether the patient has had a recent appointment), making reasonable attempts to contact them where appropriate.

Following this review, the practice may confirm the existing address, update the patient’s details, or, where there is evidence, the patient is no longer under their care, remove them from the practice list.

The email you’ve received is a real message from NHS England.

You’ve been contacted because the NHS needs to check that your address details are correct.

Please follow the instructions in the email to confirm your home address.

• The email will come from noreply.nhs.confirm.your.address@nhs.net

(this is a no reply service)

• The SMS will come from ‘NHSdetails’ if you have a smart phone

If you are experiencing technical errors while changing your home address, you could:

• wait 24 hours before trying again
• use a different wifi or internet cable connection
• use a different device
• try a different internet browser such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari

If you are still having trouble logging in, please contact the NHS England Customer Contact Centre for support, via the following routes:

By email: england.contactus@nhs.net

Phone: 0300 311 22 33

Make sure you have entered your email and password correctly.

If you still cannot log in, this may have happened if the details in your message/letter do not match the details in the Personal Demographics Service (PDS).

If you are still having trouble logging in, please contact the NHS England Customer Contact Centre for support as follows:

• By email: england.contactus@nhs.net
• Phone: 0300 311 22 33

When you call or contact us you will need to tell us:

• the reference number, for example ‘PLI_0001’
• your NHS number
• the date you received this message/letter
• that your home address has not changed

You can find it on any letter the NHS has sent you, on a prescription or by contacting your GP.

You can also the ‘Find your NHS number’ service on the nhs.uk website.