Guide | Getting paid
How to invoice as a locum in the UK: what to include and how to get paid
To invoice as a self-employed locum in the UK, send each organisation an invoice with a unique number, your name and address, the organisation's name and address, the dates and description of the sessions or shifts you worked, your rate and the total, the invoice date, and your payment terms and bank details. You do not need your UTR on it, and most clinical locum work is exempt from VAT.
If the organisation pays late, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 lets you add statutory interest and a fixed compensation sum. This guide covers both, with the official source for each rule.
Checked on against the primary sources listed at the end of this page.
What must a locum invoice include?
GOV.UK's guidance on what invoices must include sets the minimum for any business, and it applies to locums like everyone else:
- a unique identification number (your invoice number);
- your name or business name, address and contact information;
- the name and address of the organisation you are invoicing;
- a clear description of what you are charging for;
- the date the service was provided (for a locum, the date of each session or shift);
- the date of the invoice;
- the amounts being charged, VAT if applicable, and the total amount owed.
A sole trader shows their own name and any business name they use, and an address where legal documents can be delivered if they trade under a business name. A limited company shows its full name exactly as it appears on the certificate of incorporation, and if any director is named, all of them must be.
What should each line on a locum invoice show?
The legal minimum does not tell an accounts team what they are paying for. A locum invoice that gets paid first time usually shows:
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Date and times of each session or shift | The organisation can match it to its rota, and it records the supply date GOV.UK asks for. |
| Hours or sessions, and the rate | Hourly and sessional rates are both common; show the unit so the total can be checked. |
| Agreed extras, such as mileage or parking | Only what was agreed. Billing a cost back does not stop it being a business expense in your accounts. |
| Payment terms and the due date | A printed due date settles when the invoice becomes late. |
| Your bank name, sort code and account number | Without them the invoice cannot be paid, however quickly it is approved. |
| Your registration number, if the organisation asks for it | Not a legal requirement for an invoice, but some organisations want it for their records. |
Number invoices in one running sequence and never reuse a number, even for an invoice you cancel: issue a new one and note what it replaces. Our free locum invoice template lays all of this out and produces a PDF.
Do I need my UTR or National Insurance number on an invoice?
No. Neither is on the GOV.UK list above. Your Unique Taxpayer Reference identifies you to HMRC for Self Assessment, and the organisation paying you has no use for it on an invoice. Keep both off the document; it is one less piece of personal data travelling through someone else's inbox.
Do locums charge VAT?
Most do not. HMRC's VAT Notice 701/57 exempts services when three things are true: you are on the appropriate statutory register (the GMC, GPhC, NMC, HCPC, GDC or GOC, for example), the services are within the profession you are registered in, and their primary purpose is the protection, maintenance or restoration of the health of the person concerned. Clinical sessions treating patients are the standard case.
The position changes if you work through your own limited company. A company that supplies the services of a healthcare professional, other than a doctor, to work under the client's direction can be making a taxable supply of staff rather than an exempt supply of care: section 6 of Notice 701/57 explains the difference. HMRC's 2026 clarification for locum doctors supplied through their own companies does not extend to other professions, so a pharmacist or nurse with a company should check before assuming the exemption.
Exempt income is not taxable turnover, so it does not count towards the £90,000 VAT registration threshold. Some work can fall outside the exemption, medico-legal reports being the usual example, and that income does count. If a growing share of your income is non-clinical, ask an accountant before you pass the threshold, not after. If you are not VAT registered, do not show VAT or a VAT number on your invoices.
What payment terms can a locum set?
Any terms you and the organisation agree; write them on the invoice as a due date. Where nothing was agreed, section 4 of the Late Payment Act makes the debt due at the end of 30 days that begin with the later of the day you did the work and the day the organisation received the invoice. Agreed terms longer than 60 days with a business buyer are cut back to 60 unless they are not grossly unfair to you, and a public authority is held to 30.
Send the invoice promptly. The 30-day clock cannot start until the organisation has it, and for locum GPs a late payment can also put pensionable work at risk under the 10-week rule explained in our guide to NHS pension Forms A and B for locum GPs.
How do I chase a late locum invoice?
- Check it arrived. A day or two after the due date, resend the invoice with its number, amount, due date and bank details, and ask whether anything is missing.
- Chase in writing. If nothing comes, write again and say that statutory interest and fixed compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 apply from the day after the due date.
- Claim the interest if you choose to. GOV.UK says you claim it by sending a new invoice showing the interest and compensation. Statutory interest is 8% over the Bank of England reference rate; for interest that starts between 1 July 2026 and 31 December 2026 the reference rate is 3.75%, so the rate is 11.75% a year.
- Add the fixed sum. Section 5A adds £40 for a debt under £1,000, £70 for £1,000 to £9,999.99, and £100 for £10,000 or more.
- Escalate. A letter before action with a final deadline, and then a court claim, are the last steps. Take advice first if the sum is large.
The Act covers business to business contracts. It does not cover a bank shift paid through payroll, and it gives way where your contract sets its own interest rate. Our late payment interest calculator works out the interest and compensation for a given invoice.
How long do I keep locum invoices?
At least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline for the tax year they belong to. An invoice for work in June 2026 falls in the 2026/27 tax year, whose return is due by 31 January 2028, so keep it until at least 31 January 2033. Keep the version you actually sent, not one you have edited since.
Reference notes | Questions
Frequently asked questions
What must a locum invoice include?
GOV.UK lists a unique invoice number, your name or business name with an address and contact details, the name and address of the organisation you are invoicing, a clear description of the work, the date the work was done, the invoice date, the amounts charged, VAT if applicable, and the total owed. In practical terms, add the dates and hours of each session or shift, your rate, your payment terms or due date, and your bank details so the organisation can pay you.
Do I need to put my UTR on a locum invoice?
No. Your Unique Taxpayer Reference and National Insurance number are not on GOV.UK's list of what an invoice must include. They identify you to HMRC, not to the organisation paying you, so there is no need to print them on an invoice.
Do locums charge VAT on their invoices?
Usually not. HMRC's VAT Notice 701/57 exempts services from a professional on the appropriate statutory register, within their profession, whose primary purpose is protecting, maintaining or restoring health. Exempt income does not count towards the £90,000 VAT registration threshold. Some work, such as medico-legal reports, can fall outside the exemption, so take advice if you do a lot of it. If you are not VAT registered, do not show VAT or a VAT number.
What payment terms should a locum use?
Whatever you agree with the organisation, written on the invoice as a due date. If no date was agreed, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 makes the debt due 30 days after the later of the day you did the work and the day the organisation received your invoice. Agreed terms longer than 60 days with a business are limited unless they are not grossly unfair to you.
Can I charge interest on a late locum invoice?
Usually, when you invoice as a self-employed business. Statutory interest is 8% over the Bank of England reference rate, which makes it 11.75% a year for interest that starts between 1 July 2026 and 31 December 2026, plus a fixed sum of £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt. It does not apply to pay from an employer, or where your contract sets its own interest rate.
How long should I keep copies of my invoices?
At least 5 years after the 31 January Self Assessment deadline for the tax year the invoice belongs to, according to GOV.UK's guidance on business records for the self-employed.
Turn logged sessions into invoices
Sessional builds each invoice from the sessions you log, numbers it, and keeps the exact PDF you sent, so a resend or a chase attaches the original. On Plus and Pro it chases overdue invoices for you at 14, 21 and 28 days past the due date. Basic is free with no card.
Sources
Each source below was read on unless it says otherwise. Rules and rates change: check the source before you rely on a figure, and tell us if something here is out of date.
- GOV.UK, invoicing and taking payment from customers: what invoices must include: the items every invoice must include, the extra items for sole traders and limited companies, and that VAT invoices are needed when both sides are VAT registered
- HMRC, VAT Notice 701/57: health professionals and pharmaceutical products: that services are exempt when the professional is on the appropriate statutory register, the services are within that profession, and their primary purpose is the protection, maintenance or restoration of health
- GOV.UK, VAT registration: when to register: the £90,000 threshold on taxable turnover over the last 12 months, and that VAT-exempt supplies are not taxable turnover
- Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, section 4: the 30-day default period when no payment date is agreed, and the 60-day limit on agreed terms with a business unless not grossly unfair
- Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, section 5A: the fixed sums of £40, £70 and £100 by size of debt
- GOV.UK, late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery: the daily interest method, that a contract rate replaces statutory interest, and that you send a new invoice showing the interest and compensation
- GOV.UK, business records if you're self-employed: how long to keep your records: that records are kept for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the tax year they relate to
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