Getting a sick certificate online in Ireland

A sick certificate (medical certificate) confirms that a doctor assessed you and considers you unfit for work or study for a stated period. In Ireland most employers accept self-certification for the first day or two and then ask for a doctor's certificate; your contract or staff handbook sets the exact threshold.

What the certificate contains

• Your name and date of birth.
• The dates you are certified unfit for work.
• The date of the consultation.
• The doctor's name, Irish Medical Council registration number and signature.

A diagnosis is not required and is usually omitted. Your employer is entitled to know that you are unfit and for how long — not what is wrong with you.

How it works online

1. Book a consultation and describe your symptoms to the GP.
2. The GP assesses you and decides whether certification is clinically appropriate.
3. If it is, the certificate is issued as a signed PDF, usually within the same working day.
4. You forward the PDF to your employer, school or college.

Back-dating

A GP can certify a period that has already begun where the history supports it — for example, you were vomiting from Monday and are consulting on Wednesday. What no doctor can do is certify a period they have no basis to assess, or issue a certificate without a consultation at all.

Illness Benefit

Claims to the Department of Social Protection are made on the specific IB1 form issued by a doctor with the required certification process; a private PDF certificate for your employer is a different document. If you need to claim Illness Benefit, say so at the start of the consultation so the GP can advise on the correct route.

Share this guide