A short, plain policy telling patients how much notice you need to cancel or move an appointment, what happens if they give less or do not attend, and when you will waive it. It suits any practice that takes bookings from private patients.
A policy only works if patients saw it before they booked and it reads as fair. Most of the value is in the reminders that stop the no-show happening, not in the fee.
The UK standards it rests on
Consumer Rights Act 2015 (unfair terms)
Terms in consumer contracts must be fair and transparent. A fee that is out of proportion to your real loss, or a term hidden in small print, risks being unenforceable.
Competition and Markets Authority guidance on unfair contract terms
The regulator's guidance on how the fairness test is applied, including to cancellation charges and deposits.
HCPC Standards of conduct, performance and ethics
Patients' interests come first. A policy should never stop someone getting care they clinically need or penalise someone too unwell to attend.
Must include
The notice period, stated in hours
24 or 48 hours is common. A plain number is easier to defend than "reasonable notice".
What a late cancellation or no-show costs
State the fee or percentage. It should reflect what you actually lose, typically the unfilled slot, not act as a penalty.
How to cancel
Give every channel that counts (phone, email, the booking link) so patients cannot say they had no way to tell you.
Exceptions and discretion
Emergencies, illness and bereavement. Saying you will use discretion makes the policy fairer and easier to apply.
When and how the patient agreed to it
Show the policy at booking and record acknowledgement. A term the patient never saw is hard to rely on.
Optional
A first-occurrence waiver
Waiving the first missed appointment keeps goodwill and still sets the expectation.
Lateness rule
Explains that a late arrival gets the remaining time at the full fee, so the next patient is not delayed.
Insured patients
Insurers generally will not pay for a missed session. Say the patient is responsible for any fee.
Repeated no-shows
You may ask for payment at booking, or stop offering online booking, after a stated number of missed appointments.
The template
Replace anything in [square brackets]. Print it, save it as a PDF from the print dialog, or copy the text into your own document.
Cancellation and missed appointment policy
[Practice name] · Effective from [Date]
Why we have this policy
When an appointment is missed or cancelled at short notice, we usually cannot offer the time to another patient who needs it. This policy helps us keep appointments available.
Cancelling or changing an appointment
Please give at least [24] hours' notice if you need to cancel or move an appointment.
You can do this by: [phone number] / [email address] / [booking link].
Late cancellations and missed appointments
If you cancel with less than [24] hours' notice, or do not attend, we may charge [£amount / percentage of the appointment fee].
[Optional: We waive this the first time.]
If you arrive late, we will see you for the remaining time so other patients are not delayed. The full fee applies.
When we will not charge
We will use our discretion in genuine emergencies, sudden illness, bereavement or other circumstances outside your control. Please let us know as soon as you can.
Insurance
Most insurers do not cover missed appointments. If you are claiming through insurance, any cancellation fee is payable by you.
Acknowledgement
I have read and understand the cancellation and missed appointment policy.
On paid plans, Atlacare's form library includes a Cancellation policy agreement form that patients sign, which you can edit to match the wording you settle on. Appointment reminders reduce the number of times you need the policy at all: email reminders are included, and SMS reminders are available on paid plans once you enable SMS.
Atlacare