NHS IVF funding: 14 things to check about the rules where you live

In England, NICE recommends and your local NHS decides

In England, integrated care boards (ICBs) decide who can have NHS-funded IVF. NICE’s guideline is a recommendation, and the HFEA points out that ICBs are still free to make their own decisions. NICE itself says very few areas in England offer IVF in line with its recommendations.

Sources: Department of Health and Social Care, HFEA, NICE

The NICE guideline changed in March 2026

NICE’s guideline NG257 replaced the 2013 guideline (CG156) on 31 March 2026. For women, and trans men and non-binary people with female reproductive organs, who meet its criteria, it recommends:

• under 40: an initial 3 full cycles, and after that, up to 3 further full cycles may be considered
• aged 40 or 41, with no previous IVF: 1 full cycle

NICE no longer recommends NHS IVF from the 42nd birthday. Some NHS pages still show the old 40 to 42 age band.

Sources: NICE (1), NICE (2)

Check what your area means by “a cycle”

NICE’s full cycle is one round of ovarian stimulation and the transfer of all the fresh and frozen embryos from it. Many areas fund less. In September 2025, 27 of the 38 ICBs with published information funded cycles that don’t meet NICE’s definition. In some areas, one cycle means one fresh embryo transfer, and freezing other embryos for later is paid for by you.

Ask: “Does a funded cycle include frozen embryo transfers?”

Sources: NICE, Department of Health and Social Care, HFEA

Check how many cycles are funded

As at September 2025, 27 ICBs funded 1 cycle, 8 funded 2 and 3 funded 3, with 4 policies under review. Many ICBs merged on 1 April 2026, and rules can change mid-year. NHS Kent and Medway, for example, changed its criteria in 2026, then reinstated its previous policy while it reviews them.

Sources: Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, NHS Kent and Medway

Check the age limits, both upper and lower

Local age limits vary a lot. In September 2025, some ICBs funded IVF only up to age 35, and some set a minimum age too. NICE’s upper limit is now the 42nd birthday.

Sources: Department of Health and Social Care, NICE

Check the BMI and smoking rules

The Department of Health and Social Care says most ICBs require a BMI between 19 and 30 for the person who will be pregnant, and both partners to be non-smokers. These cut-offs come from local and national policies. NICE gives advice on weight and smoking but doesn’t set them as eligibility rules.

Sources: Department of Health and Social Care, NICE

Check the rule on existing children

In September 2025, 30 of 38 ICBs didn’t fund IVF if either partner had a child from a current or previous relationship, and this can include adopted children. In Scotland and Wales, couples can be funded if one partner has no living child.

Sources: Department of Health and Social Care, Fertility Scotland (NHS Scotland), NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee

Check how previous IVF counts

NICE says any previous full cycle counts towards the NHS total, whether it was self-funded or NHS-funded. Local rules range from no previous cycles at all to no more than two. In Wales and Northern Ireland, three or more previous IVF cycles rule out NHS treatment.

Sources: NICE, Department of Health and Social Care, NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

Check how long you need to have been trying

NICE recommends IVF after 2 years of trying without a known cause, after 12 cycles of artificial insemination (at least 6 by IUI), or where there’s a diagnosed cause that other treatments can’t help.

For tests, NICE recommends assessing both partners after 1 year of trying, or after 6 cycles of insemination, and straight away if you’re 36 or over or there’s a known cause. It now also says that a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy during these timeframes shouldn’t mean starting them again. Check whether your area’s policy says the same.

Sources: NICE (1), NICE (9)

Female same-sex couples: check who pays for insemination first

NICE’s route to IVF for people using donor sperm is 12 cycles of artificial insemination, at least 6 by IUI, but it doesn’t say who pays for them. In September 2025, most ICBs expected 6 to 12 rounds to be self-funded, and only 4 funded 6 rounds on the NHS. A 2022 government commitment to end self-funding was part of a strategy that has since been withdrawn.

In Scotland, donor insemination for same-sex couples is NHS-funded.

Sources: NICE, Department of Health and Social Care, GOV.UK, Fertility Scotland (NHS Scotland)

Single people: check your area’s policy carefully

The rules differ most for single people. Wales’s published policy includes single women and single men. Scotland doesn’t currently fund IVF for single women, but a review that started in August 2026 is looking at this and reports by summer 2027. In England, check your ICB’s policy.

HFEA figures show opposite-sex couples were three times as likely to have NHS funding as single patients and female same-sex couples.

Sources: NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee, Scottish Government, HFEA

Check how long embryo storage is funded

NHS-funded storage of frozen embryos has a time limit. In September 2025 it ranged from none to 5 years across English ICBs. It’s 1 year after egg collection in Wales, and 2 years in Northern Ireland. After that, you can usually keep paying for storage yourself.

Sources: Department of Health and Social Care, NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

How to find your own ICB’s policy

Start with your GP. You can find your ICB on the NHS website’s list (there are 36 since the April 2026 mergers), then search its website for “assisted conception”, “fertility” or “IVF”. Some policies sit inside larger documents with names like “treatment access policy”.

In some areas, funded treatment has to be approved before it starts, and there’s a route for cases outside the criteria. In Kent and Medway, for example, the treating doctor requests prior approval, and if you don’t meet the criteria they can make an individual funding request if they think your case is exceptional or rare.

Ask: “Has funding been approved before my treatment starts?”

Sources: NHS (17), NHS (18), Department of Health and Social Care, NHS Kent and Medway

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Outside England, the rules are set nationally.

• Scotland: up to 3 full cycles for eligible new patients. Fresh cycles must start by the 40th birthday. A review reports by summer 2027.
• Wales: the current published policy (2017) offers 2 cycles to women under 40 who meet the criteria, and 1 cycle at 40 to 42 for women who have never had IVF and meet further conditions. Its review date has passed, so check with your GP or health board.
• Northern Ireland: 1 full cycle at the Regional Fertility Centre in Belfast, for women added to the waiting list from 1 October 2022.

In 2024, 54% of IVF cycles at clinics in Scotland were NHS-funded, compared with 50% in Northern Ireland, 35% in Wales and 25% in England.

Sources: Scottish Government, Fertility Scotland (NHS Scotland), NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee, Department of Health (Northern Ireland), HFEA