How to Get a Sick Cert Online in Ireland (2026 Guide)
You are ill, you are not going to work, and your employer wants something in writing. In Ireland that "something" is one of two quite different documents — and confusing them is the single most common reason people end up making a second appointment they did not need. This guide sets out what each one is, which one an online doctor can issue, and how to get it today.
The two documents people both call a "sick cert"
1. The employer certificate — the ordinary sick note
This is a short letter from a doctor confirming that you consulted them, that you are unfit for work, and for how long. It goes to your employer or your HR department. It does not need to name your diagnosis: your employer is entitled to know that you are medically unfit to work and for what period, not what is wrong with you. This is the certificate that supports a statutory sick pay claim and most company sick-pay schemes, and it is the one an online doctor can issue after a consultation.
2. The Certificate of Incapacity for Work — for Illness Benefit
This is a specific Department of Social Protection form used to claim Illness Benefit. It is not a letter to you: it carries a diagnosis coded to ICD-10 and, with your consent, the GP transmits it directly to the Department, usually through the eCert system. Because it is a government form submitted on your behalf rather than a letter handed to you, it works differently from an employer note — see the Illness Benefit guide for how to claim and what to ask your GP for.
CareCall issues the first kind. Our medical certificates cover Fit to Work certificates and Medical or Sick certificates for an employer, college or school. We do not issue the Department of Social Protection Certificate of Incapacity for Work — if you are claiming Illness Benefit you will need that from a GP who can submit it to the Department. It is worth being clear about that up front rather than after you have paid somebody.
Do you need a cert from the first day?
For statutory sick pay, yes. The Sick Leave Act 2022 requires a medical certificate covering any day you claim statutory sick pay, including the first one — there is no free uncertified day built into the scheme. If your company runs its own more generous sick-pay scheme, its rules govern, and many allow two or three days of self-certification before a doctor is involved. Check your contract or staff handbook before you assume. The detail is in do you need a sick cert from day one.
How to get a sick cert online, step by step
The process is short, and the parts that take time are the parts that should: the consultation itself, and the doctor deciding whether certifying you is clinically appropriate.
First, book an appointment. On CareCall you choose a video or phone consultation and pick a slot, including evenings and weekends. Second, describe what is going on: when the symptoms started, what they are, whether you have had them before, what medication you take. Be accurate about dates — the dates drive the certificate. Third, speak to the doctor. They will ask the same questions they would ask across a desk, and may ask you to show something on camera. Fourth, if the doctor is satisfied you are unfit for work, the certificate is prepared and emailed to you as a PDF, and it also appears in your CareCall dashboard so you can download it again later if HR loses it.
The part worth stressing: a certificate is a clinical judgement, not a purchase. A doctor who concludes you are fit for work will tell you so. Any service that guarantees a certificate before a doctor has spoken to you is promising something a registered doctor cannot ethically deliver.
Can a sick cert be backdated?
Sometimes, but not freely. A doctor can only certify what they can reasonably stand over. If you were clearly unwell over the weekend and consult on Monday with a history that fits, a doctor may certify from the earlier date. If you are asking somebody to certify a fortnight they have no evidence about, they will decline, and they are right to. Practically: consult on the first day you are out, not on the day HR chases you.
How long a cert can an online consultation produce?
Short absences are what remote consultation handles well — typically a few days up to about a week, depending entirely on your presentation. Longer or repeated absences, anything involving a chronic condition, and anything where a physical examination would change the answer belong with a GP who can examine you and who holds your records. If your illness is going to run for weeks, an online cert is a stopgap, not the plan.
What a sick cert costs in Ireland
Online services in Ireland generally sit somewhere between €25 and €60 depending on whether the certificate follows a full consultation and whether you are booking at a weekend or out of hours. An in-person GP visit is usually more, and a certificate is often charged on top. You will see CareCall's current fee for your chosen service and time before you confirm anything on the booking page — nothing is charged before you have seen the price.
If you hold a medical card or a GP visit card, your own GP practice is the cheaper route: those cards cover GP consultations with participating practices and private online services sit outside that scheme.
When an online cert is not the right route
Skip straight to in-person care if you need a Certificate of Incapacity for Work for Illness Benefit; if the absence is long, recurring or tied to a chronic condition; if the certificate is for a workplace injury or a personal-injury claim; if your employer specifically requires their own occupational-health assessment; or if your symptoms need examining — chest pain, breathlessness, severe abdominal pain, a head injury, a rash with fever. For anything urgent, contact your GP, the out-of-hours service or 112/999 rather than booking an appointment for later.
Common questions
Is an online sick cert valid?
Yes, when it comes from a doctor registered with the Irish Medical Council. Validity follows the doctor, not the medium. There is more detail, including what to do if your employer pushes back, in are online sick certs valid in Ireland.
Does my employer get told what is wrong with me?
No. The certificate confirms that you are unfit for work and for what period. Your diagnosis is confidential between you and the doctor unless you choose to share it.
Can I get a cert for my child, or for a family member I am caring for?
A doctor certifies the person they consult with. For a child, the consultation is about the child and a parent or guardian takes part. Time off to care for someone else is a different matter — that is leave under your employment terms rather than a certificate of your own incapacity.
How fast can I get one?
CareCall runs appointments seven days a week, including outside normal surgery hours, so a same-day certificate is usually achievable. The certificate is issued after the consultation, not before it.
This article is general information about healthcare in Ireland, not medical advice, and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows your history. Guidance and rates change — check gov.ie, citizensinformation.ie or the HSE for the current position. If you are seriously unwell, contact your GP, the out-of-hours service or 112/999.