Do you qualify for weight loss injections?

Step 1, Check whether your BMI and health profile meet the licensed threshold

The two licensed weight loss injections currently available in the UK are tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro, and semaglutide, sold as Wegovy. Both share broadly similar eligibility criteria, drawn from their UK licences and NICE guidance.

The standard starting point is a BMI of 30 or above. If your BMI sits between 27 and 29.9, you may still qualify if you have at least one weight-related comorbidity, the kinds of conditions the prescriber is looking for include type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnoea, raised cholesterol or osteoarthritis. One condition is enough.

Ethnic background matters here too. UK clinical guidance (including NICE's appraisal of tirzepatide (TA1026)) sets thresholds roughly 2.5 kg/m² lower for South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African and African-Caribbean backgrounds, because health risks from excess weight occur at lower BMI values in these groups. So if you are, say, of South Asian heritage, a BMI of 27.5 with a qualifying condition could open the door.

Not sure where you stand? The NHS BMI calculator is a straightforward tool you can use right now before going any further.

Step 2, Understand the conditions that affect suitability

Hitting the BMI number is necessary but not sufficient. How you qualify for weight loss injections also depends on what else is in your medical history. Prescribers look carefully at conditions that rule out treatment or require extra caution.

These medicines are not suitable during pregnancy, breastfeeding or if you are actively trying to conceive. They are not licensed for under-18s. A personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or a condition called MEN2 (multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2) is a contraindication. Certain gastrointestinal conditions (including a previous episode of pancreatitis) also require a detailed prescriber conversation before treatment can go ahead.

Other medicines you take matter, particularly if you use oral contraceptives. Women starting tirzepatide are advised to add a non-oral method of contraception for the first four weeks of treatment and for four weeks after each dose increase, because the medicine can reduce how well the pill is absorbed. NHS England's guidance on weight management injections covers this interaction clearly and is worth reading before your consultation.

None of this is a reason not to apply. It is a reason to be thorough, which is exactly what a same-day clinical review by a real prescriber is designed to handle.

Step 3, Know how the NHS route differs from private access

If you are wondering how to qualify for weight loss injections through the NHS specifically, the answer is that the criteria are currently stricter than the private licensed thresholds, and access is being phased in over time. From June 2025, NHS tirzepatide became available to people with a BMI of 40 or above plus four or more of five specified conditions: high blood pressure, dyslipidaemia, obstructive sleep apnoea, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. A second cohort (BMI 35–39.9 with four or more conditions) became eligible from June 2026.

Wegovy is available on the NHS through specialist weight management services under a separate NICE recommendation, though waiting lists for those services are often long in practice. For a fuller picture of what the qualifying criteria look like across both medicines, that page breaks it down in detail.

Private treatment through a GPhC-registered pharmacy is the route most people take when they meet the licensed criteria but not the NHS thresholds, or when they prefer not to wait. It does not require a GP referral. The cost of weight loss injections privately covers the treatment itself, the clinical assessment, the prescription and delivery, there are no separate add-ons with a legitimate provider.

Step 4, What a private consultation actually involves

At nume, how you qualify for weight loss injections is through a free online consultation reviewed the same day by a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber. A named clinician reads your answers, not an algorithm, not an automated flag system. They check your health history, your current medicines, your BMI against verified weight evidence and your photographic ID.

If your application is approved, treatment is dispatched the same day for orders received by midday on a working day, arriving the next working day in a plain, unbranded DPD parcel. The pen itself is a pre-filled device, you do not need to draw up a syringe or manage vials. Every subsequent repeat order goes through the same clinical review; there are no auto-renewals and no subscriptions.

Our overview of weight loss injections explains what each treatment involves in practice. If you would like to know more about the clinical team making these decisions, our prescribers' background is on the site. And if eligibility is your main concern right now, the full eligibility guide goes deeper on edge cases and borderline BMI situations.

If you think you meet the criteria and want a proper clinical assessment, start your free consultation, there is no charge to apply and no obligation until a prescriber has reviewed your case.