How to get Wegovy in the UK: eligibility, routes and what happens next

What the clinical trial evidence established, and why it shaped the rules

The licensing criteria for Wegovy are not arbitrary. They follow directly from the STEP 1 trial, a 68-week study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which enrolled adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 or above with at least one weight-related condition. Participants on 2.4mg semaglutide alongside lifestyle changes achieved an average body-weight reduction of around 15%. That evidence is what regulators used to draw the licence, so when you ask whether you qualify, the answer comes back to the same numbers the trial used.

The MHRA's approval and the subsequent NICE recommendation both confirm that Wegovy is indicated alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, not as a standalone treatment. That wraparound support is built into the assessment, not an optional extra.

A question our prescribers hear most weeks is whether someone with a BMI just below 30 can still qualify. The honest answer: not under the standard licence. The 27-or-above route only applies when a weight-related condition is also documented, prediabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnoea, dyslipidaemia and osteoarthritis are among the conditions that count. BMI alone never decides approval; the prescriber weighs up the full clinical picture.

How the NHS route to Wegovy actually works

On the NHS, access to Wegovy sits under NICE TA875, which recommends semaglutide only when prescribed within a specialist weight management service offering multidisciplinary support. That means a tier 3 or tier 4 service in most cases, not a standard GP appointment. The criteria are strict: a BMI of 35 or above plus at least one weight-related comorbidity (with thresholds typically 2.5 kg/m² lower for South Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean backgrounds), and the maximum treatment duration is two years under that recommendation.

In practice, referral waiting times to specialist services vary significantly by area, and many NHS patients wait months before an initial assessment. If you want to understand the NHS BMI thresholds in more detail, our guide to the BMI criteria for Wegovy sets out what applies in different situations.

It is also worth checking whether your GP practice participates in the newer NHS prescribing arrangements. From April 2026 some GP practices began prescribing tirzepatide under a revised GP contract, a separate pathway from the Wegovy specialist-service route. Wegovy on the NHS remains specialist-service-led for now. If you want to know specifically about asking your GP, our page on getting Wegovy from a GP covers that in full.

Getting Wegovy privately through a regulated pharmacy

For people in the UK who do not meet the NHS criteria, are not prepared to wait, or simply want a faster and more straightforward route, a private prescription is the alternative. The legal requirement is exactly the same (a prescriber must assess suitability before any supply) but the process is faster.

At nume, the route works like this: you complete a free online consultation, which is reviewed the same day by a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber, a real clinician reading your answers, not software processing them. Identity and weight are verified before approval. If you are clinically suitable and order before 12pm Monday to Friday, treatment is dispatched the same day and arrives free the next working day via tracked DPD delivery. Our Wegovy overview page covers the medicine itself in more detail.

One transparent price covers the consultation, the prescription, the medicine and delivery. There are no subscription locks and no auto-renewals; every repeat order gets a fresh clinical review. For context on what private treatment typically costs, the Wegovy prices page gives an honest breakdown, including what to check when comparing providers. You can verify any online pharmacy's registration on the GPhC pharmacy register before sharing personal information.

What eligibility does and does not guarantee

Meeting the BMI threshold gets you to the consultation. It does not guarantee a prescription. A prescriber will also consider your medical history, any medicines you currently take, and whether there are contraindications, a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 are examples of conditions that rule out GLP-1 treatment. Wegovy is not recommended during pregnancy, while breastfeeding, or for those trying to conceive, and it is not licensed for under-18s.

Some interactions also matter practically. If you take oral contraceptives, the absorption of the pill may be affected during GLP-1 treatment, your prescriber can advise on this. Our page on whether Wegovy is available free addresses cost concerns, and if you have questions about specific medicines alongside it, the ibuprofen and Wegovy page is a starting point for those interactions.

If you think you may be eligible and want a clear answer quickly, starting a free consultation is the practical next step. Our prescribers will tell you plainly whether Wegovy is suitable for you, and if it is not, they will say so.

Start your free consultation with our clinical team.