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Badge terms

The badge is the graphic of an award that a GP practice has earned in open data. The award is free and always public. The only thing we license is the graphic. This page says what applies to it, in plain English.

The award and the badge are two different things

The award, for example Top-rated in Leeds 2026, is worked out from the 2026 GP Patient Survey and NHS England’s appointment and phone data, in the same way for every practice. It costs nothing, cannot be bought and is never taken away because a practice does not take a licence. How it is worked out is on the method page.

The badge is the graphic of the award: the image on the web, the picture file and the printable award. Only the graphic is licensed. Saying in words that the practice has earned the award needs no licence.

A licence never changes a result, a place or how a practice is shown

A licence never changes a Practice Grade, a label, a place on a list or how visible a practice is on Practice Grade. The practice page looks the same with and without a licence, and the awards are worked out the same way for everyone. The badge is the one thing on the site that a practice pays for, and we say so on the page for GP practices.

What the graphic shows

The graphic shows what it rests on. It carries the award’s name with its area or level and its year, the words Licensed graphic, the sources (2026 GP Patient Survey + GP appointments) and a short address where anyone can check that the badge is genuine. The image is drawn from our data each time it is shown.

The graphic may not be redrawn, cropped, recoloured or placed so that the year, the source or the address is hidden. It must always link to its check page.

One award year at a time, nothing renews by itself

A licence covers one award year and lasts until the 2027 GP Patient Survey is published (expected July 2027). You pay once for the year: £295 per practice, or the founding price of £195, which is kept for the 2027 award as well, for the first 25 licences or until 31 January 2027, whichever comes first. Prices exclude VAT. We invoice from Sweden, so there is no Swedish VAT; a VAT-registered practice accounts for any UK VAT itself under the reverse charge.

We switch a badge on only after the practice has confirmed the price in writing and sent its invoice details. There is no subscription. A licence never renews by itself, and we never charge for a new year without a new and clear yes. If you want to carry on, we agree a new year together. If you say nothing, the licence ends with its year.

The award is decided again each time a new survey is published. Between two surveys it does not change with the monthly updates on the site.

When the award is not renewed

If a new survey shows that the practice no longer holds the award, or the licence ends, the badge on the web switches itself off. It then shows No active badge instead, without the practice having to do anything. The check page and the printable award exist only for a licensed practice and go when the licence ends. The graphic should then be taken down from the practice’s own pages and print.

The award holds for the year it names. If the practice closes, the award ends with it. The practice may always state it in words with its year, for example Top-rated in Leeds 2026, but not describe it as current once a newer year has a different result. No fee is refunded because a later survey gives a different result.

How the award may be described

Wording that is always allowed, with or without a licence.

  • Top-rated in [area] [year], according to Practice Grade
  • Top 10% in England [year]: a Practice Grade among the highest 10% in England, according to Practice Grade
  • Practice Grade [figure] out of 100, from the 2026 GP Patient Survey and NHS appointment and phone data

None of this is allowed, in words or with the graphic.

  • Leaving out the year, or making an older award look current.
  • Making the award sound bigger than it is, for example best in England, number one or best in the region.
  • Saying that Practice Grade recommends, approves, endorses, certifies or guarantees the practice, or that the award comes from the NHS, the Care Quality Commission, Ipsos or any other public body. The badge is not an NHS mark: keep it apart from the NHS logo and the practice’s CQC rating.
  • Promising patients anything because of the award, or placing the badge beside offers of private services.
  • Showing the graphic for another practice than the one that earned the award, or after the licence has ended.
  • Letting anyone else use the graphic.

Existing licences

If your practice already has a licence, the agreement it made applies for the whole of its year. This page changes no terms in an existing agreement and no graphic already delivered.

Questions

What the badge includes, group prices and how to take a licence are on the page for GP practices. We answer questions about these terms at hej@vardbetyg.se.