Sick Note vs. Doctor's Note: Same Thing? A Doctor Explains

Adam Z. Kawalek, MD

Published July 4, 2026 · 6 min read

Half the emails in my inbox call it a doctor's note. The other half call it a sick note. Every so often someone asks for a "medical certificate," and — my personal favorite — some people just ask for a sick slip. As the physician who signs these documents every day, let me clear this up once and for all: what these terms mean, whether employers treat them differently, and what makes any of them actually hold up.

Sick note and doctor's note: the same document, different countries

For a work absence in the United States, a sick note and a doctor's note are the same document: a signed statement from a licensed clinician confirming you were medically unable to work on specific dates. The different names are geography, not law. In the UK and Ireland, "sick note" is the everyday term — officially, the UK has called it a fit note (a Statement of Fitness for Work) since 2010. In Australia and India it's usually a "medical certificate." American HR departments mostly say "doctor's note," and plenty of workers say "sick note" anyway, especially anyone who grew up outside the US. Employers don't care which term you use; they care what the document contains and who signed it.

What US employers actually call it

In American workplaces you'll see three phrases used interchangeably: doctor's note (the most common), sick note, and medical documentation (the formal wording in HR policies). If your handbook says "documentation from a licensed healthcare provider," that's the same thing. None of these is a distinct legal form — the US has no government template and no requirement that the note come from your regular doctor. What matters, in every case, is that a licensed clinician reviewed your situation and signed it.

What a valid one contains

Whatever you call it, a note that holds up has the same anatomy:

• Your name, and the specific dates you were unable to work
• The clinician's signature, printed name, and credentials
• Their state license number and NPI (the federal clinician ID anyone can look up)
• A way to verify it — a phone line or, on modern notes, a QR code

Notice what's not on the list: your diagnosis. Your employer can require documentation that you were medically unable to work — they cannot require your medical details on a routine note. A note that volunteers your diagnosis without your consent is a worse note, not a better one. For how HR actually checks these, see my guide on whether employers can verify a doctor's note — and if you want to know what separates legitimate documentation from a forgery, here's what a real doctor's note looks like.

Getting a sick note online (yes, it's legitimate)

You don't need an appointment with your own doctor to get valid documentation for a routine illness. Since 2020, federal and state law have recognized telehealth — including asynchronous review, where a licensed physician evaluates your reported symptoms without a video visit — as legally equivalent to in-person care for routine documentation. You complete a short intake from your phone, a physician reviews it, and when it's clinically appropriate, your signed note arrives by email, usually the same day. And it is a genuine clinical review: if a case doesn't support documentation, it doesn't get signed.

"Can I get a sick note without seeing a GP?"

If you searched that exact phrase, you probably learned the term somewhere the GP — the general practitioner — is the gatekeeper for sick notes, the way it works in the UK. The US has no GP gatekeeping: any licensed physician can issue your documentation, including one who reviews your case online. So the practical answer is yes — in the US you can get a valid sick note without visiting a GP or a clinic at all, as long as a licensed physician reviews your case. My longer guide on getting a doctor's note without seeing a doctor covers the full legal basis.

Where state sick-leave laws come in

One nuance worth knowing: several states and cities (California, Arizona, and New York among them) have paid-sick-leave laws, and many of them limit when an employer can demand documentation at all — a common pattern is that a note can only be required once an absence runs three or more consecutive days. That doesn't change what the note is; it changes when your employer can insist on one. Check your own state's rules or your handbook. And if your employer is pushing back on a legitimate online note, here's what the rules actually say about accepting them.

The bottom line

Sick note, doctor's note, medical certificate, fit note — one document, many names. What makes it real is a licensed clinician's review and signature, verifiable credentials, and accurate dates. Where it comes from — a clinic, your own doctor, or a physician reviewing your case online — doesn't change its validity.

Adam Z. Kawalek, MD

Board-Certified Physician · Founder, SickSlip · Cedars-Sinai · Johns Hopkins

Dr. Kawalek is a hospitalist physician with 15+ years of clinical experience. He founded SickSlip to give patients fast, affordable access to legitimate medical documentation without unnecessary clinical barriers.