In Ireland, every child under the age of eight can get free visits to a family doctor through the Under 8s GP visit card. It is run by the HSE, it is not means-tested, and it does not depend on your income. If you have not registered your child yet, it is a quick job worth doing, because the visits are only free once the card is in place.
The short version
- What it is
- Free GP consultations for children under 8
- Who qualifies
- Every child under 8 living in Ireland (no income test)
- Runs until
- The end of the month of your child's 8th birthday
- Register with
- The HSE, online or by post
- You also need
- A GP who will take your child onto their panel
- Not covered
- Prescriptions and medicines, and hospital charges
What the card actually covers
The Under 8s GP visit card gives your child free consultations with their GP, both for illness and for routine concerns. Under the HSE GP contract, the scheme also includes certain routine developmental checks for young children and, for children who need it, a structured asthma care programme.
It does not cover the cost of prescriptions and medicines, or hospital charges. It also does not include out-of-hours services that fall outside your GP's own arrangements. For anything clinical, the HSE and your GP are the people to ask.
Who qualifies
Any child under 8 who is living in Ireland and intends to live here for at least a year can get the card. There is no income test, so it does not matter what you earn. If your child already has a medical card, they can already see the GP for free, so you do not need to register separately.
If your baby is very young, you can still register: for a child under four months you can apply before you have their PPS number, and the HSE will ask for it later. Our guide to getting a PPS number for your baby covers how that arrives.
Check your child's cover
Add your child's date of birth to see whether they qualify now, and the exact date the card runs until.
The GP visit card is one of several things worth claiming from this date. Your date carries across, so you will not type it again. See my full plan →
This is a simple guide based on the standard rules, not a decision. Eligibility and registration are handled by the HSE. Always confirm on the official page.
How to register, step by step
- Pick a GP who will take your child. The card only works once a participating GP has accepted your child onto their patient panel, so it helps to sort this first, especially if your practice has a waiting list.
- Register with the HSE. The quickest way is online on the HSE website. You can also fill in the Under 8s GP visit card application form and return it by post or email, or phone the HSE on 0818 22 44 78 to have a form sent out.
- Have your details ready. Your child's name and date of birth, their PPS number if you have it (not essential for a baby under four months), and the GP you have chosen.
- Wait for confirmation. Once you have registered, the HSE passes the details to your GP and your child is given a card number within a few days. Keep the confirmation so you know the card is active before your next visit.
Register early, even for a newborn. Visits are only free once the card is active, so getting it in place before the first minor illness saves you paying and claiming nothing back.
When it starts and ends
Cover runs until the end of the month of your child's eighth birthday. So if your child turns eight in July, the card lasts until 31 July that year. After that, free GP care continues only if your child qualifies for a medical card on the usual income grounds.
Checking the card, or changing your details
People go looking for a login for their card and do not find one, because there is no card account in the way you would expect. There are two separate things, and neither is a dashboard.
- To check the card is still valid, the HSE has an online eligibility status check. You do not sign in to it. You type the eight characters printed on the card, the GMS number, which mixes letters and digits and always ends in a letter.
- To change your address, you do need an HSE online account, and you have to create one if you do not already have it. If that is more trouble than it is worth for one change of address, the HSE also takes it by email at nmcu.cod@hse.ie or by post to the Medical Card and GP Visit Card Scheme Eligibility Unit, PO Box 11745, Dublin 11.
Worth keeping current for a reason that is not obvious: the HSE writes to you about the card, including when it needs to review it. An address it cannot reach is how a card lapses without anyone deciding it should.
Is there an income limit?
Not for a child under 8. The card is granted on age and residence alone, so there is nothing to declare and no figure to come in under. If you have found weekly income limits attached to a GP visit card, they belong to a different route to the same card.
The HSE grants the GP visit card two ways. Some people qualify with no means test at all: children under 8, anyone aged over 70, and people getting Carer's Benefit or Carer's Allowance at the full or half rate. Everyone else under 70 has their income assessed, and it is that route the published limits apply to. The assessment compares your weekly income after tax, PRSI and USC against the HSE's weekly basic rate, with extra allowances for children, and those rates are set higher than the medical card limits.
The distinction matters at your child's eighth birthday, when the automatic cover ends and the assessed route or a medical card becomes the way to keep free GP visits. It is also worth knowing if you are a carer, because Carer's Benefit and Carer's Allowance carry a GP visit card for you without a means test.
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Official sources
- HSE: Under 8s GP visit card
- HSE: Change your medical card or GP visit card details
- Citizens Information: GP visit cards for children under 8
- Citizens Information: GP visit cards, including the income limits for people under 70
Facts checked against the official pages on 28 August 2026. This is general information, not medical, legal or financial advice, and it does not decide your eligibility; the HSE makes that decision. Rules can change; always confirm on the official pages linked above.