What is included in an ADHD diagnosis letter?

A standard diagnosis letter is a short, official confirmation, not a detailed report

A typical ADHD diagnosis letter includes your name, a statement of the diagnosis referenced to DSM-5-TR criteria, the date of the assessment, and the clinician's name, professional credential, and registration number, presented on the clinic's letterhead with contact information. It is meant to be a concise, verifiable confirmation, usually a single page, rather than a full account of everything discussed during the assessment.

• Patient name and date of birth
• Diagnosis, referenced to DSM-5-TR criteria
• Date of the assessment
• Clinician's name, professional credential, and registration number
• Clinic name, letterhead, and contact information

The letterhead and registration number matter more than they might seem to at first glance. Anyone reading the letter, whether an employer, a school, or an insurer, can use those details to verify that the diagnosis came from a real, currently licensed clinician in good standing, rather than taking the letter's contents on faith. That verifiability is part of what makes a short letter useful even without extensive detail.

It's designed for straightforward confirmations, not complex accommodation processes

A standard letter is often enough for simple, informal purposes, like informing an employer or school of your diagnosis in general terms. Some formal accommodation processes want considerably more: the AAMC's MCAT accommodations FAQ, for example, states it requires evidence of diagnosis, current impairment, and functional limitation relevant to the exam, which typically calls for more clinical detail than a one-page confirmation letter provides. If you're not sure which document a specific institution needs, ask them directly before you order one.

A useful way to think about it: a standard letter answers the question "do I have this diagnosis, from whom, and when." A fuller report answers "how does this diagnosis affect this specific person's functioning, in enough detail for someone else to make a decision about accommodations." Many everyday situations only need the first answer, which is why the shorter, less expensive document exists as its own option rather than everyone defaulting to the longer report.

A diagnosis letter does not replace the CRA's Form T2201 for the Disability Tax Credit

This is a common point of confusion. The federal Disability Tax Credit requires Form T2201 to be completed and certified by an authorized medical practitioner, based on a specific mental functions test around marked, prolonged restriction, not a general diagnosis confirmation letter. A standard diagnosis letter and Form T2201 serve different purposes and are not interchangeable; ask your clinic whether they complete T2201 as a separate service if you're pursuing the DTC.

It typically doesn't include detailed history or functional analysis

A standard letter generally does not walk through your developmental history, detail how symptoms affect each area of your life, or discuss differential diagnosis considerations the way a fuller clinical report does. If a requestor, such as a specific employer, school, or professional body, needs that level of detail, a more comprehensive healthcare-provider report is the better-suited document, and typically costs more precisely because it involves considerably more clinical writing.

A standard diagnosis letter is available after your assessment for a set fee

Nurse practitioners, like other regulated clinicians, are authorized to document and communicate a diagnosis they've made within their scope of practice, so a diagnosis letter from an NP carries the same weight as one from any other clinician who reached the diagnosis. At Finding Focus, a standard diagnosis letter is $49, separate from the fuller healthcare-provider report; current pricing for both is listed on the pricing page, and the online ADHD diagnosis page explains where the letter fits into the overall assessment process.