Health technical memoranda

Technical standards and guidance (health building notes/health technical memoranda documents)

The documents have moved and can be accessed from this section of our website.

Standard Department of Health and Social Care website protocol is to mark documents as ‘withdrawn’ as part of the redirect to our website. We are aware that this message on the gov.uk website is creating the impression that individual health building notes (HBN) and health technical memoranda (HTM) documents have been withdrawn. This is not the case – all the documents hosted on our website are current.

The status of a document can be checked on the which includes details of any documents that have been updated/archived and the dates this took effect.

This series brings together all documents relating to Health technical memoranda.

Health Technical Memoranda (HTMs) give comprehensive advice and guidance on the design, installation and operation of specialised building and engineering technology used in the delivery of healthcare.

The focus of Health Technical Memorandum guidance remains on healthcare-specific elements of standards, policies and up-to-date established best practice. They are applicable to new and existing sites, and are for use at various stages during the whole building lifecycle.

Healthcare providers have a duty of care to ensure that appropriate governance arrangements are in place and are managed effectively. The Health Technical Memorandum series provides best practice engineering standards and policy to enable management of this duty of care.

The ProCure23 Framework is the recommended procurement method for publicly-funded capital projects over £1 million. The Principal Supply Chain Partners have developed a number of  for use in NHS Acute and Mental Health facilities, all of which are fully compliant with HBNs and HTMs.

You might also be interested in the health building notes document series. Or you may wish to view a complete list of NHS estates related guidance past and present.

Documents

  •  – 1 April 2014: Guidance
  • -1 May 2006: Guidance
  • – 22 June 2021: Guidance
  • – 10 April 2017: Guidance
  • – 24 April 2013: Guidance
  • – 4 November 2015: Guidance
  • – 1 August 2008: Guidance
  • – 11 April 2017: Guidance
  • – updated 11 October 2023: Guidance
  • – updated 11 October 2023: Guidance
  • – updated 7 March 2023: Guidance
  •  – 25 March 2015: Guidance
  • – 3 December 2015: Guidance
  • – 20 March 2013: Guidance
  • – 20 March 2013: Guidance
  • – 19 March 2013: Guidance
  • – 3 June 2016: Guidance
  • – 19 March 2013: Guidance
  • – 1 January 2005: Guidance

Decontamination HTMs

  • – 8 July 2016: Guidance
  • – 9 June 2016: Guidance
  • – 26 March 2013: Guidance
  • – 30 June 2016: Guidance