HOW TO HIRE · CHILDCARE & FAMILY

How to hire a doula in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register applies to doulas in any UK nation, and a doula is not a midwife. Here are the checks and what to ask.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a doula in five steps

  1. Know the roleEmotional and practical support — never clinical care, and never instead of a midwife.
  2. Meet more than oneFeeling at ease matters.
  3. Ask about training and insuranceNo register applies.
  4. Get the package in writingVisits, on-call weeks, backup, payment dates.
  5. Keep your midwife at the centreFor all clinical care.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or statutory register applies to doulas in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Training and membership of a doula organisation are voluntary.

Ask the doula about training, phone two references and see photo ID that matches the booking.

Midwives and the law on attending birth

Article 45 of the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 reserves attending a woman in childbirth to registered midwives and registered doctors, with an exception for a sudden emergency and for students in recognised training. A doula supports you alongside your midwife and does not deliver care in their place.

If a doula offers to 'attend' a birth without a midwife or doctor, walk away. A midwife's NMC registration can be checked on the NMC register. nmc.org.uk →

Insurance

No register sets an insurance rule for doulas; ask whether the doula holds public liability and professional indemnity insurance.

Ask for the insurer's name.

Trader status and cancellation

A doula in business is a trader under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. A service agreed online, by phone or in your home can usually be cancelled within 14 days under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013; if you asked for it to start sooner, you pay for what was done.

Keep the booking confirmation and the written terms.

VAT

Doula support is standard-rated: a VAT-registered doula adds 20%, as no health exemption covers a role with no statutory register. A doula whose takings are under £90,000 does not have to register, charges no VAT and has no VAT number to give.

Ask the doula whether the package price includes VAT, or whether they are below the threshold and add none. gov.uk →

“What training do you have as a doula?”

A good answer: A named course, and births supported.

“How will you work with my midwife?”

A good answer: Alongside them, never instead; clinical decisions are the midwife's.

“What does the doula package include?”

A good answer: Antenatal visits, on-call dates, the birth, postnatal visits.

“Who is your backup if you cannot come?”

A good answer: A named backup doula.

“When is the on-call period?”

A good answer: Dates either side of your due date.

“What happens to the fee if the baby comes very early?”

A good answer: A written rule.

“Are you insured?”

A good answer: Insurer named.

Booking by the hour

  • What the package covers in hours — antenatal visits, the on-call weeks, the birth, postnatal visits — and the hourly rate for extra time
  • The minimum on-call period, and what is refunded if the birth is early or the doula cannot attend
  • Deposit and payment dates
  • What you provide at home or in hospital, and the travel costs
  • The birth preferences and support tasks agreed before the first visit, ID checked and the rating

Walk away if

  • Offers to replace your midwife or attend a birth without one
  • Gives medical advice
  • No backup doula
  • No written terms
  • Large non-refundable deposit
  • Discourages medical care
LOW
£500
TYPICAL
£1,000
HIGH
£2,000

What a doula costs: £500–£2,000 per package

Doulas sell a package covering antenatal visits, the on-call weeks, the birth and a postnatal visit. Doula price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Doulas near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. MeetingFit and expectations.
  2. Antenatal visitsHopes, fears, birth preferences.
  3. On callAround the due date.
  4. Labour supportEmotional and practical, alongside your midwife.
  5. Postnatal visitTalking it through.

Doula
A non-clinical birth supporter.
On call
Ready to come when labour starts.
Birth preferences
Your wishes for labour.
Backup doula
Cover if your doula cannot come.
Midwife
An NMC-registered professional for clinical care in birth.
Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001
The law that reserves attending childbirth to midwives and doctors.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the agreement and receiptsDeposit and payments.
Use the postnatal visitTo talk the birth through.
Keep your midwife and health visitor involvedFor any clinical concern.
Review the bookingTell the next family or client how the doula did. Something to fix first? The make-it-right step gives them the chance before your review goes live.

STEP 1Write to the doula firstSay what went wrong, on which date, and what you want done. Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 means a doula trading as a business must use reasonable care and skill; where the support fell short, section 54 lets you ask for it to be put right at no cost or for a fair cut in the price.
STEP 2Use Locufy's make-it-right stepRate a booked doula below four stars and you are asked whether to send it to them first; we follow it through. Then you review.
STEP 3Trading Standards, through the helplineNo regulator covers a doula, so a doula who will not engage can be referred to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales (0808 223 1144 in Welsh), Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Small claims, if money is still owedIf the doula will not refund or put it right, a small claim needs no solicitor: up to £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 under simple procedure in Scotland, and £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a doula: questions people ask

No. No licence or register applies to doulas in any UK nation.

No. The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 says only a registered midwife or doctor may attend a woman in childbirth, except in a sudden emergency.

Ask about training, references and insurance; any midwife can be checked on the NMC register.

£500 to £2,000 for a package, typically around £1,000. Experience and longer on-call periods cost more. Our doula price guide explains the range; searching your town above shows doulas who cover it.

Agreed online or by phone, usually within 14 days, paying for anything already provided.

Raise it in writing; a doula in business owes reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in childcare & family

How to hire: Postnatal DoulaHow to hire: Maternity NurseHow to hire: Night NannyHow to hire: Baby Sleep ConsultantHow to hire: NannyHow to hire: Mother's HelpHow to hire: ChildminderHow to hire: Au PairAll 701 hiring guides →

Doulas near you

Doulas in LondonDoulas in ManchesterDoulas in BirminghamDoulas in GlasgowDoulas in BelfastAll doulas on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001, article 45 — attendance at childbirth
  2. NMC — search the register
  3. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  4. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started in the cancellation period
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — consumer's rights for services
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  7. Health professionals and pharmaceutical products (VAT Notice 701/57) — 2.5 Services that are not exempt from VAT (taxable at the standard rate)
  8. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  9. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register