NHS supporting information word count and character limits

NHS Jobs counts characters, not words: up to 5,000 in each essential and desirable criteria box, according to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). Some other NHS forms count words, and the number depends on the form: the guides below give 1,500 words for a statement on Trac, an online recruitment portal, and 250 or 500 for each of NHS Lothian's three questions. Check the limit on your own form before you write.

The limits side by side

Every row comes from the publisher named in the last column, and says only what that publisher's page says.

Form	Unit	Limit	Who says so
NHS Jobs, essential and desirable criteria boxes	Characters	5,000 in each box	NHSBSA applicant FAQ and user guide
NHS Jobs, any other part of the application	Characters	No limit	NHSBSA applicant FAQ
NHS Jobs, advert where you add a CV	Characters	No limit for that text box	NHSBSA applicant FAQ
Trac, personal statement (NHS Wales)	Words	1,500 maximum	Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
Trac, employment history overview (NHS Wales)	Words	Up to 500 for each role in the last three years	HEIW (NHS Wales)
Trac, supporting statement (one NHS trust)	Words	Up to 1,500	Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
NHS Lothian, three supporting statement questions	Words	500, 500 and 250	NHS Lothian
HSC Northern Ireland, job-specific questions	Not stated	No limit on the page	HSC Northern Ireland

NHS Jobs: 5,000 characters per box

The NHSBSA applicant FAQ says you can enter "up to 5000 characters" in the essential and desirable criteria text boxes, and that "A character countdown will show you how many characters you have left to use."

The limit applies to each box. In the NHSBSA user guide for adding supporting evidence, the form prints "You have 5000 characters remaining" under the essential box and again under the desirable box, and the instructions say "You have a character limit of up to 5000". The guide's example has three categories, so six boxes. Our guide to the NHS Jobs boxes shows how they are laid out.

Nothing else in an NHS Jobs application is capped. The FAQ says there is no character limit on any other part of the application, and none for the text box on an advert where you add a CV.

Trac and trust forms: words

Two guides here describe applying through Trac. The HEIW website hosts a guide (the document prints no date) that calls Trac "an online portal responsible for managing all aspects of the recruitment process" and says you have "1500 words (maximum)" for the personal statement. It also says that for each role in the last three years you write an overview of your duties "up to a maximum of 500 words". The Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust guide, dated 1 October 2024, gives "up to 1500 words" for its supporting statement section.

Both print the same number for the statement. That is what those two publishers say about their own forms. The limit on your form is the one that counts, and HEIW's own advice is to check your word count when there is a maximum.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

NHS Lothian's page says its supporting statement section asks three questions, each with a limit:

• why you are suitable for the role, where you match your skills, knowledge and experience to the person specification: 500 words;
• why you want to work for the NHS: 500 words;
• any other relevant information to help shortlisting: 250 words.

For the last question the page says to write "not applicable" if you have nothing to add, rather than leave it blank. It also says NHS Lothian no longer accepts CVs.

The HSC Northern Ireland page gives no limit for the job-specific questions that cover the criteria. It does say the panel "cannot make assumptions", and that "It is not sufficient to answer 'Yes' or to write a general statement." It adds that CVs are not accepted. Read the question and any limit on the form itself.

Words and characters

NHS Jobs counts characters and the Trac and NHS Lothian forms above count words, so the numbers do not compare directly. This is arithmetic, not a measurement of your writing: if an average word takes six characters including the space after it, 5,000 characters is roughly 830 words and 1,500 words is about 9,000 characters. The NHSBSA example has six boxes, so up to 30,000 characters in all, which at the same rate is about 5,000 words spread over the form.

On NHS Jobs, use the countdown under each box. For a word limit, HEIW says that applications such as Word, Notepad or online tools can help you monitor your word count when there is a maximum.

What to do with the room

Use the room in this order:

1. Write one example for each essential criterion, in the order the form lists them.
2. Check that every essential criterion has one before you add anything else.
3. Add examples for the desirable criteria you can truly meet.
4. Use spare room to add detail to your thinnest example.

If you are over the limit, cut a second example for one criterion before you cut the only example for another. On a form with the employer's own questions, such as NHS Lothian's, put your examples under the question that asks how you match the person specification.

Before you submit

Check the countdown or word count on the form itself, then check that every criterion has an example. You can check your draft against the person specification to see which criteria still have none.