A national initiative is underway to create a digital tool for navigating the tests in the national genomic test directory. This is intended to make it easier to identify the most appropriate test for a patient and is a key step towards centralised online test ordering.
Please contact the national Test Evaluation team with any questions or queries about using the NGTD.
The national genomic test directory is a national resource that defines all genetic tests available through the NHS. Until now it has been available as a series of downloadable files that are updated on a regular basis.
The digital NGTD is intended to replace these files and be a single, accessible and intuitive source of truth for NHS genetic testing. It is also an important step towards a complete digital system for test ordering that will be rolled out in the future.
The digital NGTD is being developed and implemented centrally by NHS England with a progressive roll-out through 2026 and beyond. This includes a public beta test of the digital NGTD which is planned to run between April and October 2026.
Non-urgent advice: Stay up to date
We will add further updates and links to resources on the digital NGTD to this page as they become available.
To ensure you don’t miss anything we encourage you to bookmark this page and check back regularly as well as signing up for emails from East Genomics. You can also sign-up for updates from us.
Notable changes
Test structure
The digital NGTD uses a new structure for organising tests that provides a more standardised way for tests to be identified and avoids unnecessary duplication. The digital NGTD can be searched using clinical terminology, clinical indications, test methods, or existing test codes and is intended to make it easy to find the most appropriate test for a patient.
In place of clinical indications that are identified by M and R codes (e.g. R444.1 or M2.2), the new structure consists of genetic tests (GT codes) defined by the method of analysis, which are collected into clinically-relevant test packages (TP codes). It will be possible to place orders using either a GT code, TP code or both. Orders should still be accompanied by as much clinically relevant information as possible.
During the public beta phase, our labs will continue accepting orders using either existing (M/R) or new (TP/GT) codes, but you are encouraged to begin adopting the new system early.
Note that, particularly in cancer, a particular M code does not translate to a specific TP or GT code. The required codes will vary depending on the desired test method. Please consult the NGTD carefully when ordering a test to ensure it is appropriate and that your patient is eligible.
What's coming up?
April 2026
As part of an update to the content of the NGTD, tests in the CNS cancer and haematological malignancy spaces will be made available in new files on the existing webpage, and structured to align with the digital NGTD.
During the beta test phase, a version of the digital NGTD will be available for exploration and providing feedback only. The spreadsheet files and accompanying PDFs should still be consulted before ordering tests.
Find out more
Feedback on the digital NGTD should be provided directly to the national team through the beta test site when it is live.