Access to learning disability services in England is often governed by eligibility criteria. A semistructured questionnaire was completed by clinical psychologists in the north-west of England about service eligibility criteria and psychologists' role within the referral process to learning disability services. The survey highlighted both variations and similarities across the region in terms of definitions of learning disabilities, eligibility for accessing local services and the psychometric measures used to assess functioning. Differences in how services assess eligibility can lead to difficulties, for example when people move area. The use of standard eligibility criteria could be one means of overcoming this. (Contains 2 tables.)