The Committee on Rheumatology was seriously concerned about variations in the availability of services for patients with rheumatic diseases in different parts of the country. It commissioned a draft report to document various aspects of the present situation which would then be augmented, on this basis, by proposals for the establishment of basic requirements and minimum standards for a district rheumatology service. The draft was considered and adopted, and the report has now been approved by the Royal College of Physicians of London; in its final form it is now an official College document. This paper sets out the contents of the report endorsed by the College Committee.