Since the publication in 2008 of the first NICE guideline on the diagnosis and management of chronic kidney disease (CKD), there has been concern that creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) may not accurately identify people at increased risk–particularly in elderly populations. The updated NICE guideline, issued in July 2014, includes some important changes that take into account recent research into the prognosis of CKD. Of particular relevance for GPs are changes to the diagnostic criteria and classification of CKD, which are described in this article.