3,739 patients in North-Norway were asked about the preferred time of day for an appointment with the doctor. One in five indicated a time outside current opening hours. The oldest patients, and those living in rural areas, were the groups who preferred current opening hours. More than half the patients aged 21-64 indicated that the time they preferred was during their own free time. The study shows that an adjustment in the opening hours of doctors' practices is necessary if the patients' wishes are to be accommodated.