The Royal College of General Practitioners tartan is based on the sett of the Clan Scott tartan.

Richard Scott was the Scottish member of the Steering Group of the College. He was a key figure in the formation of Scottish Council and was its Honorary Secretary from 1953 - 1969. He was appointed Professor of General Practice at the University of Edinburgh, the first chair of general practice in the world, in 1963.

The colours of the design are based on the colours that make up the College's coat of arms. The colours featured are azure (gentian), black and white (sable and argent), brown, green, gold and orange/red - and a selection from these colours is incorporated in the design.

The tartan was designed by Kinloch Anderson - a family firm based in Edinburgh widely acknowledged as one of the world's leading specialists in tartans. The tartan has been fully recorded in and is unique to the Scottish Tartans World Register.

The tartan was gifted to the College by the Chairman of Scottish Council, Dr Bill Reith FRCGP, in November 2002 to mark his period