Insights

CMA Vet Reforms: Cremation and Out-of-Hours Rules

Last reviewed: 2 October 2026 · Written by Isaac Stevenson BVMSci MRCVS

Two parts of the CMA's Order get far less attention than prescriptions and estimates, but they arrive first. One is about cremation. The other is about your out-of-hours provider.

This is a plain-English summary. It is not legal advice, and the Order itself is the authority. The official documents are linked at the foot of this page.

Cremation: why the CMA looked at it

Two thirds of owners have their pet cremated, and they choose at the worst possible moment.

The CMA found that some practices charge a high mark-up on individual cremations. It put the cost to owners at around £100 more than they would pay if there were real price competition. Communal cremation prices were much closer to cost. So the CMA wants every owner to know a communal option exists, and what each choice costs.

Cremation: what you have to do

Offer a basic communal cremation. It covers handling, storage, transport and the cremation itself. No ashes are returned.
Put the three choices on your website, side by side. Cremation through you, arranging it directly with a crematorium, or taking their pet home to bury. None of the three should stand out more than the others.
Talk the choices through before they decide, unless the owner doesn't want to.
Give the prices in writing before they decide. Each cremation option, and what it includes. A consent form, a leaflet or an email all count.
Price the extras separately. Urns, caskets, paw prints and fur clippings each need their own price. If an extra is free, say so.

Saying it without it feeling like a sale

The rule says owners must be given the choices and the prices. It doesn't say how, and the how matters, because this is often the hardest conversation of the day. A few things help:

If the appointment is booked ahead, send the options then. Nobody takes in a price list in the room.
Mention the communal option and home burial yourself. Owners often don't know they can ask.
If the owner says they don't want the detail, that is allowed. Leave the sheet with them anyway.

Out-of-hours: what clients must be told

If another business covers your nights and weekends, you have to publish who they are. That means their name, phone number, address and website, when they are open, and what they offer. It goes on your website and on display in the practice.

If anything changes, update it within a week.

If you charge more for a consultation out of hours, your price list has to show both prices.

Out-of-hours: if another business covers your practice's nights

This section is for whoever runs the practice, and it only applies if the practice pays a separate provider to cover its out-of-hours. If your own team does it, nothing here changes.

The CMA found that some contracts made it very hard for a practice to leave its provider, with long notice periods and large fees for ending early. A practice that can't leave can't push back on price or service.

So the Order limits what those contracts can do. The duty is on the provider, not on the practice:

Notice. The practice can end the contract with 12 months' notice at most, whatever it says. If the contract asks for 18 months, only 12 need be given.
Leaving fees. If the practice gives that notice, the provider can't charge a fee for leaving.
Leaving early. If the practice goes without giving full notice, the most the provider can charge is what would have been paid for the notice not given. Leave 6 months into a 12-month notice period, and it is 6 months' fees at most.

This covers contracts already signed. Nothing has to be renegotiated or signed again, because the old terms simply can't be enforced. It has applied since the Order was made in September 2026.

The provider has to write to the practice by 22 December 2026 to explain this. If nothing has arrived by then, ask.

It covers pet work only. If the contract also covers farm animals or horses, that part is not affected.

The dates

A large business runs 15 or more practices. Anything below that is small.

Out-of-hours contract terms: Already in force
The cremation rules: 22 December 2026 (large) · 22 March 2027 (small)
Publishing your out-of-hours details and prices: 22 December 2026 (large) · 22 March 2027 (small)

Where to check this yourself

The CMA's guidance for veterinary businesses and vets, and the Order and its Explanatory Note (GOV.UK).

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