Insights

CMA Written Prescription Rules for Vets: the Fee Cap

Last reviewed: 1 October 2026 · Written by Isaac Stevenson BVMSci MRCVS

From 2027, a vet must offer a written prescription out loud whenever a medicine is prescribed, and the fee for writing one is capped. This page covers what the rule says, when it starts, and what I think of it as a vet who already does this.

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

What the cap says

The most you can charge is £21.40 for the first medicine, and £12.70 for each further medicine prescribed at the same time. Both include VAT. These figures run until 31 March 2028, then change each April with inflation.

You will have seen £21 reported. The Order raised it to £21.40 for inflation.

VAT is inside the figure. £21.40 is £17.83 plus VAT.
It is counted per medicine. Three medicines is £21.40 + £12.70 + £12.70, so £46.80 at most.
Nothing can be added on top. No separate admin or sending fee, and no charge for correcting a prescription.
Quantity makes no difference. Six months of tablets costs the same to prescribe as one month.
It caps the prescription fee only. Your consultation fee and your own medicine prices are untouched.

The offer has to be said out loud

The vet must offer a written prescription during any consultation where a medicine is prescribed. A poster does not cover this.

There are two exceptions: a medicine the animal needs urgently, and one the vet has to give, such as some injections.

You only have to make the offer. You do not have to add that the medicine may be cheaper elsewhere.

Where else it has to appear

The wording is written for you, so you are not writing your own. Your job is to put it in the right places:

A poster in the waiting room and in every consulting room. It has a space for your own fee.
Appointment messages. Every email or text about an upcoming consultation must say: “Written prescriptions are available. See the RCVS website for further information.”
Invoices and receipts. A set statement in the footer, including your fee, in type no smaller than the rest.
Your website, with the RCVS leaflet no more than two clicks from the home page.
New clients get the leaflet when they register.
Existing clients must get it within six months. How is up to you: one message to everyone, or at vaccinations and bookings.

How quickly you must provide it

On paper by the end of the consultation, or a digital copy ready by the end of the second working day. A consultation on Monday means the end of Wednesday.

The same clock applies to a request made by phone or email. Controlled drugs are excluded from the digital route, because they need a signature in ink.

Long-term medicines get their own flyer

Any medicine given repeatedly for the same condition counts, and that includes flea and worm treatments.

The owner must be given a standard flyer the first time it is dispensed as a repeat, or the second time if that is not practical. It can be printed on the dispensing bag. It is not needed where the medicine is free at the point of supply, such as on a pet care plan.

The same length either way

You need a policy making sure a medicine is prescribed for the same length of time whether you dispense it or write a prescription. You cannot dispense three months in the practice and write prescriptions a month at a time. Controlled drugs are excluded.

Own-brand medicines

If you prescribe a medicine sold under a group's own brand, you must tell the owner, and tell them the original can be bought elsewhere. Its name must be given in writing. This mostly affects the larger groups.

When you have to be ready

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

The fee cap: 22 March 2027 (large) · 22 September 2027 (small)
Everything else on this page: 22 June 2027 (large) · 22 September 2027 (small)

Written estimates start on those same later dates. More on written estimates.

What some vets are worried about

There are some vets that are uneasy about this rule, for two reasons.

The first is margin. Independent practices make a margin on the medicines they dispense, and it helps pay for everything else. If medicine sales move online, prices may have to rise elsewhere to make up for it.

The second is where the money goes. Some of the biggest online pharmacies are owned by the corporate groups: Pet Drugs Online by IVC Evidensia, Animed Direct by CVS, and VetUK by VetPartners. A rule meant to help owners could end up moving income from independent practices to the corporates.

The CMA looked at this concern. It found that online pharmacies, including the ones the groups own, compete with one another on price, and it saw no reason to make the groups sell theirs.

Why I offer one anyway

I will always offer a written prescription. I know going to the vet is expensive, and I want owners to be able to treat their animals in the best way possible.

Mentioning it builds trust. It shows I am there to look after their animal, not to charge as much as I can. And once it has been mentioned, fewer owners ask for one than you might expect.

Four things practices will get wrong

Relying on the poster. The offer must be spoken, by the vet.
Pricing before VAT. The cap includes it.
Leaving it to reception. By the time the owner reaches the desk, the medicine is usually already in a bag.
Letting requests wait. Two working days, whether the request came from a consultation or a phone call.

How Vet Amica helps

Vet Amica turns a lab report into a plain-English summary for the owner: what was found, what it means, and what happens next. You edit it and approve it, and nothing reaches the owner until you have.

When that summary mentions a medicine, one tick adds a short note telling the owner a written prescription is available, with your fee beside it. So the offer you made out loud is also in writing, in the pages they take home.

It does not make the spoken offer for you, and it does not replace the standard wording on your poster and invoices. Both remain yours.

Talk to us See how it works

Where to check this yourself

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

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