Prescription, dispensing and administration
Dispensing fee prices at UK vets
A fee some practices charge for supplying (dispensing) a medicine, on top of the price of the medicine itself.
Published prices
No practice on our list publishes this price yet: vet businesses with 15 or more practices or out-of-hours centres must publish it, if they offer it, on each practice's website from 23 December 2026, and smaller practices from 23 March 2027.
What it is
The Order lists the item but does not define it.
Official price-list name: Dispensing fee
(CMA Order, Schedule 1).
What's included
- Anything that is an essential part of the service, and VAT (Art. 7(2)(d) and (f))
Why the price varies
- Whether the practice charges one at all, and whether it is per item or per visit. Ask.
- Flea, tick and worm products. The practice's parasiticide price list must include any additional charges you have to pay to buy each product (Art. 2, definition of Parasiticide Price List), and a care plan's indicative 12-month price for parasiticides must include dispensing fees (Art. 9(4)(d)(ii)).
- Buying elsewhere. The CMA's estimate that owners could save around £200 to £300 a year buying commonly prescribed medicines online took the practices' prescription and dispensing fees into account (final report summary, paragraph 53).
Questions to ask the practice
- Is the dispensing fee charged per medicine or per visit?
- Is it already included in the medicine prices on your parasiticide list?
We explain prices, not treatment. Ask your vet about the clinical choices for your own pet.
The rules
What the practice's price list must show, with the Order's article references
The exact name from Schedule 1, “Dispensing fee”, with no free-text description (Art. 7(2)(a)).
As for every item: each version on its own line with the standard one marked, a cat price and five dog bands where the price depends on the animal, and VAT included, kept up to date and changed before a higher price is charged (Art. 7(2)(b), (c), (f) and (g), and 7(5)).
Large vet groups must publish from 23 December 2026 and smaller practices from 23 March 2027 (Art. 3 and 7).
Unhappy with a bill or a price? Our guide explains how to complain, from the practice's own process to free mediation.
Questions
Will I see the dispensing fee on my bill?
From 23 June 2027 at large groups and 23 September 2027 at smaller ones, bills must be itemised, showing individual medicine products and other charges separately (Art. 3 and 12(4)).
Why might my bill be higher than the listed price?
Listed prices are for the typical case. Each price list must say so, and must warn that prices may go up in more complex or complicated cases (Art. 7(2)(l)). The price must still include anything that is an essential part of the service (Art. 7(2)(d)).
How up to date are the prices here?
Every price shows the date we last checked it and links to the practice's own page. We re-check weekly, and daily from 23 to 31 December 2026. If a price looks wrong, email [email protected].
Sources
- Competition and Markets Authority, The Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order 2026 (published 22 September 2026): Article 3 (compliance dates), Article 7 (price list) and Schedule 1 (the 36 price-list items).
- CMA, Veterinary services for household pets: summary of the final report (24 March 2026).
- Practice prices: each practice's own published price list, linked next to every price.