Prescription, dispensing and administration
Prescription fee prices at UK vets
What UK vet practices charge for this item, from their own published price lists.
Lowest published prices
Prices are copied from each practice's own website on the date shown and can change. Check with the practice before you book. How we collect prices
All pets 1 practice
- Parc Vetcare£24 checked (practice's own price list) from the practice's own price list (published before the CMA standard list)
In-hours, standard prices including VAT, from 1 practice that already publishes; not a UK average. We show a range once 3 practices list a price and a median once 5 do. Fewer than 3 practices list a price for all pets so far.
What it is
The fee for a written prescription for the first medicine, which lets you buy it from another retailer such as an authorised online pharmacy instead of the practice.
Official price-list name: Prescription fee
(CMA Order, Schedule 1).
What others have published
- £24.70: the median first-medicine prescription fee across all large-group practices (CMA, Final report Appendix N: supporting evidence on prescription price controls, paragraph 1.10; 2024).
- £18.44: the median in a dataset of independent practices (CMA, Final report Appendix N: supporting evidence on prescription price controls, paragraph 1.18; 2024).
- £21.40: the most a practice may charge, including VAT, from 23 March 2027 at large groups and 23 September 2027 at smaller businesses (Competition and Markets Authority, The Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order 2026, Articles 3 and 18; cap set in 2026).
Figures from published reports, not prices we collected, and not a current UK average.
What's included
- Anything that is an essential part of the service, and VAT (Art. 7(2)(d) and (f))
The three prescription fees
A written prescription lets you buy a medicine somewhere other than the practice. The list prices the first medicine, each additional one prescribed at the same time, and a repeat prescription.
Separately from the price list, the Order caps the fee. The first caps are £21.40 for the first medication and £12.70 for each additional medication prescribed at the same time, both including VAT (Art. 2 and 18). Many news reports give £21 and £12.50: those were the levels in the CMA's final report of March 2026, which the Order uprated for inflation (Explanatory Note, footnote 25). Large groups must keep to the caps from 23 March 2027 and smaller businesses from 23 September 2027 (Art. 3).
Why the price varies
- Who owns the practice. The CMA found a median first-medicine prescription fee of £24.70 across all large-group practices in 2024, against £18.44 in a dataset of independents (final report Appendix N, paragraphs 1.10 and 1.18). Prices vary by practice; see the map for published prices from 23 December 2026.
- The cap. From the cap's start dates, no practice may charge more than the cap, whatever it charged before.
- Extras. No additional fee may be added for preparing or sending the prescription (Explanatory Note, paragraph 187).
Background
The CMA found commonly prescribed medicines typically 50% to 60% cheaper at online pharmacies than at vet practices (final report summary, paragraph 53).
Questions to ask the practice
- What is your prescription fee for the first medicine and for each additional one?
- Can you send the prescription directly to the online pharmacy I use?
- How long will this prescription last?
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, “Prescription 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
Does a bigger supply cost more to prescribe?
Not under the cap. The CMA says the strength and quantity prescribed do not affect the cap (Explanatory Note, paragraph 189).
When must my vet give me a written prescription?
From 23 June 2027 at large groups and 23 September 2027 at smaller ones, on request: on paper by the end of the consultation, or digitally by the end of the second working day (Art. 3 and 15), unless there is a clinical need for a vet or nurse to give the medicine or start it urgently.
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).
- CMA, Explanatory Note to the Order (22 September 2026).
- CMA, Final report Appendix N: supporting evidence on prescription price controls (24 March 2026).
- RCVS, Supporting guidance chapter 9: practice information, fees and animal insurance (last updated 23 May 2025).
- Practice prices: each practice's own published price list, linked next to every price.