Vet prescription fees and buying medicines online
By Richard Barker, editor. Last checked 16 October 2026.
You can ask your vet for a written prescription and buy the medicine elsewhere, often for much less. The fee for writing that prescription is being capped.
The prescription fee cap
The CMA's order caps the fee for a written prescription at £21.40 for the first medicine and £12.70 for each extra medicine prescribed at the same time, including VAT. The cap applies at large groups from 23 March 2027 and at smaller practices from 23 September 2027, and runs until 31 March 2028.
Fees you may see on a price list
- Prescription fee: for a written prescription for one medicine.
- Prescription fee for additional items: for each extra medicine prescribed at the same time.
- Prescription fee (repeat): for renewing a prescription.
- Dispensing fee: for supplying a medicine from the practice itself.
Buying medicines online safely
Only buy prescription pet medicines from a retailer on the Veterinary Medicines Directorate's Register of Online Retailers. Registered retailers must say so on their website and link to the register, so you can check them. Practices must also link to the register from their parasite treatment price list.
Check the medicine, strength and quantity match the prescription exactly, and allow time for delivery so your pet does not miss a dose.
Sources
- Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order 2026, Competition and Markets Authority, 22 September 2026.
- Small veterinary businesses: complying with the CMA's order, Competition and Markets Authority, September 2026.
- Veterinary services for household pets: summary of final report, Competition and Markets Authority, 24 March 2026.
- Register of Online Retailers, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, checked 16 October 2026.
CMA documents are Crown copyright and used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.