Vet Prescriptions in the UK: Fees and Buying Pet Medicines Online

You can ask your vet for a written prescription and buy your pet’s medicine from another supplier, including a registered online retailer, instead of from the practice. Practices can currently charge a reasonable fee for writing one, and a legal cap on that fee is due to start in 2027.

The choice of where to buy is yours, but the treatment plan still comes from the vet. They decide what is suitable for your pet and may need to examine them before prescribing again, particularly if your pet has an ongoing condition.

If your pet is ill, seems to be reacting badly to a medicine, or you are about to run out, contact your practice. Don’t change the dose, swap products or use medicine prescribed for another animal without veterinary advice. If your pet is very unwell, call a vet straight away.

Asking for a written prescription

Veterinary medicines are sorted into categories that decide who can prescribe and supply them. POM-V medicines, which include most antibiotics and many long-term treatments, can only be prescribed by a vet after a clinical assessment of an animal under their care. The vet can either supply the medicine from the practice or give you a written prescription to take elsewhere. Either way, the prescribing vet stays responsible for the treatment.

POM-VPS medicines, such as some flea and worm treatments, can be prescribed by a vet, a pharmacist or a suitably qualified person, known as an SQP. NFA-VPS medicines don’t need a prescription but must be supplied by one of these professionals. If you are not sure which category your pet’s medicine falls into, ask before placing an order.

You don’t have to ask for a prescription. Buying from the practice can be simplest, especially if your pet needs to start the medicine straight away. A written prescription is useful when there is time to compare the total cost elsewhere.

A written prescription is normally valid for up to six months from the date the vet signs it, or up to 28 days for controlled drugs. In Northern Ireland, prescriptions for antibiotics are valid for five days. Unless the prescription is marked as repeatable, it is illegal to hand it to a retailer more than once, so you can’t use it to order from two places. It is for the treatment your vet has chosen, not a reason to alter it. If a retailer offers an alternative product, or anything looks different from what you expected, speak to the prescribing practice before giving it to your pet.

Prescription fees now and from 2027

At the moment, a practice can make a reasonable charge for a written prescription, and fees vary between practices. Ask about the charge before you request one. The fee is separate from the price of the medicine, and an examination may also be needed and charged for.

Practices must tell you the price of a service when you ask, and the RCVS says invoices should be itemised to show individual medicines. A practice must not charge you more for other goods or services because you buy your medicine elsewhere.

The Competition and Markets Authority’s Order on vet services, made on 22 September 2026, is due to change this. From 23 March 2027 for businesses with 15 or more practices, and from 23 September 2027 for smaller ones, a practice will not be able to charge more than £21.40, including VAT, for a written prescription for the first medicine, or more than £12.70 for each additional medicine prescribed at the same time. The caps are due to be adjusted for inflation each April from 2028. From the same dates, practices will have to prescribe the same length of course whether you buy the medicine from them or elsewhere.

Further changes are due from 23 June 2027 for larger businesses and 23 September 2027 for smaller ones. When a vet prescribes a medicine in a consultation, they will have to offer you a written prescription. If you ask for one, the practice will have to give you a paper copy by the end of the consultation, or prepare a digital copy within two working days and send it to you or to a registered online retailer you choose. These duties won’t apply where the medicine has to be given by a vet or your pet needs to start it urgently.

When you compare, add up the prescription fee, the retailer’s price and any delivery charge. Sometimes the practice works out cheaper once these are included, and sometimes buying elsewhere does.

Buying pet medicine online

In England, Wales and Scotland, anyone selling POM-V, POM-VPS or NFA-VPS medicines online must be registered with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the VMD. Registered sellers appear on the VMD’s Register of Online Retailers, which shows whether each one is a veterinary practice, a pharmacy or an SQP retailer. Their websites must state that they are a registered internet retailer of veterinary medicines and link to the register.

You may also see the VMD’s older Accredited Internet Retailer Scheme, or AIRS, mentioned. It is a voluntary scheme that still lists accredited retailers, and the RCVS recommends buying from them, but the VMD no longer accepts new applications. A newer retailer may therefore be registered without being on the AIRS list.

Check the register yourself rather than relying on a logo on a shop’s website. The retailer must be able to supply the category of medicine on your prescription, and its instructions will tell you how to send the prescription and whether it needs the original.

Be wary of any website that will sell a prescription-only medicine without a prescription, or that pushes you towards a different product without reference to your vet’s instructions. A low price is not worth that risk. Stop the order and check with your practice.

Online orders take time while the retailer checks the prescription and posts the medicine. If treatment needs to start quickly, your local practice is usually the safer choice.

Planning repeat medicine

Ask the vet how often they expect to examine your pet and when the next prescription should be requested. The RCVS says vets should, where possible, tell owners the likely frequency and cost of further examinations for pets on long-term medicine.

Order with enough time for any check-up, the retailer’s checks and delivery, but don’t build up a large supply at home or give leftover medicine to another pet. A medicine chosen for one animal may not be right for another, even if the problem looks the same.

When the medicine arrives, check your pet’s name, the medicine name, strength, form, quantity and directions against the prescription. Store it as the label says and give it only as prescribed.

If your pet misses a dose, vomits after a dose or seems worse, contact the prescribing practice for advice. If your pet becomes very unwell, get urgent veterinary help.

Talking to your practice about cost

Asking for a written prescription is a normal request, and it does not question your vet’s care. Tell the practice you are thinking of buying the medicine elsewhere, then ask what the prescription fee is, whether your pet needs a check first and how long the prescription will cover. If you plan to order online, mention it, especially if you are running low, so the practice can tell you whether there is time.