Your rights to a vet prescription

Asking for a written prescription and buying elsewhere

A written prescription may not be appropriate if your pet is an in-patient or needs medicine immediately. GOV.UK notes there is usually a fee for that prescription, and that even including the fee it can still be cheaper elsewhere. Prescription fees are not fixed. Current RCVS guidance also says practices should make that availability clear, including by a large prominent sign in the waiting room where there is a physical building.

RCVS guidance says a veterinary surgeon should not prevent you from using the retailer you choose, and should not put a specific retailer recommendation on the written prescription. The same guidance says a veterinary surgeon must not discriminate between clients who buy the medicine at the practice and those who take the prescription elsewhere. If you are considering an online seller, RCVS points to the VMD Register of Online Retailers kept by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the UK government body that regulates veterinary medicines.

Examinations and prescription-only medicines

Some veterinary medicines can only be prescribed by a vet. These are known as prescription-only veterinary medicines, or POM-V medicines. RCVS medicines guidance says a POM-V medicine must be prescribed by a veterinary surgeon who has first carried out a clinical assessment of the animal under their care. A clinical assessment is any assessment that gives the vet enough information to diagnose and prescribe safely. It may include a physical examination, but the RCVS says that is not necessary in every case.

Whether a hands-on examination is needed is a matter for the veterinary surgeon's judgement. For companion animals, a physical examination is required at the time of prescription in all but exceptional circumstances when prescribing antibiotics, antifungals, antiparasitics or antivirals. A first prescription of a controlled drug should also involve a physical examination except in exceptional circumstances. Repeat supply is not automatic. The practice should also tell you its usual interval for re-examination and the standard charge for that visit.

How long is a written prescription valid?

GOV.UK guidance on the retail of veterinary medicines says a written prescription is valid from the date of signing for up to six months as standard, or up to 28 days if it is for a controlled drug, unless the prescriber specifies a shorter period. In Northern Ireland, a prescription for an antimicrobial is only valid for five days from the date of issue. For a written prescription that contains repeats, that same guidance says remaining repeats may still be dispensed after that period if the first dispense happened while the prescription was valid.

What the CMA wants next, and what is not yet the law

The CMA investigated veterinary services for household pets and published its findings in March 2026. The changes it wants, including extra prompts about prescriptions and later fee caps, become binding only after a later legal instrument, called an Order, is made, and then only from later start dates. As of 30 August 2026 that Order was still a draft. The CMA business explainer records extra prompts that a written prescription is available and that medicines may be cheaper elsewhere.

The same explainer records planned fee caps of £21 including VAT for the first medicine in a consultation and £12.50 including VAT for each extra medicine in the same consultation. Those figures are later to be adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). The explainer times the cap to March 2027 for larger businesses. They are not a current legal cap on every practice.

The dates for those extra prompts sit in what the CMA vet decision means. If a practice will not issue a written prescription and you cannot resolve it locally, how to complain about a vet explains the next organisations. Ask the practice for the current written-prescription fee and the re-examination interval before you decide where to buy the medicine. If you are also comparing another practice for ongoing care, you can request quotes.