Vet prescription fees to be capped at £21.40

Vets will not be allowed to charge more than £21.40 for a written prescription, from 23 March 2027 at large groups and 23 September 2027 at smaller businesses.

Vets will soon face a legal limit on what they can charge for a written prescription. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has set the cap at £21.40 for the first medicine, in the Order it published on 22 September 2026. If your pet needs regular medicine, this could make buying it from an online pharmacy or another retailer much better value.

A written prescription is what you ask your vet for when you want to buy the medicine somewhere else. Until now, a high fee for that piece of paper could wipe out any saving from shopping around.

How much, and from when

There are two caps, and both include VAT. The CMA had first set them at £21 and £12.50 in its March 2026 final report, then raised them for inflation.

The Order sets 22 March 2027 and 22 September 2027 as the compliance dates, and businesses must follow the rules from the next working day after each one. That is why the cap starts on the 23rd. The cap covers normal practices and out of hours services alike.

The fee for a written prescription will be capped, whether it covers a week of tablets or six months.

What the cap covers

The cap is the most a practice can charge, and it can charge less. It cannot add other fees on top, such as a charge for preparing or sending the prescription. If a prescription has to be corrected for purely admin reasons, that should not cost you again.

The cap does not change with the strength of the medicine or how much is prescribed. A prescription for six months of tablets falls under the same limit as one for a short course.

New figures will be published on the CMA website by 14 February each year and apply from 1 April. The first update is due by 14 February 2028.

Seeing the fee before you pay

Practices will also have to list their prescription fees on a published price list, along with a separate fee for repeat prescriptions and one for extra items. Large groups must publish price lists from 23 December 2026 and smaller businesses from 23 March 2027, so you may be able to see what your practice charges before the cap starts.

From June 2027 at large groups, and September 2027 at smaller ones, practices must give you a paper prescription by the end of the consultation or a digital one by the end of the second working day.

If your pet is on long term medicine, it is worth comparing what your practice charges now. Compare vet prices near you to see how fees differ between local practices.