Vet Prescription Fee Cap Explained

What is the prescription fee cap?

Since April 2024, vets in the UK have been required to charge no more than £21 (including VAT) for the first written prescription and £12.50 for each additional medicine prescribed during the same consultation. This cap was introduced following the CMA's veterinary market investigation, which found that high prescription fees were discouraging pet owners from shopping around for medication.

Before the cap, some practices were charging £30, £40, or even more for a written prescription — making it uneconomical to buy medication elsewhere, even when the online price was significantly lower.

Your right to a written prescription

Under UK law, your vet must inform you that you have the right to request a written prescription and buy medicines from another supplier. This is not optional — it is a legal obligation reinforced by the CMA Order.

Here is how the process works:

1. Your vet examines your pet and decides which medication is needed.
2. You ask for a written prescription instead of buying the medicine in-practice. You can do this at any time — for new prescriptions or ongoing medication.
3. Your vet issues the prescription and charges the prescription fee (up to £21 for the first medicine).
4. You take the prescription to an accredited online pharmacy (or another vet practice) and buy the medication there.

How much can you actually save?

The savings depend on which medication your pet takes and how often. For common long-term medications, the difference between in-practice and online prices can be substantial:

Even after paying the £21 prescription fee, pet owners on long-term medication routinely save £100 to £500 per year by buying online. The savings are largest for branded medications prescribed daily or monthly.

When does it make sense to buy online?

Buying online is most worthwhile when:

• Your pet takes ongoing medication — monthly flea and worm treatments, daily anti-inflammatories, allergy medication, heart drugs, thyroid medication
• The medication is a branded product — generics have smaller price gaps between in-practice and online
• You can order in bulk — larger quantities typically offer better per-unit pricing online

It is usually not worth it for one-off prescriptions like a short course of antibiotics, where the prescription fee would offset any savings.

When does it not make sense?

• One-off, short-course medications — a 5-day antibiotic course costing £15 in-practice is not worth a £21 prescription fee to buy elsewhere
• Emergency medication needed immediately — you cannot wait for online delivery when your pet needs treatment now
• Your vet already price-matches — some practices now match online prices to retain dispensing revenue. Always ask.

Choosing an accredited online pharmacy

Only buy from pharmacies registered with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD). This is the UK regulator for veterinary medicines. VMD-registered pharmacies are legally authorised to dispense prescription veterinary medicines and are subject to regular inspection.

What about the £12.50 additional medicine fee?

If your pet needs more than one prescription medication from the same consultation, the vet can charge up to £12.50 for each additional medicine added to the same prescription. This means if your pet is on three medications, the total prescription fee would be at most £21 + £12.50 + £12.50 = £46.

For pets on multiple long-term medications, the combined prescription fees are still almost always less than the savings from buying all those medicines online.

The CMA's findings on prescription pricing

The CMA's veterinary market investigation (concluded March 2026) found that many practices were using high prescription fees — and sometimes making the process inconvenient — to discourage pet owners from exercising their legal right to buy medicines elsewhere. Practices earn significant margin on dispensed medication, so there was a financial incentive to keep clients buying in-house.

The prescription fee cap is one of the legally binding remedies. Combined with the requirement that vets proactively inform owners of their right to a written prescription, the CMA aimed to make medicine shopping a practical reality rather than a theoretical right.

For more on what the CMA found and what is changing, see our guide to the CMA vet investigation.