UK caps fees veterinarians can charge for written prescriptions

Veterinary practices across the United Kingdom will soon face a legal ceiling on what they can charge clients for a written prescription. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published the order setting that limit on September 22, 2026, following an investigation of the veterinary market for household pets that began in September 2023.¹

The Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order 2026 caps the fee at £21.40 for the first medicine prescribed, whether within or outside a consultation. Each additional medicine prescribed in the same consultation, or at the same event outside a consultation, is capped at £12.70. Both figures include value-added tax (VAT).² As of this writing, those caps equal about $28.65 and $17.00, respectively, based on the Bank of England's October 23, 2026, spot exchange rate.³ The order took effect the day after it was made and applies in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.²

The CMA's final report, released in March 2026, set the caps at £21 and £12.50. The order adjusts those figures for inflation between March and August 2026, based on the Consumer Prices Index and rounded to the nearest 10 pence.² The caps hold through March 31, 2028. After that, the CMA will adjust them annually for inflation, publishing new figures by February 14 each year that take effect April 1.²

What the cap covers

The caps are a ceiling on the total charge for a written prescription. Practices cannot add separate fees, such as administration charges for preparing or sending one. Purely administrative changes to a prescription are covered by the original fee. The quantity or strength of medication prescribed does not change the cap.²

To prevent circumvention of the caps, the CMA requires practices to have policies ensuring a written prescription covers the same length of treatment the practice would dispense in-house.⁴ Controlled drugs are exempt from that duration requirement.²

The cap applies to veterinary businesses operating first opinion practices or out-of-hours centers. The order covers household pets, which the CMA defines as animals kept mainly for companionship or protection that live in the owner's home. Livestock, poultry, equines, and animals kept for commercial, agricultural, sporting, or working purposes are excluded.⁴

When practices must comply

The CMA staggered deadlines by business size. Large veterinary businesses with 15 or more practices must comply with the fee cap from the next working day after March 22, 2027.⁴ Small businesses with 14 or fewer practices have until the next working day after September 22, 2027.⁵

Related prescription rules arrive on a similar schedule, with large businesses due in June 2027 and small businesses due in September 2027.^4,5 Once those rules apply, veterinarians must verbally offer a written prescription during any consultation in which they prescribe medicine. The exceptions are medicine that must be administered by a veterinary professional or that a pet needs to start urgently.² When a pet owner requests a prescription, the practice must provide it on paper by the end of the consultation or prepare it digitally by the end of the second working day, subject to the same clinical exceptions.² Practices must also use standardized materials, including a waiting room poster, appointment message text, and invoice notices, to tell pet owners that written prescriptions are available. The invoice notices and other standardized materials must also say that medicines may be cheaper elsewhere.² When a veterinarian prescribes an own-brand medication, the pet owner must be given the name of the equivalent product available from other retailers.⁴

Why the CMA stepped in

When the CMA announced its final remedies in March, the regulator reported that many practices charged £30 or more per written prescription. It also found that more than 70% of pet owners bought long-term medication for their pets from their veterinary practice, even though many could save £200 a year or more by buying online.⁶

The cap level changed over the course of the investigation. The CMA's provisional decision proposed a £16 cap, which representatives of small independent practices opposed at a CMA roundtable. Some attendees said their current fees were higher. Others questioned the basis for the figure, suggesting it did not account for VAT or the full range of services provided.⁷ The final report then set the cap at £21 before the inflation adjustment in the order.²

"Our reforms are now law," Martin Coleman, chair of the CMA's independent inquiry group, said in a statement marking the order's publication.¹ Coleman said many pet owners would know the upfront cost of basic services such as consultations and vaccinations by the end of 2026, with written estimates for higher-cost treatments among the changes to follow in the coming months.¹

Other requirements in the order

The prescription fee cap is one part of a larger package. From the next working day after December 22, 2026, large businesses must publish standardized price lists for up to 36 defined services. By the same date, they must also publish prices for their most commonly sold parasiticides, detailed information about their pet care plans, and pricing for cremation options, including a basic communal cremation service.⁴ Small businesses face those requirements starting in March 2027.⁵

Other measures include:

• Written estimates for treatment reasonably likely to cost £500 or more, including VAT
• Itemized bills
• Clear disclosure of corporate group ownership
• A formal in-house complaint process with access to mediation^4,5

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons will monitor compliance and publish practice information on its Find a Vet platform, funded by a levy on veterinary businesses.⁴ The CMA can issue directions or impose financial penalties on businesses that do not comply.⁴

References

1. Veterinary services for household pets. Competition and Markets Authority. Updated October 15, 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/veterinary-services-market-for-pets-review
2. Explanatory note: the Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order 2026. Competition and Markets Authority. September 22, 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6ab14876d52ca1fccea560af/explanatory_note__2_.pdf
3. Daily spot exchange rates against sterling. Bank of England. October 23, 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/database/Rates.asp?into=GBP
4. Large veterinary businesses: complying with the CMA's Order. Competition and Markets Authority. Updated October 15, 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/large-veterinary-businesses-complying-with-the-cmas-order
5. Small veterinary businesses: complying with the CMA's Order. Competition and Markets Authority. Updated October 15, 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/small-veterinary-businesses-complying-with-the-cmas-order
6. CMA concludes market investigation with major reforms to veterinary sector. News release. Competition and Markets Authority. March 24, 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-concludes-market-investigation-with-major-reforms-to-veterinary-sector
7. Summary of roundtable discussion on our provisional decision. Competition and Markets Authority. March 24, 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69c2a837380a2a73a7cf9dcc/Summary_of_roundtable_discussion_on_our_provisional_decision_24.3.26.pdf