Veterinary Prescription Fee Caps Under the CMA Reforms

What you can charge for a written prescription

The CMA's veterinary-sector reforms cap what a practice can charge a pet owner for a written prescription. The maximum fee is £21 for the primary prescription — the first medicine prescribed within a consultation — and £12.50 for each additional medicine prescribed in the same consultation. The caps exist so that a client who wants to buy medication elsewhere, often more cheaply online, is not deterred by a prescription charge set high enough to wipe out the saving.

For practices, this is both a transparency obligation and a pricing change: the prescription fee has to be disclosed and it has to sit within the caps. This guide covers the exact limits, how they interact with dispensing, and the practical steps to be compliant.

The caps in detail

The CMA's guidance for veterinary businesses sets the figures out directly. It states that "The maximum fee for providing a written prescription will be £21 for the primary prescription (in other words, the first medicine prescribed within a consultation). FOPs can charge £12.50 for each additional medicine prescribed within the same consultation."

("FOP" is the CMA's term for a first-opinion practice — a normal vet practice providing the initial consultation, as opposed to a referral centre.)

A worked example makes the structure clear. A pet on three new medicines from one consultation:

• First medicine (primary prescription): up to £21
• Second medicine (additional): up to £12.50
• Third medicine (additional): up to £12.50
• Maximum prescription fee total: £46

These are ceilings, not set prices. A practice can charge less, or nothing, for a written prescription — but it cannot charge more than the cap.

How the caps interact with dispensing

The caps apply to the fee for writing a prescription so the client can buy the medicine elsewhere. They do not set the price of medicines you dispense in-house. But the reforms make the choice transparent: clients have to be told they can request a written prescription rather than buy from the practice, and the prescription fee has to be visible.

The commercial implication is worth being honest about internally. Dispensing income has historically been a meaningful margin for practices, and a low, transparent prescription fee makes it easier for clients to take a prescription and buy online. The reforms are designed to do exactly that. Planning for the change — rather than being surprised by it — is part of preparing for the Orders taking effect.

What practices need to do

1. Set your prescription fee within the caps. Decide on a fee at or below £21 for the primary prescription and £12.50 for additional medicines, and apply it consistently.
2. Show the fee on your price list. The prescription fee is part of the standard price information clients can see — it belongs on your published price list, not just on the invoice. The price-list display rules cover where that has to appear.
3. Tell clients about written prescriptions. Front-of-house and clinical staff should make clear that a written prescription is available on request, and what it costs.
4. Update your billing system. Configure the prescription fee as a capped line so it cannot be overcharged at the point of sale.
5. Document the process. Fold prescription transparency into your SOP framework so the rule survives staff turnover.

Common gaps to close

• Prescription fee buried on the invoice. The fee has to be visible up front on the price list, not revealed only when the client is billed.
• Fee set above the cap. Any prescription charge over £21 for the first medicine — or £12.50 for each additional one — is non-compliant once the relevant Order deadline applies to your practice.
• Clients not told they can request a prescription. Transparency about the option is part of the remedy, not just the fee level.
• Caps applied per item instead of per consultation. The £21 primary fee is the first medicine in a consultation; subsequent medicines in that same consultation are capped at £12.50 each, not £21 each.

How this fits the wider CMA package

The prescription fee caps are one remedy among several — published price lists, written estimates, ownership disclosure, and complaints handling all land together. The detail on the estimate threshold is in the CMA written estimate £500 rule, and sequencing the whole package across the staggered deadlines is what the CMA preparation timeline handles. The CMA compliance self-assessment tool flags which remedies your practice still has open, and treating them as streams within your clinical governance framework keeps them current after the initial push.

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This guide reflects the CMA's published guidance for veterinary businesses as of June 2026. It is general compliance information, not legal advice. The binding detail and exact fee figures will be confirmed in the CMA Orders. Verify the current position against the CMA's guidance for veterinary businesses and consult your defence body for practice-specific advice.