The most common objection to asking for a written pet prescription used to be simple: the fee. If a practice charged £25 or £30 just to write the prescription, the saving on the medicine could evaporate before you’d bought anything. Some owners suspected that was rather the point.
The Competition and Markets Authority evidently had similar thoughts. Among the reforms rolling out from autumn 2026, prescription fees are being capped, so the cost of exercising your choice can’t quietly price the choice away.
The simple maths
A prescription fee makes sense to pay whenever the saving on the medicine beats the fee. Because the cap keeps the fee modest, that test is now easy to pass for anything your pet takes regularly.
Worked example. Suppose your dog’s monthly flea and tick treatment costs £34.50 at the counter and £19.20 from a registered online pharmacy: a £15.30 saving per box. Even buying just three months at a time, that’s £45.90 saved against one capped prescription fee. Over a year of parasite protection plus a daily arthritis tablet, the fee becomes a rounding error against the saving.
The pattern to remember: one-off medicines, buy at the practice; repeat medicines, do the maths, and the maths now usually says get the prescription.
Things worth knowing about prescriptions
They cover repeats. A written prescription can authorise a course or repeat supplies for a period your vet judges clinically appropriate, so you’re not paying a fee per box.
Your vet decides the clinical part. Expect periodic check-ups for pets on long-term medication before a prescription is renewed. That’s not gatekeeping; medicine doses need reviewing as animals age, and a vet who never wants to see your pet again isn’t doing you a favour.
Ask at the appointment. The smoothest moment to request a written prescription is when the medicine is first discussed. A simple “could I have that as a written prescription, please?” is all it takes, and under the new rules the practice should be volunteering your options anyway.
Keep it safe. A prescription is a document worth money. Photograph it the moment you get it. (The free and globally accessible Pet 24-7 app will store it in your pet’s lifelong record with one photo, alongside every vaccine date and due-date reminder.)
Then make the fee earn its keep
The fee only pays off if you actually find the better price, and that part takes thirty seconds: our price comparison lists what the same medicine costs across registered UK pet pharmacies, cheapest first. Prescription fee paid, fair price found, pet treated identically: that’s the whole system working as the reforms intended.
General information, not veterinary advice. Fee caps and timings are set by the CMA’s final Order; we keep this guide updated as the rules come into force. If you’re concerned about your pet’s health, contact your veterinary practice.
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