Most pet owners have no idea this is about to change, so let’s say it plainly: from autumn 2026, when your vet prescribes a medicine for your dog, cat or any other pet, you have the right to a written prescription, and the practice must tell you that you may be able to buy that medicine more cheaply somewhere else.
That’s not a loophole or a trick. It’s the outcome of the Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation into the UK veterinary market, and it exists because the CMA concluded that pet owners were routinely paying far more for medicines at the practice counter than the same products cost from registered online pharmacies, often without ever being told a choice existed.
As a vet, I want to be clear about something before we go any further: none of this is about distrusting your veterinary team. The clinical decision, which medicine, what dose, whether your pet needs it at all, sits entirely with your vet, exactly as it should. What the new rules change is the shopping, not the medicine. Your vet prescribes; you choose where to fill it.
What you’re entitled to
Under the CMA’s reforms, which begin taking effect from autumn 2026 and roll out over the months that follow:
A written prescription, promptly. If your pet is prescribed a medicine you’ll be giving at home, you can ask for the prescription in writing, and the practice must provide it without unreasonable delay, either before you leave or shortly afterwards by email. You don’t need to give a reason.
A capped prescription fee. Practices may charge for writing a prescription, but the fee is being capped so that exercising your choice stays affordable rather than being priced out of reach.
To be told about your options. Practices must inform you that you may be able to buy the prescribed medicine more cheaply elsewhere. You shouldn’t have to ask; the information should come to you.
Clearer bills. Itemised billing means you can see exactly what you’re paying for: the consultation, the medicine, the prescription fee, each as its own line.
What this looks like in real life
Say your dog is prescribed a monthly flea and tick treatment and a long-term arthritis medicine. Before the reforms, the path of least resistance was to pay whatever the practice charged at the counter, often without knowing the same branded box sat on a registered online pharmacy’s shelf for 30 to 50 per cent less.
Now the conversation can go differently. Your vet examines your dog and decides on the treatment, exactly as before. You ask for a written prescription. You pay the capped prescription fee. Then you buy the medicine wherever suits you: from the practice if their price is fair and you value the convenience, or from a registered online retailer if the saving matters. For a pet on lifelong medication, that choice can be worth hundreds of pounds a year.
The questions owners ask us most
Is the medicine online actually the same? Yes, provided you buy from a registered UK retailer of veterinary medicines. Same manufacturer, same box, same batch standards. The saving comes from lower overheads, not lower quality. Never buy prescription medicines from unregistered sellers or overseas sites, and if a price looks impossibly cheap, walk away.
Will asking for a prescription upset my vet? It shouldn’t, and increasingly it won’t. The rules make written prescriptions a normal part of practice life, and good practices know that trust is built on transparency. You are not accusing anyone of anything by asking; you’re doing what the regulator has explicitly said you’re entitled to do.
Can my vet refuse? For a medicine your pet has been clinically assessed as needing, no. Prescribing always requires that assessment, so expect your vet to want to see your pet at sensible intervals for ongoing medications: that’s good medicine, not obstruction.
What about urgent treatment? If your pet needs a medicine right now, buying it at the practice is usually the right call. The savings game is for planned, repeat and preventative medicines: flea, tick and worming treatments, and the long-term prescriptions for hearts, joints, skin and thyroids.
How to actually use these rights
Keep it simple: at your next appointment, if a medicine is prescribed for home use, say “could I have that as a written prescription, please?” Photograph the prescription when you get it so it can’t vanish into a kitchen drawer. Then compare prices before you buy: the gap between the cheapest and dearest seller of an identical box is often startling.
That’s the entire reason this site exists. Compare prices shows you what the same medicine costs at registered UK pet pharmacies, cheapest first, and it’s free.
And if remembering repeat doses is the hard part in your house, the free Pet 24-7 app keeps your pet’s prescriptions, vaccination dates, and worming and flea schedules in one lifelong record, with a reminder before each one is due, whichever vet you use.
This guide is general information about UK pet owners’ rights, not veterinary advice. If you are concerned about your pet’s health, contact your veterinary practice. Details of the CMA’s reforms and their timings are set by the final Order; we keep this guide updated as the rules come into force.
Want fair prices the moment we launch?
Join the early access list and start your pet's free lifelong health record with Pet 24-7.