Explainer
The new vet price rules, in plain English
In March 2026 the Competition and Markets Authority finished a two-year investigation into the £6.7bn UK vet market and found what most pet owners already suspected: you could not compare prices, you often did not know who owned your vet, and the big chains charged more. Its Order, made on 23 September 2026, sets dates by which every practice has to change how it tells you about prices. Here is what changes for you.
The dates
| What | Big chains (15 or more practices) | Everyone else |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership information (website, signage, premises) Part 2, Art 5 · 6 months for both sizes | 23 March 2027 | 23 March 2027 |
| Practice information (staff, OOH provider, species, hours) Part 2, Art 6 | 23 December 2026 | 23 March 2027 |
| Price list (36 services, website one click from home, VAT inclusive) Part 2, Art 7 · The page must use "price", "pricing" or "fees" in navigation and metadata | 23 December 2026 | 23 March 2027 |
| Parasiticide price list (most common flea/tick/worm products, own-brand flag) Part 2, Art 8 | 23 December 2026 | 23 March 2027 |
| Pet care plan standard information and savings comparison Part 2, Art 9 | 23 December 2026 | 23 March 2027 |
| Submission of all of the above to RCVS Find a Vet (shared with approved third parties) Part 2, Art 10 · 3 months after RCVS is ready, or 12 months from the Order, whichever is later | 23 September 2027 | 23 September 2027 |
| Written estimates for treatments over £500 Part 3, Art 11-13 | 23 June 2027 | 23 September 2027 |
| Itemised bills Part 4, Art 14-16 | 23 June 2027 | 23 September 2027 |
| Written prescription fee cap £21 first / £12.50 additional Part 5 · CPI-adjusted annually, published by the CMA by 14 February each year | 23 March 2027 | 23 September 2027 |
The tracker shows how many practices have published so far, by chain and by county.
Every vet has to publish the same 36 prices
Every first-opinion practice, out-of-hours centre, referral centre and pet crematorium has to put a price list on its website, one click from the home page, on a page whose link and address say "price", "pricing" or "fees". The prices have to include VAT, include any third-party charges, be for a typical case, and be updated before a new price is charged. There has to be a paper copy at the practice, and every booking confirmation has to state the consultation price with a link to the list.
The list has a fixed shape: 36 treatments in five groups, priced by size of pet (cats, then small, medium, large, extra large and giant dogs) where size matters. Here they all are with the typical UK price for each. Four of the lines, the dental, the castration and the two kinds of spay, come with a catch. For those the practice also has to say how it prices them and can tick what is included: the general anaesthetic, sedation, pain relief, a stay in hospital, a blood test beforehand and a check afterwards. That is why two "£300 spays" are not always the same thing, and why every practice page here shows what is included.
Flea, tick and worm prices
A practice that sells flea and worm products has to publish the prices of the ones it sells most, say which are its own brand, and say that the vet decides what to prescribe on clinical grounds. This is the list that lets you compare the practice's price with an online pharmacy's, and we have done that for every product we can match.
Pet care plans
Anyone selling a monthly plan has to publish what it contains, a savings comparison, and what a year of the plan's flea and worm treatment would cost bought separately. Plans are convenient. The rule exists because owners could not tell whether they saved any money. We have checked every plan we hold against its own practice's prices.
Who owns your vet
By 23 March 2027 every practice has to name the business that owns it, on its website, on its signage and inside the building. About four in ten UK practices belong to IVC Evidensia, CVS, Medivet, Vets4Pets, VetPartners or Linnaeus, and most of them still trade under the name they had before they were bought. Our group pages show which is which.
Prescriptions
A written prescription lets you buy a medicine anywhere. The fee for one is capped at £21 for the first medicine and £12.50 for each extra one on the same prescription, rising with inflation each February. For long-term medicines and flea and worm products, an online pharmacy plus the prescription fee is often far cheaper than buying at the practice.
Written estimates and itemised bills
For treatment expected to cost more than £500 the practice has to give you a written estimate before it starts, and every bill has to be itemised so you can see what you paid for. Both of these come later in the timetable than the price list.
The central register
Every practice also has to send its price list, flea and worm list, care plan information and ownership details to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, which will publish them on its Find a Vet service from about September 2027. Until then, and for the history, the comparison and the picture of who has published, we read the lists from each practice's own website.
What the rules do not do
They do not set or cap treatment prices, apart from the prescription fee. They do not make practices charge the same. They do not tell you which practice is best. They make prices visible. Comparing them, and asking your vet why theirs are higher, is up to you.
This is a summary for pet owners, not legal advice. The Order, its Schedule 1, the template price list and the CMA's explanatory note are on gov.uk.
Common questions
When do vets have to publish their prices?
Practices belonging to a business with 15 or more practices have to publish the standard price list by 23 December 2026. Every other practice has to publish by 23 March 2027. The dates run from the Order being made on 23 September 2026.
What prices do vets have to publish?
Thirty-six treatments in five groups. Consultations and routine care: first, repeat, out-of-hours and nurse appointments, nail clipping, anal glands, microchipping, health certificates, vaccinations and care plans. Prescription and dispensing fees. Surgery: dental, castration, spay, physiotherapy and laser. Diagnostics: X-ray, ultrasound, heart scan, cell and urine tests, CT, MRI and blood tests before an anaesthetic. And end-of-life care: euthanasia and both kinds of cremation. Prices have to include VAT, be for a typical case, and be priced by size of pet where that matters.
Is there a cap on vet prescription fees?
Yes. From 23 March 2027 at the big chains and 23 September 2027 everywhere else, a written prescription costs at most £21 for the first medicine and £12.50 for each extra one, rising with inflation each year. With a written prescription you can buy the medicine anywhere, including online, which is often much cheaper for flea, tick and worm products and for long-term medicines.
Do vets have to tell me who owns them?
Yes. From 23 March 2027 every practice has to say on its website and inside the building which business owns it. About four in ten UK practices belong to six big groups, and most still trade under the local name they had before they were bought.
Do the rules make vets cheaper?
Not directly. They cap the prescription fee and nothing else. What they do is make every practice's prices visible in the same format, so you can compare them before you book and ask your vet why theirs are higher than the practice down the road. Whether that brings prices down depends on owners using it.