In this article
You lift your dog onto the table, the vet mentions blood tests and an X-ray, and the first firm number you hear comes at the card machine. When the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigated vet services, it found that fewer than half of the owners it surveyed had been given price information before recent non-routine treatment, and only 29% of those got it in writing1.
That is starting to change. The CMA made its new rules for vet businesses into a legal Order on 22 September 2026, and the first of them apply at larger vet businesses from 23 December 20262. Here is what changes, when it reaches your practice, and how to use it without souring a relationship you will want for years.
Why the CMA stepped in
The CMA concluded that the main problem is a lack of clear information, especially on prices and treatment options, at a time when vet prices were rising much faster than general inflation. When the CMA began its work, just 16% of practices had any prices on their websites, and in 2025 over 40% still showed none. Where prices did appear, they were often for a few very common services5.
In numbers
The six large groups are CVS, IVC, Linnaeus, Medivet, Pets at Home and VetPartners, and fewer than half of people using one knew their practice was part of a chain1. The CMA found that most of these groups charged higher average prices than independent practices5. From March 2027, practices that belong to a group must show the group's name on their signs, at the premises and online3, 4.
What changes, and when
Timing depends on the size of the business behind your practice. A business with 15 or more practices counts as large; smaller ones get longer for most changes1, 3, 4. Each date means the first working day after the 22nd of that month3, 4.
| Change | 15 or more practices | 14 or fewer practices |
|---|---|---|
| Price list, pet care plan and cremation details | 23 December 20263 | March 20274 |
| Group name on signs, complaints, mediation | March 20273 | March 20274 |
| Prescription fee cap | March 20273 | September 20274 |
| Estimates, itemised bills, prescription offers | June 20273 | September 20274 |
| Prices sent to the Find a Vet site | September 2027 at the earliest3 | September 2027 at the earliest4 |
The rules apply across the UK, and the prescription fee caps are the same in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland2, 3. They cover household pets, which leaves out dogs kept mainly for work, sport or farming3.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), which regulates vets, will check that businesses comply, funded by a levy on them5, 7. The CMA can issue directions or fines to a business that breaks the rules3.
A price list you can compare
From 23 December at larger businesses, each practice must publish a price for each of 36 standard services it offers, on its website and in the practice3. The list covers consultations, vaccinations, neutering, microchipping, routine dentistry, common scans, some diagnostic tests, common operations, and euthanasia and cremation5. Each price is the typical cost of a straightforward case, and can go up when a case is more complicated3.
Practices must also list prices for their most commonly sold flea, tick and worming products, and those that offer a pet care plan must set out what each plan includes, its monthly and annual cost, what each service costs on its own and how to cancel3.
By the end of this year, many pet owners will know upfront the cost of basic services like consultations and vaccinations and receive clear breakdowns of pet care plans2.
Businesses must also send these prices to the RCVS's Find a Vet site, by a deadline no earlier than September 2027, and the RCVS will share them with approved comparison sites1, 3.
Estimates before treatment, itemised bills after
From June 2027 at larger businesses and September 2027 at smaller ones, your practice must give you a written estimate before you decide on treatment that is reasonably likely to cost £500 or more, including VAT, when at least a fifth of that cost is for tests or treatment you have not yet had or chosen3, 4. The estimate covers the previous three months and the next 12, not only today's visit3.
An estimate is not a fixed quote. It can be a single figure or a range, and with a range the practice must say where the final cost is most likely to land3. If the likely cost climbs by 20% or by £500, whichever is lower, you get a new estimate3.
There are two exceptions: when your vet judges that your dog needs urgent treatment and stopping to write an estimate would harm their welfare, and when you have said you do not want one3. The CMA expects estimates to be needed in fewer than one in five consultations5.
You will also get an itemised bill before or when you pay. It must show the price of each medicine, the total for other goods and services, and any fees from outside providers, including administration charges3.
Prescriptions and buying medicines online
Medicines are where many owners can save. The CMA found that commonly prescribed medicines typically cost 50% to 60% less at online pharmacies than at vet practices, and estimated that many owners could save around £200 to £300 a year by buying them online, even after prescription or dispensing fees5.
To buy a prescribed medicine elsewhere you need a written prescription from your vet3, and many practices charge £30 or more for one1. From March 2027 at larger businesses and September 2027 at smaller ones, that fee is capped at £21.40 for the first medicine and £12.70 for each additional one, including VAT3, 4. From April 2028 the caps rise each year with inflation3.
March's headlines said £21 and £12.50: those were the final report's figures, and the legal Order set slightly higher ones1, 3.
From June 2027 at larger businesses (September 2027 at smaller ones), your vet must offer you a written prescription in every consultation where they prescribe a medicine, unless it is needed urgently3, 4. Ask for one and you get it on paper by the end of the consultation, or digitally by the end of the second working day3. If your vet prescribes a practice's own-brand medicine, they must also tell you the equivalent product you could buy elsewhere3.
None of this obliges you to buy online5. Buying from your practice can be the only practical option when your dog needs a medicine straight away or it is tricky to give5.
In March the RCVS broadly welcomed the reforms, but it worried about publishing the prices of anti-parasitic medicines and about focusing on cost alone when suitability, the environment and public health matter too7. So ask your vet which product suits your dog before you switch, and buy only from a registered seller8.
Will my vet bills come down?
Perhaps, though not across the board. The CMA considered controlling the prices of some or all vet services and decided against it, except for prescription fees5. It argued that many services, especially complex ones, have no standard price, so their prices could not be controlled centrally5.
Instead it is relying on visibility: owners who can compare prices give practices a reason to price fairly5. The CMA thinks many businesses could cut medicine prices without raising others, though not every practice may manage it5.
How to use the new rules without falling out with your vet
Using the new rules needs no confrontation. Vets' professional code already asks them to give impartial advice and timely information on options and their costs, and practices will have to put written policies in place that let them do it3.
What you can ask for
- Check the practice's price list before you book, or before you switch practice3
- For bigger work, ask for the estimate in writing, and where in the range the final bill is likely to land3
- Ask whether there is another option, and what it would cost
- For ongoing medicine, ask for a written prescription and check with your vet that it is suitable to buy elsewhere
- Before buying online, look for the words "registered internet retailer of veterinary medicines" and a link to the official register8
If something goes wrong, start with the practice. From March 2027 every practice must have a written complaints process: it must first try to settle a complaint informally, and if that fails, acknowledge it in writing and send a full response within set deadlines3, 4. If you are still unhappy, the practice must take part in mediation in good faith if you want it, though the outcome binds neither side unless both accept it3.
It's very important that pet owners don't take out their frustrations on individual vets5.
If money is the worry, say so early. A written estimate gives you and your vet something concrete to plan around, and PDSA offers charitable vet care to owners who are eligible6.
What happens on the consulting table stays the same: your vet will still examine your dog and recommend what they think is best. What changes, over the next year, is that more of the prices reach you in writing before you decide.
Sources and further reading8 sources
The small numbers in the article link to the source behind each fact. Sources open on their own websites.
- CMA concludes market investigation with major reforms to veterinary sector
- Veterinary services for household pets
- Large veterinary businesses: complying with the CMA's Order
- Small veterinary businesses: complying with the CMA's Order
- Summary of final report: veterinary services for household pets
- Pet owners fear having to choose between “heating, eating, and caring for their pets”
- RCVS broadly welcomes CMA remedies but voices concern over certain recommendations
- Sell veterinary medicines on the internet