On 24 March 2026, the Competition and Markets Authority published its final report on the veterinary services market. It's 15,000 words of regulatory language, and if you're running a busy practice, you probably haven't had time to read it all.
Here's what you actually need to know — in plain English, with clear timelines and practical next steps.
The Short Version
The CMA investigated the veterinary market because pet owners were struggling to compare practices on price, services, and quality. Rapid consolidation across the sector, without consistent transparency about ownership or pricing, made that comparison gap larger.
The result: a package of legally binding requirements for every veterinary practice in the UK. These aren't recommendations. They will become law through a CMA Order expected in September 2026.
The requirements fall into six categories: transparency about who you are, transparency about what you charge, better information during treatment, fairer medicine pricing, clearer cremation options, and proper complaint handling.
Most well-run practices are already doing much of this informally. The CMA is formalising it — and that means documentation, publication, and specific formats.
When Do You Need to Act?
The CMA Order is expected in September 2026. After that, deadlines vary by practice size and requirement:
If you have 15 or more first opinion practices (larger businesses): Most requirements kick in 3 months after the Order — around December 2026.
If you have fewer than 15 first opinion practices (smaller businesses): Most requirements kick in 6 months after the Order — around March 2027.
For RCVS data submission (all practices): RCVS has 9 months to build the platform (by June 2027). You then have 3 more months to submit your data (by September 2027).
Bottom line
If you run fewer than 15 first opinion practices, you have roughly 10 months until your compliance deadline. That sounds like plenty, but the requirements are detailed and some — like standardised price lists — take real work to prepare.
What You Need to Do: The Practical Checklist
Ten requirements you'll need to meet. Most well-run practices are already doing much of this — the CMA is asking you to formalise and publish it.
Publish a Standardised Price List
This is the biggest change for most practices. You'll need to publish prices for a defined list of services on your website and in your practice. The price list must be accessible within one click from your homepage, and the page must use words like "price", "pricing", or "fees" in its navigation and metadata. The services you must list prices for include: first and repeat consultations, out-of-hours consultations, nurse consultations, vaccinations, microchipping, neutering (castration and spay — both traditional and keyhole), dental assessments, common diagnostics (X-ray, ultrasound, blood tests, CT, MRI), and end-of-life care. Prices must be shown across standardised pet categories: cats and small dogs under 10kg, medium dogs (10-25kg), large dogs (25-40kg), extra-large dogs (40-60kg), and giant dogs over 60kg. For surgeries and dental work, you'll need to use a checkbox format showing whether general anaesthesia, sedation, pain relief, hospitalisation, blood tests, and post-op check-ups are included in the price or charged separately. If your prices don't vary by pet size, you can consolidate the categories. All prices must include VAT.
Publish Parasiticide Pricing
You must list the prices of your most commonly sold flea, tick, and worming products — specifically those you sold at least 100 units of in the previous 12 months. If fewer than 10 products meet that threshold, list your top 10 by sales volume. Each product needs its own price listing including any dispensing or administration fees. You must also include a link to the VMD Register of Online Retailers, along with a note that pet owners should consult their vet about which products their pet actually needs.
Disclose Your Ownership
If your practice is part of a larger group, you must clearly display the group's identity on your website, in your premises, on external signage, and in communications. This applies to all business types: first opinion practices, referral centres, out-of-hours providers, online pharmacies, and crematoria. If you're an independent practice, this requirement is straightforward — you already are who you say you are. But you should still have clear "about us" information that makes your independent status obvious.
Provide Written Estimates for Expensive Treatments
If a treatment is likely to cost £500 or more (including VAT), you must give the pet owner a written estimate before proceeding. This can be a range rather than a fixed figure, but you should indicate where in the range the cost is likely to fall. If the estimated cost increases by 20% or £500 (whichever is lower), you must provide an updated written estimate.
Provide Itemised Bills
Every bill must show individual line items for medicines, goods and services, and any fees for outside services. The level of detail should be enough for a pet owner to understand what they've been charged for.
Ensure Clinical Freedom
You must have written policies and processes ensuring that vets and nurses can provide independent, impartial advice in line with RCVS Codes. This includes giving pet owners a range of treatment options, being transparent about costs, and disclosing any conflicts of interest. If your practice has targets or incentives that could influence clinical recommendations, this requirement means documenting how you protect clinical independence from those pressures.
Support Prescription Transparency
You must tell pet owners — orally during consultations and in writing on appointment confirmations and receipts — that they can request a written prescription and buy medicines elsewhere. Written prescriptions must be available as a hard copy by the end of the consultation or digitally within 48 hours. Prescription fees are capped at £21 for the first medicine and £12.50 for each additional medicine prescribed in the same consultation. If you prescribe own-brand medication, you must tell the pet owner about the reference product alternative and provide its name in writing.
Be Transparent About Cremation
You must offer a communal cremation option and clearly present all cremation choices — communal, individual, or the owner taking their pet home — with published pricing. Any add-ons (urns, paw prints, fur clippings) must be priced separately, not bundled into the cremation cost.
Have a Proper Complaint Process
You must publish a written complaint process on your website that tells pet owners how to complain, when to expect a reply, and what options exist if you can't resolve it in-house. Complaints not resolved within 5 working days become "actionable" and must be acknowledged in writing within 5 working days, with a full response within 8 weeks. You must also keep a complaint log and review it periodically for patterns. If a pet owner wants to take an unresolved complaint to mediation, you must participate in good faith.
Submit Data to the RCVS
All of the above information — prices, services, ownership, accreditations, pet care plans — must also be submitted to the RCVS through a web form. RCVS will use this data for an enhanced Find a Vet platform, and will share it with approved third-party comparison services.
What This Means for Practices
The same obligations apply to every veterinary business in scope, regardless of ownership. A single-site practice with no in-house compliance team has the same checklist as a large group with a dedicated team — the difference is the resource available to deliver it.
“The CMA makes price visible. FetchRated makes quality visible.”
For most practices, the substance is already in place — you're transparent with clients, you discuss costs openly, you have complaint processes (even if they're not formally documented). The CMA is asking you to formalise and publish what you're probably already doing.
The work is in the formatting: producing standardised price lists in the specific categories the CMA requires, creating the web pages, documenting your complaint process to meet the minimum criteria, and preparing your data for RCVS submission.
How to Check Your Readiness
Ask yourself these questions. If you scored 7 or above, you're in good shape — the CMA formalises what you already do. If you scored below 5, you have meaningful work ahead, and starting now gives you time to do it properly.
10-Question Readiness Check
Need help getting ready?
If working through these requirements feels like more than you have time for, we can help. FetchRated membership includes CMA-compliant pricing pages, complaint process documentation, and ownership disclosure — generated from your data and maintained for you. Email us with what you are stuck on and we will come back within one working day.
The Timeline at a Glance
The CMA Order is expected in September 2026. Compliance deadlines roll out from there based on practice size.
CMA Implementation Timeline
| When | What Happens |
|---|---|
| March 2026 | CMA final report published — you are here |
| April–August 2026 | CMA drafts the legal Order, consults publicly |
| September 2026 | CMA Order made — requirements become legally binding |
| December 2026 | Larger practices (15+ FOPs) must comply with most requirements |
| March 2027 | Smaller practices must comply with most requirements |
| June 2027 | RCVS enhanced Find a Vet platform ready to accept data |
| September 2027 | All practices must submit data to RCVS |
What Happens If You Don't Comply?
The CMA can work with you to change your practices, issue binding directions requiring you to take specific steps, or impose financial penalties. The CMA — not the RCVS — is responsible for enforcement.
“This isn't a professional body recommendation. It's law.”
How FetchRated Can Help
FetchRated exists so pet owners have a clear, independently verified picture of veterinary quality across the UK. The CMA's report comes to a similar conclusion: pet owners need consistent, comparable information about practices to make confident choices.
What FetchRated Membership Includes
Pilot Programme — Free for Selected Practices
We're currently running a national pilot across the UK. Selected practices participate at no cost and receive a full competitive analysis, 5+ verified Google reviews, and a quality assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pet Owner? Find a Trusted Vet Near You
If you're reading this as a pet owner, the CMA's changes are good news — you'll soon be able to compare vet practices on price, services, and quality more easily than ever. In the meantime, FetchRated's directory helps you find practices with independently verified reviews.
This guide was published on 28 March 2026 and will be updated as the CMA Order is drafted and finalised.
Sources: CMA Final Report — Veterinary Services Market for Pets (24 March 2026), RCVS response to CMA remedies (24 March 2026), gov.uk/guidance/what-veterinary-businesses-and-vets-need-to-do-following-the-cmas-final-vets-report