Sell veterinary medicines on the internet
Legal requirements for the sale of veterinary medicines on the internet.
As a vet, pharmacist or suitably qualified person selling veterinary medicines on the internet you must comply with The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk), as amended.
You must:
- be established in the UK
- have an address within the UK
- be registered with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD)
- sell only veterinary medicines authorised for sale in the UK
- supply the medicines from appropriately registered or authorised UK premises
- properly prescribe and supply the most appropriate medicine to treat the animal’s disease or condition
- advise your customers on how to use the medicine safely and on any contra-indications or warnings
See the Retail of veterinary medicines guidance for more information about the retail sale of veterinary medicines.
Registration of online retailers
Internet retailers and online suppliers of veterinary medicines must register with the VMD to distribute the following categories:
- Prescription Only Medicine – Veterinarian (POM-V)
- Prescription Only Medicine – Veterinarian, Pharmacist, SQP (POM-VPS)
- Non-Food Animal - Veterinarian, Pharmacist, SQP (NFA-VPS)
Once registered, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) will add the details to the Register of Online Retailers of veterinary medicines.
You do not need to register to sell medicines of the distribution category ‘Authorised Veterinary Medicine – General Sales List’ (AVM-GSL) and products covered under Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR) Schedule 6 online.
Register online
To register online, you must provide:
- the premises professional identification number – this can be the VMD site number, RCVS registration number or GPhC registration number
- contact details for the company or organisation that will become the registration holder
- contact details of someone within the company or organisation that is authorised to discuss the registration with the VMD
- the URLs of the websites you are applying to register
- the address for where you’ll store and dispatch the medicines from
Once you’ve submitted your registration, we will contact you within 10 working days.
You must use the appropriate logo as supplied to you, please note these are different for Northern Ireland and Great Britain but will link to the same Register of Online Suppliers of veterinary medicines.
You must not supply POM-V, POM-VPS or NFA-VPS medicines online until we confirm your registration.
Left: Logo for GB retailer Right: Logo for NI retailer
Access to the logo
Do not copy the logo from this webpage and upload to your website, you must use the original file. If you require access to the logo file and have not received an email from us or have any questions, please contact us..
All GB and NI online retailers of veterinary medicines are sent the appropriate logo files.
After you’ve registered
As a registered online retailer, you must make available on each part of your website where POM-V, POM-VPS or NFA-VPS medicines are offered:
- the statement “registered internet retailer of veterinary medicines”
- the statement “If you have a query about the veterinary medicine purchased online you can contact the Veterinary Medicines Directorate using their online form”.
- a link to the published register
Action for all online retailers
Businesses operating in Great Britain or Northern Ireland should:
- Check that their business and every website used to sell veterinary medicines are registered with the VMD.
- Tell the VMD promptly if their business or website details have changed.
- Display the correct logo for the market in which they are established.
- Make sure the logo links to the VMD Register of Online Retailers.
- Test the logo and link on desktop and mobile versions of their website.
Businesses with more than one website must ensure that each website is included in the registration details held by the VMD.
Other legislative requirements
Other legislative requirements may apply to the sale or supply of VMPs over the internet, such as:
Advertising
You must comply with the advertising requirements of the current Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013, as amended and for Northern Ireland the requirements in Chapter VII, Articles 119 to 121 inclusive, Regulation - 2019/6.
Further guidance
For further guidance on what the VMD would consider to be a model internet retailer please use the contact email address below.
Contact
Email: inspections@vmd.gov.uk