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.
Whilst we set up the Register of Online Suppliers of veterinary medicines, the Accredited Internet Retailer Scheme (AIRS) will continue to exist in parallel, but we will not consider further applications to be added to the AIRS.
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 not supply POM-V, POM-VPS or NFA-VPS medicines online until we confirm your registration.
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 contact details of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. Clearly identify this is only for enquiries relating to veterinary medicines purchased online
- a link to the published register
Accredited internet retailer scheme (AIRS)
The VMD previously accredited UK-based retailers of veterinary medicines who met the AIRS criteria. Most of the criteria reflect legal requirements for selling veterinary medicines but there were some additional criteria, such as having links to your professional body’s website on your website so that your customers can verify your details.
The scheme is voluntary and free.
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.
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: enforcement@vmd.gov.uk
Updates to this page
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Added a link to the new online service to register to retail veterinary medicines online.
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Updated in line with the VMR, as amended.
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Updated contact email
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First published.