Veterinary medicine residues inspection
Information for farmers about inspections the Veterinary Medicines Directorate carry out on on-farm medicines, medicine records and farm movement records.
Who gets inspected
All UK livestock farms are eligible for inspection.
What gets inspected
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) inspects:
- on-farm medicines (including in feed)
- medicine records books (invoices and prescriptions for medicines and computer records where appropriate)
- farm movement records
Time and length
You will not get notice of an inspection - they can happen on any day at any time. It’s unlikely you’ll be inspected outside normal working hours unless there’s reason to suspect this will show you’re non-compliant.
An on-farm inspection takes 1 to 3 hours.
What happens next
Non-compliance results are reported in:
- the Marketing Authorisations Veterinary Information Service newsletter MAVIS
- Residues: Statutory Surveillance Results
Your details are not included in any publication.
The VMD works with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the local authority if enforcement measures are deemed necessary.