Your own practice is the place to ask what your pet's care will cost.

How vet fees work

Owning a pet brings vet visits, and a new owner can plan for them better once they know how the bill is put together.

Vets in the UK answer to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). It publishes a Code of Professional Conduct with supporting guidance. One of its chapters covers fees, estimates and bills.

Each practice sets its own fees

The RCVS says there are no statutory charges for vet work. Fees are for the vet and the client to settle between them, and the RCVS has no say over how high they are.

Fees may vary from one practice to the next, the RCVS says, and they may be one of the things a person weighs up when choosing a practice. Others include the services on offer and how emergencies are handled out of hours.

What a practice should tell you about its fees

The RCVS guidance says a practice must give the price of a service if you ask for it. Where it can't give an exact price, it must give the method it uses to work the price out.

The RCVS expects vets to be open and honest about fees. Clients should get clear information about how fees are calculated and what they are being charged for, so that they can give informed consent to treatment.

New clients in particular should be given written information about what the practice offers.

Estimates before treatment

The RCVS says vets and veterinary nurses should offer a realistic first estimate of what treatment is likely to cost. It says the estimate should:

If it becomes clear the estimate, or a limit you have set, is likely to be passed, the RCVS says the practice should contact you as soon as it can and get your consent again.

A vet may also give a fixed price quote. The RCVS points out that once you accept one, it may be binding in law.

The bill

The RCVS says every invoice should be itemised. It should show the goods, including each relevant medicine, and the services the practice provided. Charges for outside services, and any fee for arranging them, should be shown separately.

Medicines and prescription fees

You can get a medicine from the practice, or ask for a written prescription and get it from another vet or a pharmacy, the RCVS says.

A vet may make a reasonable charge for a written prescription. Clients should be given enough information on medicine prices, and told early about any big change to what the practice charges for prescriptions or medicines.

A rule from 2005, the Supply of Relevant Veterinary Medicinal Products Order, stops vets charging clients more for other goods or services because they took a prescription away.

Paying and insurance

The RCVS says vets can ask for payment in advance and in full, or ask for a deposit before treatment starts. A practice doesn't have to offer a payment plan, though it may choose to.

If a pet is insured, the RCVS guidance says to confirm with the insurer what the policy covers as early as possible, including any limits or exclusions.

Where a client can't afford treatment, the RCVS says the vet may talk to them about charitable services.

Changes from the Competition and Markets Authority

In September 2026 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) made an Order on vet services for household pets. Its explainer for larger vet businesses lists published price lists, written estimates for higher cost treatments and limits on prescription fees among the changes.

The CMA says the changes come in stages, starting for larger businesses from 23 December 2026. Smaller businesses have longer.

vetcomparison.uk, a sister site run by the same owner, covers finding a practice and what the CMA's rules mean for each one.

Useful links