LONDON, March 24, 2026 — The UK competition watchdog has unveiled sweeping reforms to the veterinary services market aimed at boosting transparency, strengthening competition and reducing costs for pet owners.
The Competition and Markets Authority said the measures conclude its market investigation into veterinary services for household pets, which found that a lack of price transparency and limited consumer information had weakened competition and contributed to higher prices.
The reforms will introduce legally binding requirements affecting veterinary practices across the UK, many of which are now owned by large corporate groups.
According to Martin Coleman, the changes are designed to help pet owners better understand prices, ownership structures and treatment options when choosing veterinary care.
Among the key measures, veterinary practices will be required to publish comprehensive price lists covering standard services such as consultations, diagnostics, common procedures and prescriptions. They will also have to provide written cost estimates in advance for treatments expected to exceed £500, except in emergencies.
The regulator will also cap fees for written prescriptions at £21 for the first medicine and £12.50 for additional medicines, addressing concerns that high prescription fees discouraged pet owners from purchasing medication from lower-cost online suppliers.
To improve transparency, practices will be required to clearly disclose whether they are part of a corporate group or independently owned. Less than half of pet owners currently realise that their local clinic is part of a larger chain, according to the CMA.
The authority also plans to introduce a new comparison tool through the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons “Find a Vet” service, which will publish pricing and ownership information and share data with third-party comparison platforms.
Additional measures will address concerns about conflicts between clinical judgement and commercial incentives. Veterinary practices will need written policies ensuring vets can provide independent advice to pet owners.
The reforms will also improve transparency around pet healthcare plans, clarify cremation pricing options and prevent out-of-hours service providers from imposing restrictive contract terms that make it difficult for clinics to switch providers.
Alongside the competition remedies, the CMA called for modernised regulation of the sector, noting that current legislation governing veterinary services dates back around 60 years and primarily regulates individual vets rather than veterinary businesses.
The regulator said it supports the UK government’s proposed overhaul of the Veterinary Services Act, which would bring veterinary companies under the oversight of an independent regulator and strengthen consumer protections.
Most of the CMA’s legally binding orders are expected to be implemented between three and 12 months after they are finalised, with the regulator required to adopt them by September 2026.
The veterinary services sector is valued at more than £6.7 billion, with an estimated 60% of UK households owning a pet.
