Start by checking whether a pet owner can find your prices from the homepage and whether the first booking confirmation gives the consultation price. The CMA published its made veterinary-services Order on 22 September 2026. Preparation now means assigning the website, pricing and booking-system work against the dates that apply to your business.
This guide covers the website project, not every obligation in the Order. Your business remains responsible for checking its scope and compliance. The July consultation draft has been superseded. Read the made Order and accompanying documents.
Check the dates for your business
The made Order defines a larger business as one with 15 or more first opinion practices and/or out-of-hours centres. A smaller business has fewer than 15. Check the business or group structure, rather than counting only the locations with the same local brand. First opinion practices provide primary veterinary care.
| Work | Larger business | Smaller business |
|---|---|---|
| Practice information, standard price list, parasiticide prices and pet care plans (Articles 6–9) | 22 December 2026 | 22 March 2027 |
| Group or network ownership information (Article 5) | 22 March 2027 | 22 March 2027 |
| Written treatment estimates and itemised bills (Articles 11–12) | 22 June 2027 | 22 September 2027 |
How to read these dates: Article 3 requires compliance from the next Working Day after the dates in its table. These are separate phases, not one deadline for the entire reform. Book your internal approval before the relevant date. See Article 3, pages 18–20 of the Order.
There is also an earlier administrative step. Businesses already operating a first opinion practice, out-of-hours centre, referral centre or crematorium when the Order came into force must supply specified business and responsible-contact details to the RCVS by 30 November 2026, unless already supplied under the Funding Order. Check Article 26 with whoever manages that submission.
Choose what to fix first
Open your practice homepage on a phone. Ask someone unfamiliar with the site to find the consultation fee, the out-of-hours number and the business owner. Then review a sample booking confirmation. This short walkthrough will reveal whether the first job is missing information, hard-to-find information or a disconnected booking system.
- Prices are missing or unreliable: ask the practice manager to approve the underlying figures before commissioning a new layout.
- Prices exist but are difficult to find: ask your website supplier to review navigation and the page on a small screen.
- The website and booking message disagree: give the website and booking suppliers one agreed price source and a shared change date.
- Different branches show different facts: build a location-by-location list of the discrepancies and responsible people.
You may only need a focused page and booking-template update. A full redesign should have a separate reason, such as a system that cannot keep information accessible and accurate.
Brief the price-page work
Article 7 requires the price list to be available within one click of the homepage. Its page navigation and metadata must use clear price or fees wording. The first digital message confirming a consultation booking must include the consultation price and a link to the relevant price-list webpage. The list must change before a revised price is charged. Check Article 7(3)–(5).
Give the person building the page the current Schedule 1 service list and the Explanatory Note. The schedule covers named services, including consultations, preventative care, procedures, diagnostics and end-of-life services. Do not start from a few popular services and assume that is the full list.
| Question for the practice | What to give the website supplier |
|---|---|
| Which scheduled services do we offer at this location? | An approved mapping to Schedule 1, with variants and the standard option identified. |
| What does each typical price include? | VAT-inclusive figures, essential components and the required inclusion checkboxes for relevant procedures. |
| Do species, weight or out-of-hours provision change the price? | The applicable categories and figures, checked against Article 7; any third-party information needed. |
| Who changes a price, and when? | A named approver, effective date and a way to update the website before the new charge starts. |
Our delivery recommendation: use readable HTML tables with labelled headings and a mobile layout that preserves the relationship between each service and its price. Keep explanations easy to find alongside the list. A downloadable copy can help reception, but it needs the same approval and update process.
Check ownership and out-of-hours details
For groups and networks, the Explanatory Note describes ownership wording on the homepage and page metadata, as well as other customer-facing material. A footer statement alone is not a sufficient project brief. It also explains the limits where businesses cannot directly control search or map results. Use its Article 5 section when briefing changes.
Ask your practice manager to verify the out-of-hours provider, number, address, availability and service description before the website is edited. Then test that route from a phone. Record the date checked and who will tell the website supplier when the arrangement changes. See the Explanatory Note on ownership and practice information.
Prepare consistent practice information
Keep a single approved record for each location: contact details, opening times, ownership, services, prices and care-plan information. Use it when checking the website, booking platform and directory entries. This is useful preparation even when different suppliers own each system.
The Find a Vet data-submission date is conditional. Article 3 uses the later of 22 September 2027 or three months after the RCVS meets the relevant platform-readiness requirement, followed by the next Working Day rule. Track the RCVS instructions rather than treating September as an unconditional submission date. Accurate information can support discovery, but it does not guarantee search rankings or new clients.
Test booking and price changes before launch
Illustrative test: a practice manager approves a consultation price change for next month. In a supplier test environment, update the approved record, check the price page, and generate a sample first booking confirmation. Confirm the amount and link agree. Then agree the live change sequence so the website is updated before reception charges the revised fee. Use test details, not a real client's record.
Ask for evidence you can review: the page link, a phone screenshot, a sample confirmation and the name of the person responsible for future updates. If the booking system cannot include the necessary information, raise that with its supplier early. A changed website cannot correct a message sent by a separate system.
An owner handover worksheet
Copy this table into your project notes. Replace the blanks and share it with the people approving prices, maintaining the website and managing bookings. It is a project aid, not a compliance certificate.
| Record | Your answer |
|---|---|
| Practice and website | ________________________ |
| Business size and applicable phase checked by | ________________________ |
| First problem to fix, with a page or message example | ________________________ |
| Person approving prices and practice information | ________________________ |
| Website and booking-system contacts | ________________________ |
| Internal ready-by date and agreed live-change date | ________________________ |
| Evidence to review before approval | Page link / phone view / test booking message / price-change check |
| Person responsible after launch | ________________________ |
If you need help delivering the website part, see our website service or send us the practice website and the specific gap. We can agree a defined piece of work, the information you need to supply and how you will check it before launch.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The CMA published the made Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order 2026 on 22 September 2026. Requirements apply in stages. Use the made Order and its Explanatory Note when checking your business, rather than an earlier consultation draft.
Article 3 lists 22 December 2026 for larger businesses and 22 March 2027 for smaller businesses for practice information, standard prices, parasiticide prices and pet care plans. Compliance starts on the next Working Day after the listed date. Ownership information has 22 March 2027 for both. Other requirements have different dates.
The Order specifies a price list hosted on a webpage, accessible within one click of the homepage, with clear price or fees wording in navigation and page metadata. An accessible HTML page is a practical way to deliver this. A PDF can supplement it, but uploading a file alone does not demonstrate that the access, content and updating requirements are met.
