Pharmacy sales - NHS prescription prepayment certificate

You should ask customers for prepayment details as part of the terms of service.

If they do not have them, tick 'Evidence not seen' on the prescription. Do not charge them.

We prevent fraud by matching prepayment details on our database with prescriptions.

Find out more about selling prescription prepayments, in our guide to selling PPCs.

If you have any other questions about this service, call us on 0300 330 1009.

Check whether the patient can get free prescriptions before making a sale. Remember people 60 or over get free prescriptions.

To see if they can get free prescriptions, visit our webpage.

The current cost for patients is:

• £30.25 for a 3-month prescription prepayment

• £108.10 for a 12-month prescription prepayment

Prepayment starts on the date they buy at the pharmacy unless they ask for a different start date.

A start date can be up to one month in the future or the past.

Patients may pay a prescripition charge while waiting for their prescription prepayment.

They cannot get a refund unless they get an NHS receipt form (an FP57) at the time.

If a patient claims to have a valid prescription prepayment when they do not, they may have to pay a penalty charge.

A partial refund may be available if a patient starts to qualify for free prescriptions.

For more about refunds, including the time limit for claiming, read our advice.