NHS prescription charge 2026: £9.90 per item in England

The charge and where it applies

England is the only UK nation with a prescription charge. The other three dropped theirs. The figure is £9.90 per item, set from 1 May 2024 and held for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years. Community Pharmacy England confirmed the freeze on 29 April 2026. The charge is collected by the pharmacy when you pick the item up and passed to the NHS.

Scotland has had no prescription charge for residents since its health department abolished the fee. NHS inform states plainly that prescriptions in Scotland are free. In Wales, anyone registered with a Welsh GP gets free prescriptions from a Welsh pharmacy. Northern Ireland dispenses every prescription free of charge with no eligibility test.

What counts as an item

The NHS website states that prescription charges are for each item, not each prescription. One form listing three medicines means three charges, or £29.70. Each strength, each formulation and each quantity line is a separate item. A box of 28 tablets and a box of 56 tablets of the same drug on the same form are two items if the prescriber writes them as two lines.

Some appliances have their own prices. The HC11 leaflet lists support tights at £19.80 per pair, available only through hospitals, and support stockings at £9.90 each.

How long a prescription lasts

Most NHS prescriptions in England are valid for 6 months from the date the doctor or nurse signs them. Prescriptions for most controlled drugs, morphine for example, are valid for 28 days. Pharmacies cannot dispense an out-of-date prescription, so a late collection means a trip back to the surgery.

Items that are always free

The NHS website names two groups of items with no charge for anyone in England: contraception and medicines prescribed for hospital inpatients. The HC11 leaflet adds certain treatments for sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis. The pharmacy marks these on the form so no charge is taken.

Who does not pay

Several groups collect every item free. Under 16s, 16 to 18 year olds in full-time education and people aged 60 or over qualify on age alone. People with a maternity exemption certificate, a medical exemption certificate, an HC2 certificate or a War Pension exemption certificate for their accepted disability also pay nothing. Universal Credit claimants with take-home pay of £435 or less in the last assessment period, or £935 or less with a child element or limited capability for work, and people on Pension Credit Guarantee Credit are exempt too. The full list, the proof needed and the checker are on the free prescriptions page.

When a prepayment certificate wins

A prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) replaces the per-item charge with a flat fee. The 3-month PPC costs £32.05. Three items in 3 months would cost £29.70 at the counter, so the certificate loses by £2.35. Four items cost £39.60, so the certificate saves £7.55.

The 12-month PPC costs £114.50. Eleven items in a year cost £108.90 at the counter, so the certificate loses by £5.60. Twelve items cost £118.80, so the certificate saves £4.30. Every item after the twelfth is free. Someone collecting two items a month pays £237.60 across the year without a PPC and £114.50 with one, a saving of £123.10. The NHSBSA page says you save money with more than 3 items in 3 months or more than 11 items in 12 months. The prepayment certificate guide covers how to buy one and the PPC calculator works out your own figure.

Steps to pay less

1. Check whether you qualify for free prescriptions before you pay. The NHSBSA eligibility checker takes around three minutes.
2. Count the items you expect to collect over the next 3 and 12 months. Include items for every medicine, not every form.
3. If the count reaches 4 in 3 months or 12 in 12 months, buy a PPC before the next collection. Pay £114.50 in full or in 10 monthly Direct Debit instalments of £11.45.
4. If you pay at the counter while waiting for a certificate or an exemption decision, ask for refund form FP57 at the time. You cannot get one afterwards.
5. Claim any refund within three months of paying.

Mistakes that cost money

Paying £9.90 for an item when you have a medical condition on the exemption list is the most common one. Diabetes treated with medicine, epilepsy needing continuous treatment and an underactive thyroid all qualify for a medical exemption certificate, which costs nothing.

Buying a 3-month PPC four times a year costs £128.20 against £114.50 for the 12-month version. Anyone on long-term medication should take the annual certificate.

Letting a prescription expire wastes the appointment and sometimes the medicine. Collect within 6 months, or 28 days for a controlled drug.

Ticking an exemption box you are not sure about triggers a check by the NHS Business Services Authority. A wrong claim costs five times the charge, up to £100, on top of the £9.90. The penalty charge notice guide explains how the process runs.

Where the figures come from

The £9.90 charge, the 6-month and 28-day validity rules and the always-free items are from the NHS website prescription charges page. The PPC prices and the per-pair price for support tights are from NHSBSA leaflet HC11 (V28), April 2026. The freeze for 2026/27 is confirmed by Community Pharmacy England on 29 April 2026. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland positions are from NHS inform, the Welsh Government and nidirect respectively.