UK vet practices should prepare one clear website information hub for prices, ownership, services, out-of-hours care and pet care plans, backed by an update process that keeps every location accurate. The CMA's substantive Order is not final yet, but its current guidance gives practices enough detail to map data, design accessible pages and assign owners now. Check the final Order before publication or compliance sign-off.
Timing matters. On 20 August 2026, the Competition and Markets Authority published the final Funding Order and RCVS funding undertakings, while consultation on the draft substantive Order closed. The CMA is due to complete the remedies phase by 23 September 2026. Its current timetable points to December 2026 for larger businesses and March 2027 for smaller businesses to publish the main service and price information.
This is practical website and marketing guidance, not legal advice. The final Order may refine wording, formats or dates, and each veterinary business should assess how the rules apply to its own structure.
Start with what is final and what is still pending
The CMA published its final decision on remedies in March 2026. Those remedies cover general information, treatment choices, medicines, out-of-hours contracts, cremation and complaints. The detailed substantive Order that will make the obligations legally binding was published in draft in July, consulted on until 20 August and is now being finalised.
That distinction should shape the project. Practices can prepare the content model, collect data, identify gaps and test layouts now. They should avoid presenting draft details as settled law or locking a final compliance statement until the made Order has been reviewed. Keep a dated assumptions log that records which source supports each field.
The CMA defines a larger business as one with 15 or more first opinion practices. Smaller businesses generally receive three additional months for several remedies. Groups face a separate ownership-transparency requirement. Scope can also extend beyond first opinion practices to referral centres, out-of-hours providers, online pharmacies, diagnostic services and crematoria, depending on the remedy.
Map the information before designing the page
A price table is only one part of the website work. The CMA's implementation guidance says first opinion practices will need clear and accessible information about out-of-hours provision, staff qualifications, RCVS accreditations, standard prices, parasiticide products and pet care plans. Groups will need to identify ownership clearly online. Key information will later be supplied to the RCVS for an enhanced Find a Vet service.
Create a structured record for every practice location. Include the trading name, address, website, email, telephone number, opening hours, animals treated and out-of-hours arrangements. Add the group owner where relevant, the qualifications and accreditations the business chooses to show, and the person responsible for verifying each field.
| Website area | Information to prepare | Useful publishing approach |
|---|---|---|
| Practice details | Contact details, opening hours, animals treated and services | One canonical location page for each practice, with consistent facts across the site |
| Out-of-hours care | Provider identity, telephone number, address, website, availability and service type | A prominent emergency route that works on mobile and is repeated where patients expect it |
| Qualifications and standards | Relevant qualifications, RCVS accreditations and current PSS awards | Plain-language explanations with links to authoritative supporting information |
| Prices | Defined standard services, pet categories, inclusions, VAT and variation notes | An accessible HTML table with clear headings, definitions and a visible review date |
| Pet care plans | Included services, frequency, monthly and annual cost, standalone prices and cancellation terms | A comparison that explains value without obscuring conditions or one-off services |
| Ownership | Group identity and relationship between brands and locations | Clear wording on location pages, the footer or business-information area, not only in legal small print |
Build a price page pet owners can actually use
The standard list described by the CMA is broad. It includes consultations, vaccinations, microchipping, prescriptions and administration, routine procedures, diagnostics, end-of-life care and cremation. Some services require additional context, such as appointment duration, the name of an out-of-hours provider or which elements are included in a dental or neutering price.
Prices may also need to be shown against standard pet and weight categories. The typical price should reflect a standard case with minimal complexity and include VAT. The page should explain that a price may rise for a more complex case without making the listed figure meaningless. Where prices change, the CMA guidance says the list should be updated before the new price is charged.
Use HTML as the primary format. A responsive table can be searched, enlarged, read by assistive technology and updated without asking users to download a document. A PDF may be useful as a secondary version, but it should not become an inaccessible dead end. Add a short introduction explaining what the figures include, the date reviewed and how an owner can request an individual estimate.
Make ownership, services and care routes easy to recognise
The CMA found that ownership is not always obvious when practices trade under local brands. Its remedy requires veterinary groups to identify the group clearly and prominently on websites, other online data, premises, signage and communications. Hiding the relationship in terms and conditions is unlikely to serve the intended purpose.
Use consistent ownership wording on the main business page and every affected location page. Check directory listings, booking systems and profiles controlled by the business as well as the primary website. If several brands share an owner but offer different services, explain the relationship without flattening those genuine differences.
Out-of-hours information deserves equal prominence. A pet owner under pressure should not have to search several pages to learn who provides care, when it is available or which number to call. Put the route in the location page, contact area and any emergency-care content, then test it on a small screen and with a keyboard.
Prepare for Find a Vet and price-comparison visibility
The reforms are also a discovery change. Veterinary businesses will supply practice, ownership, service, price and care-plan data to the RCVS. The enhanced Find a Vet service will make that information available for comparison and may share approved data with third parties.
That makes consistency commercially important. A price or opening time that differs between the website, booking platform and RCVS data can undermine trust before a prospective client calls. Use one controlled source for each field, standard naming for locations and services, and a documented export or review process.
Search pages should answer the questions that a comparison row cannot. Explain what an appointment includes, how estimates work, what happens out of hours and when a standard price may vary. Kay & Co.'s SEO service for UK veterinary practices connects accurate practice information with local search, useful service pages and responsible content.
Create an accountable update workflow
The hard part is keeping prices, services and locations accurate after costs, rotas and plans change. Assign a data owner, website publisher and approver, then trigger a review whenever a price, provider, plan or ownership detail changes.
Keep a change record with the old value, new value, effective date, source and approver. Preview updates before they go live, check desktop and mobile tables, and confirm that important information remains available without JavaScript. If a practice uses a CMS, restrict editing to structured fields where possible so one correction updates every relevant surface.
When the final substantive Order is made, run a field-by-field legal and operational review. Compare the final definitions, service list, format rules and dates against the assumptions used during preparation. Update the public page only after the source data and approval record agree.
A practical CMA website-readiness checklist for vet practices
- Confirm scope and size. Map every first opinion practice and related service, then record whether the business falls into the larger or smaller timetable.
- Inventory the current website. Find every place that states a price, owner, opening time, service, care-plan term or out-of-hours route.
- Create one data source. Give each location and price field an owner, source, effective date and approval status.
- Build accessible page templates. Plan HTML location, price and care-plan pages that remain usable on mobile, with a keyboard and at enlarged text sizes.
- Explain inclusions and variation. Define standard cases, VAT, weight categories, package contents and why an individual estimate may differ.
- Align external surfaces. Prepare consistent data for booking tools, profiles, directories and the future RCVS submission.
- Test urgent journeys. Make out-of-hours information and contact routes obvious, fast and reliable.
- Review the final Order. Check every field, format and deadline against the made text before signing off compliance.
Starting now separates the slow work of data collection, page design and governance from the final legal check. A prepared practice can make a controlled update when the Order is made.
Frequently asked questions
The CMA's final remedies say veterinary businesses operating one or more first opinion practices must publish a defined price list online and in the premises. Charitable organisations providing small-animal veterinary services are outside the direct scope described by the CMA. The final substantive Order is still being completed, so each business should check the final text, its scope and its implementation date before relying on this summary.
The CMA describes the information as clear, accessible and prominent online. A downloadable PDF may be useful, but a well-structured HTML page is usually easier to find, read on a phone, navigate with assistive technology and update. Practices should confirm the final Order's format requirements and make any PDF an addition to, rather than the only route to, essential information.
The CMA expects the substantive Order to be made by 23 September 2026. Its current implementation guidance says larger businesses will generally need to publish the basic service and price information within three months, and smaller businesses within six months. Group ownership transparency is scheduled for six months after the Order. Final dates should be checked when the Order is made.
