England, 2025/26 rates
How much is a prescription, and should you be paying at all?
The NHS prescription charge in England is £9.90 per item (2025/26 rate). But around nine in ten items are dispensed free, and if you do pay, a prepayment certificate pays for itself at 12 items a year. Answer a few questions to find your cheapest route.
Question 1
Where in the UK do you live?
Prescription charges only exist in England, the other UK nations abolished them.
What it does and does not check
- The England NHS prescription charge of £9.90 per item and prepayment certificates at £32.05 (3 months) and £114.50 (12 months), the rates set in April 2025 for 2025/26 (nhs.uk). Charges are reviewed each April, confirm the current figure on nhs.uk before you buy.
- Free-prescription routes: living in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland; age (under 16, 16–18 in full-time education, 60+); maternity (MatEx) and medical (MedEx) exemption certificates; and income-based help (qualifying benefits, Universal Credit earnings rules, HC2 certificates).
- The prepayment breakeven maths: a 12-month PPC beats paying per item at 12 or more items a year; a 3-month PPC pays off at 4 or more items in three months.
- It does not cover private prescription pricing (no fixed charge, see our private prescription guide), NHS dental or optical charges, or wig and fabric support charges.
Prescription Price Checker is an independent information site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It is not affiliated with the NHS, NHSBSA or any government body, and nothing here is medical or financial advice. Charges shown are the published 2025/26 rates for England; they are reviewed each April, confirm the current figure on nhs.uk before relying on it.
NHS prescription cost: pay per item vs 12-month PPC, 2025/26
Last updated
England's per-item charge is £9.90 and a 12-month prepayment certificate is £114.50 (2025/26 rates). The PPC is a flat cap: the more items you need, the more it saves. Breakeven is 12 items a year.
Computed from the published 2025/26 NHS charges for England: £9.90 per item and £114.50 for a 12-month PPC (nhs.uk / nhsbsa.nhs.uk, rates set April 2025). Pay-per-item cost = items × £9.90.
| Items per year | Pay per item (£9.90) | 12-month PPC | PPC saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 (one every 2 months) | £59.40 | £114.50 | PPC costs £55.10 more |
| 12 (one a month) | £118.80 | £114.50 | £4.30 |
| 18 | £178.20 | £114.50 | £63.70 |
| 24 (two a month) | £237.60 | £114.50 | £123.10 |
| 36 (three a month) | £356.40 | £114.50 | £241.90 |
| 52 (one a week) | £514.80 | £114.50 | £400.30 |
- A 12-month NHS prepayment certificate (£114.50 in 2025/26) starts saving money at 12 prescription items a year, at two items a month it saves £123.10.
- The NHS prescription charge in England is £9.90 per item in 2025/26; prescriptions are free for everyone in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- A 3-month PPC (£32.05 in 2025/26) pays for itself at 4 or more items in three months.
Cite this page
“NHS prescription cost: pay per item vs 12-month PPC, 2025/26”, Prescription Price Checker, https://prescriptionpricechecker.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14). Computed from the published 2025/26 NHS charges for England: £9.90 per item and £114.50 for a 12-month PPC (nhs.uk / nhsbsa.nhs.uk, rates set April 2025). Pay-per-item cost = items × £9.90.
Read next
The longer answers, with sources.
NHS prescription prepayment certificate (PPC): 2025/26 prices
A 3-month PPC costs £32.05 and a 12-month £114.50 in 2025/26. The 12-month certificate pays for itself at 12 items a year. How to buy, breakeven maths, and refunds.
Who gets free NHS prescriptions? The full 2025/26 exemption list
Free NHS prescriptions in England: age exemptions, pregnancy (MatEx), medical conditions (MedEx), qualifying benefits, Universal Credit rules and the HC2 certificate.
How much does a private prescription cost in the UK?
Private prescriptions have no fixed NHS charge: you pay the medicine's cost plus a pharmacy fee, from a few pounds to hundreds. When private beats the £9.90 NHS charge.
Common questions
How much is an NHS prescription in 2025/26?
£9.90 per item in England, the rate set in April 2025. Prescriptions are free for everyone in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The charge is reviewed each April, so check nhs.uk for the current figure.
When does a prescription prepayment certificate save money?
A 12-month PPC (£114.50 in 2025/26) beats paying per item at 12 or more items a year. A 3-month PPC (£32.05) pays off at 4 or more items in three months. One medicine collected monthly is already 12 items a year.
Who gets free prescriptions in England?
Under 16s, 16–18s in full-time education, everyone 60 or over, pregnant women and new mothers (MatEx certificate), people with listed medical conditions (MedEx certificate), and people on qualifying benefits, including Universal Credit under the earnings threshold, or with an HC2 low-income certificate.
Is the charge per prescription or per medicine?
Per item. Each medicine on the form is charged separately, so a form with three medicines costs 3 × £9.90 = £29.70 in England (2025/26).
Are prescriptions free in Scotland and Wales?
Yes, free for everyone in Wales since 2007, Northern Ireland since 2010 and Scotland since 2011. Only England charges.
Will the prescription charge rise in 2026?
Charges are set by the Department of Health and Social Care each April. The 2025/26 rate is £9.90 per item; check nhs.uk for the current-year figure before relying on it, we correct this site in place when rates change.
Paying £9.90 a time? Check in 30 seconds.
Free-prescription routes first, then the PPC maths, the checker walks you through both.
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