Pharmacy sales - NHS prescription prepayment certificate (PPC)

You should ask customers for certificate 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 PPC details on our database with prescriptions.

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

 Certificates start on the date they're bought 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 get a refund of NHS prescription charges if the certificate covers the date when the prescription charge was paid.

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

Patients may be able to claim a full or partial refund if they become entitled to free prescriptions while their certificate is still valid. To claim a refund, patients need to contact us.

Download the HC11 leaflet (PDF: 115KB) for details of refund arrangements.