Veterinary practices have a new, modest cost rise to factor in. The Privy Council has approved Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) rule changes that lift registration and retention fees by around 3% from 1 April 2026, with a second rise of around 3% scheduled for 1 April 2027. The Order also tidies up how the ‘year of registration’ is defined and aligns payment windows across the next two fee years. Coming at the start of the financial year, the timing matters for cashflow as well as payroll planning.

How much more is that in real money? Using last year as a guide: RCVS increased vet renewal fees by 4% for 2025. In 2024, a UK‑practising vet paid £402; applying a 4% uplift puts the 2025 baseline at roughly £418. Roll forward the new two‑year path and you are looking at about £431 in 2026 and £444 in 2027 for on‑time payment. For a 10‑vet small animal practice that funds fees for staff, that’s c.£130 extra this April and a similar step again next year, or roughly £260 more across the two years. (rcvs.org.uk)

Payment timing remains the quiet swing factor. For the 2026 retention year, paying by 30 April secures the lower ‘on‑time’ rate; paying after 30 April moves you into the higher band. From 2027 onwards the same early/late structure repeats each year at the start of April. While the new Order sets the fee bands, RCVS has previously warned that missing spring deadlines can trigger surcharges and, ultimately, removal from the Register if left unresolved. Build those dates into your April task list. (rcvs.org.uk)

Temporary registration is clarified too. If practice is formally restricted to six months or less, the six‑month registration fee applies rather than the full‑year amount. That tweak matters for locum coverage and short‑term overseas hires: plan start dates and contract lengths with the fee clock in mind, and check which rate in the temporary list applies before committing offers.

There’s also a simple-but often missed-refund rule. Vets who take voluntary removal before 1 October in any given year are entitled to 50% back on that year’s relevant registration or retention fee. For practice managers who fund professional fees, add ‘voluntary removal before 1 October’ to your leaver checklist; it’s the difference between writing off the full amount and recouping half for the business.

The Order defines a ‘year of registration’ as running from 1 April to 31 March, with edge cases covered for those registering exactly on 1 April or 31 March. In practice, that gives finance teams cleaner cut‑offs for accruals and makes pro‑rata conversations with new joiners more straightforward. It also dovetails with the April payment window noted above.

Our read for budgets: these are small, predictable uplifts rather than a material margin squeeze. On a single‑site clinic with eight vets, the 2026 step‑up is roughly £100 in total if you cover fees; next year, add another £100 or so. Multi‑site groups will feel it more in absolute terms, but the change is linear and easy to model. Set approval limits now so payments land before 30 April and you avoid late‑band pricing.

If your practice doesn’t cover fees, remind staff that HMRC allows tax relief on certain professional subscriptions. RCVS has flagged this before, and for a basic‑rate taxpayer it can mean 20% relief on eligible fees. Build a short guidance note into your April all‑staff email and point people to HMRC’s process to claim. (rcvs.org.uk)

Don’t forget the separate Register of Veterinary Practice Premises line. The statutory RVPP fee is £34 per premises each year and sits outside this Order’s changes. It’s a small number compared with clinical costs, but non‑payment risks removal from the premises register and medicine supply headaches-something RCVS has chased in past renewals. Ring‑fence it with your April payments. (rcvs.org.uk)

One eye on the horizon: government is consulting on wider reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, including regulation across the veterinary team and potential changes for business regulation. That’s a longer‑run story. For now, the two‑year fee path is set and the job for practice managers is execution-pay early, document leavers before 1 October, and lock next April’s uplift into 2027 budgets. (gov.uk)