As a pharmacy, you can register to sell prescription pre-payment certificates (PPCs) to your patients by completing a secure online application for them.

The NHS prescription charge for England is currently set at £9.35 per item.  You can help your patients save money if they regularly pay for NHS prescriptions by making them aware of the potential savings of having a valid PPC. PPCs offer savings for patients needing more than 3 items in 3 months or more than 11 items in one year.

There are 2 PPC options to choose from:

• 3-month PPC costs £30.25
• 12-month PPC costs £108.10

How to register your pharmacy to sell PPCs

If you aren’t already registered to sell PPCs, complete NHSBSA’s pharmacy registration form here. Registration is quick and easy. Once you’ve completed your application you will be sent an email confirming that your pharmacy has been activated on the system. Shortly after you will receive a password for accessing the online service, this will be sent by post for security reasons.

What are the benefits of selling PPCs?

NHSBSA’s pharmacy online PPC service allows you to:

• Submit your customers’ PPC applications to the NHSBSA faster.
• Submit electronic applications, reducing the concern of it being lost in transit and your customers receiving penalty charges.
• Receive real-time confirmation that the application has been successful, with the customer’s certificate details.
• Add the certificate number and expiry date straight onto your Pharmacy Management System (PMR).

Selling a PPC

Check if:

• the patient is eligible for exemption from prescription charges – see our page Exemptions from the prescription charge
• a PPC is suitable for the patient – Does the patient expect to have more than 3 items in 3 months or 11 items in 12 months on prescription?

If a patient is unsure whether they are entitled to free prescriptions, pharmacy teams should advise the patient to pay for their prescription and provide them with an FP57 Refund form with information on how to claim a refund at a later date. Further information for patients can be found at www.nhs.uk/healthcosts.

Next steps

• Ask patient to complete an FP95 form (see below)
• Take full payment of the appropriate charge for a 3 or 12 month PPC – payment to be made in full at the pharmacy (see Other ways to purchase a PPC below)

An FP95 (PPC application form) is for pharmacy use only; used to capture patient information to ensure accurate transcribing onto the PPC online system. FP95s do not need to be submitted to NHSBSA, PPC applications can be completed in full online.

FP95 forms can be ordered through PCSE online.

Making a PPC application online

• Log in to the online pharmacy sales at nhsbsa.nhs.uk/pharmacy-ppc/login
  • Select ‘sell a prepayment’
  • Follow on-screen prompts, populating patient details from the completed FP95
  • Ensure the ‘Date Sold’ is accurately recorded – the amount deducted will be based on the date sold, regardless of the PPC start date
  • Double check patient information on-screen matches FP95 – amend if necessary
  • Submit PPC application
  • The ‘prepayment complete’ screen will confirm the customer’s certificate number and dates of validity.
• If you notice an error in the application, call or email the NHSBSA’s Technical and Procedural Section (see Useful links) without delay.
• Inform patient that digital certificates will be emailed immediately to email address provided. Postal certificates will be sent to the address provided within 10 working days.

Other ways to purchase a PPC

Online www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/ppc (by Direct Debit or card payment)

Telephone 0300 330 1341 (by Direct Debit or card payment)

Declaring number of PPCs sold

You do not need to declare the number of PPCs sold on your FP34C. The NHSBSA obtain the figures for the number of PPCs sold and total value of your sales from your PPC online system activity.

Pharmacy payments/processing

You don’t need to send any payment received for PPC’s sold to the NHSBSA. The NHSBSA will deduct the monthly total value of the PPC applications you enter on the online system from your monthly payment. For example, the Schedule of Payments received at the end of November for the dispensing month of September will show the PPCs sold in October.

The total value of your sales of both 3 and 12 month PPCs will be shown on the Schedule under the ‘Other’ section.

Useful links

If you need assistance with the pharmacy PPC online system (including the Technical and Procedural Section) contact NHSBSA on 0300 330 1009 (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday) or email nhsbsa.patientservicestechnicalteam@nhs.net

Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC) Process flowchart (NHSBSA)

For downloadable prepayment certificate posters see our page What does the patient pay?

Check if your pharmacy is on the list of pharmacies registered to sell PPCs here

NHSBSAs Guide to selling PPCs 

View NHSBSAs PPC page here