Endorsement guidance
Published on: 18th June 2013 | Updated on: 16th April 2024
This is a quick reference guide to the prescription endorsements which pharmacy teams may need to use. Accurate endorsement is vital to ensuring correct payment from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).
Pharmacy teams are able to download the Dispensing Factsheet: Prescription endorsements for more information.
Watch our video where we our Drug Tariff experts guide you through the endorsement process, outlining endorsing and submission good practice here.
General endorsements
The guidance below is intended as a quick reference only.
Prescribed item | Required endorsement |
A generic medicine listed in Part VIIIA of the Drug Tariff. |
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A generic medicine listed in Part VIIIB of the Drug Tariff. |
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A generic medicine which is not listed in Part VIIIA of the Drug Tariff. |
If the product does not have a price listed on the Dictionary of Medicines and Devices (dm+d)*, also endorse:
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An unlicensed medicine (or special) or import which is not listed in Part VIIIB of the Drug Tariff and has been sourced under a manufacturer’s specials/importer’s licence** issued by the MHRA. |
(more information at cpe.org.uk/specials) Dispensing Factsheet – Unlicensed specials and imports |
An unlicensed medicine (or special) which is not listed in Part VIIIB and has been manufactured under the Section 10 exemption from the Medicines Act 1968 (either by the contractor or a third party). |
(more information at cpe.org.uk/specials).Dispensing Factsheet – Unlicensed specials and imports |
A branded medicine. |
If the product does not have a price listed in the dm+d, also endorse:
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A generic appliance which is only listed generically in Part IX of the Drug Tariff. |
For elastic hosiery, prescriptions should indicate:
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A generic appliance which is listed by brand or manufacturer in Part IX of the Drug Tariff. |
Note: some appliances have default prices listed at the beginning of the relevant Drug Tariff section, which are used for pricing in this situation. These are: catheters, elasticated tubular bandages, absorbent perforated plastic film faced dressings, permeable non-woven synthetic adhesive tape BP 1988, and peak flow meters. To be reimbursed for any of the above products which may be priced higher than the default price, the prescription must be returned to the prescriber for amendment to include a specific brand name as listed in the Drug Tariff. |
A branded appliance which is listed by brand or manufacturer in Part IX of the Drug Tariff. |
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*The Dictionary of Medicines and Devices is the database used by the NHS to standardise the language used to describe medicines within the NHS. This database also contains information regarding the price of medicines. Pharmacy staff can access this database by visiting https://dmd-browser.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/.
**The manufacturer’s specials/importer’s license number can be found on the invoice or CoC/CoA for the product.
Below are the most commonly used endorsements, but pharmacy staff will need to check for an item’s eligibility.
Category | Required endorsement |
Broken Bulk |
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Extemporaneously Dispensed |
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Hosiery |
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Instalment Dispensing |
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Measured and Fitted |
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Not Dispensed |
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Out of Pocket Expenses |
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Packaged Doses (for oral liquid methadone) |
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Prescriber Contacted |
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Prescriber Not Contacted |
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Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) |
There are two types of SSPs that may be granted: • Single Dispensed Product SSP – where a prescribed item is replaced by one replacement item See our SSP endorsing guidance for details of how to correctly endorse a prescription for an SSP. |
Trusses |
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Unlicensed Specials and Imports |
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Below is a list of the endorsements which only a prescriber can add to a prescription item.
Endorsement | What it means for dispensing |
ACBS | No impact on dispensing. If an item which is found on the Borderline Substances list (Part XV of DT) has not been endorsed by the prescriber, this product can still be dispensed as it isn’t a compulsory requirement (but the prescriber may be questioned by the Regional Team later). |
SLS | If required, this endorsement must have been made by the prescriber before dispensing. If a medicine which is found in the Selected List Scheme (Part XVIIIB of DT) has not been endorsed by the prescriber, the prescription would need to be returned to the prescriber for amendment — pharmacy staff cannot make this endorsement themselves. |
FS | FS enables prescribers to endorse prescriptions for STIs to indicate to dispensers that the patient should not be charged. The FS endorsement should not be manually added to the EPS dosage instructions field as this would not allow a pharmacy to supply any treatment for STIs free-of-charge against NHS prescriptions. |
Either ‘OC‘, ‘CC‘ or ‘♀’ | This endorsement is the prescriber declaring that it is to be used for contraceptive purposes. No patient charge is payable for this item. |
Bulk Prescription | This endorsement is the prescriber declaring that the criteria for issuing bulk prescriptions have been met. No patient charge is payable for this item. |
This endorsement document is a guide to the endorsement codes used for electronic prescription dispensing. The guidance has been jointly produced by Community Pharmacy England, the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHSBSA.
Further information on endorsements for Controlled Drug prescriptions can be found on the ‘Dispensing Controlled Drugs‘ page.
Related Resources
Community Pharmacy England webinar on endorsing and submission good practice.