An Order of Council made on 23 February 2026 approves amendments to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ registration regulations. The instrument, cited as the Veterinary Surgeons and Veterinary Practitioners (Registration) (Amendment) Regulations Order of Council 2026 (S.I. 2026/175), comes into force on 1 April 2026. It replaces Part 4 (Fees payable) of the 2014 Regulations and provides for two consecutive fee uplifts of around 3% from April 2026 and a further 3% from April 2027.
The Regulations apply across the register maintained by the RCVS, covering names in the general, Commonwealth and foreign lists and in the supplemental veterinary register, as well as the temporary list. To avoid overlap, the 2025 Order of Council is revoked. The legal basis remains sections 11 and 25 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, under which the RCVS makes regulations that require Privy Council approval.
Key timing is clarified. A statutory definition of “year of registration” is introduced: the period beginning on the 1 April preceding the date of registration and ending on the following 31 March, bounded by the actual registration date where registration falls on 1 April or 31 March. Retention fees are payable at the beginning of the relevant retention fee year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March.
Registration fees for the general, Commonwealth and foreign lists, and for the supplemental veterinary register, are set out in Table 1 to the Regulations. Distinct figures apply depending on whether the year of registration begins on 1 April 2026 (column A) or begins on or after 1 April 2027 (column B). These figures reflect the staged 3% increases noted in the Explanatory Note.
For applicants to the temporary list, regulation 10 is substituted. A person applying for temporary registration on or before 31 March 2027 must pay the fee shown in column A of Table 2; applications made after 31 March 2027 attract the fee in column B of Table 2. Regulation 11 is clarified so that, where practice is restricted to a period of six months or less, the specific six‑month registration fee is the charge that applies.
For those already on the temporary list, regulation 14 is replaced. A temporary registrant must pay an annual retention fee at the start of the retention fee year. If that year begins on or before 31 March 2027, the fee in column A of Table 2 applies; if it begins after 31 March 2027, the fee in column B applies.
Regulation 15, which covers all other registrants, is replaced with a two‑stage structure. For the retention fee year beginning on 1 April 2026, payments received on or before 30 April 2026 attract the rate in column A of Table 3, while payments received after 30 April 2026 attract the rate in column B. For retention fee years beginning on or after 1 April 2027, the early rate (payment on or before 30 April of the year in question) is set out in column C of Table 3 and the later rate (payment after 30 April) in column D.
Regulation 19 is amended to align restoration fees with the new timetable. Restoration in the retention fee year beginning on 1 April 2026 uses the amount in column A of Table 3; restoration in any retention fee year beginning on or after 1 April 2027 uses the amount in column C of Table 3. A drafting clarification makes clear that references to 1 October are to 1 October of the retention fee year in question.
Refunds on voluntary removal are standardised. A registrant in the general, Commonwealth or foreign lists, or in the supplemental veterinary register, who is removed by voluntary removal before 1 October in any year is entitled to a refund of 50% of the relevant fee. Where the removal falls in the year of registration beginning on 1 April 2026 the refund is based on column A of Table 1; for the retention fee year beginning on 1 April 2026 it is based on column A of Table 3. For years of registration beginning on or after 1 April 2027 the refund references column B of Table 1, and for retention fee years beginning on or after that date it references column C of Table 3.
In practice, this creates two planning checkpoints for registrants and finance leads in veterinary practices. First, the lower ‘early’ retention fee is secured by payment on or before 30 April of the relevant year. Second, those considering voluntary removal should note the 1 October threshold for a 50% refund. Temporary registrants should also confirm whether any application or retention year falls before or after 31 March 2027, as the applicable temporary‑list fee changes at that point.
Governance steps are recorded in the instrument. RCVS Council resolved the changes on 5 January 2026 and affixed the Common Seal on 8 January 2026. The Department of Finance sealed the Regulations on 19 February 2026. The Order was made by the Privy Council on 23 February 2026 and takes effect from 1 April 2026. No full impact assessment was produced, with the Explanatory Note stating that no significant effect on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.