Practice Standards Scheme

PSS · Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons

The voluntary accreditation that tells a dog owner a UK veterinary practice has been independently checked against a single, demanding standard of care.

01 What It Is

The Practice Standards Scheme is a voluntary accreditation for veterinary practices across the United Kingdom, administered by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the profession’s statutory regulator. Accreditation signals that a practice has committed to, and been measured against, high standards of animal care. For an owner choosing a vet, it is the clearest quality mark to look for.

02 What It Covers

Assessment is a full clinical and regulatory compliance audit, spanning health and safety, employment law, patient care, medicines and pharmacy management, and a practice’s day-to-day protocols, all held to one framework. A set of core standards, aligned to the legal requirements every UK practice must already meet, sits beneath a range of accreditation levels: core standards, general practice, equine ambulatory practice, small-animal and equine emergency service clinics, and veterinary hospital, across small-animal, equine and farm-animal work.

03 How It Is Checked

Membership is voluntary, but accreditation is earned, not declared. Practices are assessed by RCVS assessors on a four-year cycle, each cycle an opportunity to improve and to evidence those improvements. Because the assessment includes a medicines module that meets Veterinary Medicines Directorate requirements, accredited premises are exempt from the routine VMD medicines inspection other practices must undergo, a concrete sign that the audit is trusted by the statutory medicines authority.

04 Why It Matters

An owner cannot inspect a practice’s medicines handling, hygiene or out-of-hours cover for themselves. The scheme does it on their behalf and lets an accredited practice display the RCVS accredited-practice mark, in use since 2011, turning a demanding but invisible standard of care into a visible, verifiable one.

Common Questions

Is the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme mandatory?

No. The scheme is voluntary. Every UK veterinary practice must already meet the legal baseline set by law and the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct, but joining the Practice Standards Scheme and being independently assessed against its higher standards is a choice each practice makes for itself.

Who runs the Practice Standards Scheme?

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the statutory regulator of the UK veterinary profession, administers the scheme and carries out the assessments through its own trained assessors. The RCVS both sets the standards and checks practices against them, which is what gives the accreditation its weight.

How often are accredited practices inspected?

Accredited practices are assessed on a four-year cycle by RCVS assessors. Each cycle is an opportunity for a practice to evidence how it has improved, so accreditation is renewed and re-earned over time rather than granted once and left unchecked.

What does PSS accreditation actually check?

It is a full clinical and regulatory audit: health and safety, employment law, patient care, medicines and pharmacy management, hygiene, and a practice’s day-to-day protocols, all held to one framework. Higher accreditation levels, up to veterinary hospital, add further requirements on top of the core standards.

How can I tell if my vet is accredited?

Accredited practices can display the RCVS accredited-practice mark, in use since 2011, and are listed on the RCVS ‘Find a Vet’ register. If you do not see the mark, you can ask the practice directly or check the register on the RCVS website.

Is an accredited practice the same as a registered one?

No. Every vet must be registered with the RCVS to practice at all, and premises must be registered too; that is the legal baseline every practice meets. Accreditation is the voluntary step above it, where the premises is inspected against higher standards. Registration is required, accreditation is earned.

Primary sources

RCVS Practice Standards Schemercvs.org.uk
PSS Rules 2024 (PDF)rcvs.org.uk
Registration and inspection of practice premises, VMDgov.uk