Endorsement guidance
Published on: 18th June 2013 | Updated on: 12th July 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. |
*Pharmacy teams should note that regulations have been introduced to restrict the prescribing and supply of puberty suppressing hormones / gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues to children and young people under 18 for the purposes of gender dysphoria / gender incongruence. From 26 June 2024 onwards, all GnRH NHS prescriptions are required to have the SLS endorsement.
The new arrangements apply to medicines that consist of or contain buserelin, gonadorelin, goserelin, leuprorelin acetate, nafarelin, or triptorelin. This includes, but is not limited to, medicines sold under the brand names: Decapeptyl®, Gonapeptyl Depot®, Salvacyl®, Prostap®, Staladex®, Zoladex®, Synarel®. Refer to our Briefing: 011/24: New restrictions on the prescriptions and supply of puberty blockers for a full list of medicines covered by the arrangements and FAQs.
For more information see our page Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Prescription Regulations.
Items included in the ‘Selected List Scheme’ which can be found in Part XVIIIB (drugs, medicines and other substances that may be ordered only in certain circumstances) of the Drug Tariff can only be prescribed for the patient groups and for the purpose(s) listed in the Tariff.
Prescribers must endorse these products with SLS. If the SLS endorsement is missing, the prescription should be returned to the prescriber for amendment to include the SLS endorsement. Pharmacy staff cannot make the SLS endorsement themselves.
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.
Dispensing Factsheet: Prescription Endorsement
For more information on this topic please email comms.team@cpe.org.uk
