Building a medicine buffer legally: repeat prescriptions and pharmacy rules

What the official advice says

• Be Ready lists "essential medication and medical supplies" in its emergency kit, and a written list of your regular medicines and doses. It says to request repeat prescriptions up to 5 working days before you need them.
• The NHS gives the same timing: request a repeat up to 5 working days before you need your medicine, through the NHS App, the NHS website, your GP surgery's online service, or your pharmacy if you're on repeat dispensing.
• Sweden goes further. Its official brochure says that if you need prescription medicines or disposable medical products, for example if you have diabetes, keep a month's supply at home.

Where the UK sourcing is weak: we found no UK official guidance on how many days of spare medicine a household should keep in general, and no NHS rule that lets you order extra just to build a stockpile. That decision rests with your GP and pharmacist.

Building a small buffer, legally

1. Order on time, every time. If you always order as soon as you're allowed, you'll usually have a few days' tablets left when the new ones arrive. Over time, that gap is your buffer. Don't skip doses to save tablets.
2. Use up the oldest first. Put new packs at the back so nothing goes out of date.
3. Ask, don't hoard. If you're worried about running out, for example before a long trip or because you rely on one medicine to stay well, tell your GP or pharmacist and ask what they can do. Some practices may change how much they prescribe at a time; it's their decision.
4. Keep a written list. Be Ready suggests a list of regular medicines and doses. Keep a copy in your grab bag, so a pharmacist or doctor can help if you have to leave home.
5. Pack a few days in your grab bag. Our go bag post covers what else goes in.

If you run out

• NHS 111 online (England): you can request a limited emergency supply of a medicine you've completely run out of, if it's one you get regularly on repeat. You pay your usual prescription charge, or nothing if you don't usually pay. It doesn't cover antibiotics for a new problem or controlled drugs that need ID to collect. If you also have symptoms, call 111 instead. Our guide to getting an emergency prescription has the details.
• At a pharmacy: the law (regulation 225 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012) lets a pharmacist supply a prescription-only medicine without a prescription, at your request, if they interview you and are satisfied that you need it now, that a prescriber has given you that treatment before, and that the dose is right. For most medicines the limit is 30 days; for insulin, asthma inhalers and some creams it's the smallest pack; some controlled drugs are limited to 5 days, and some medicines aren't allowed at all. The pharmacist decides, and you may be charged.

Medicines that need a fridge

• The NHS's advice for biphasic insulin: keep a 1 to 2 month supply at home, with at least one spare. Keep unopened insulin in the fridge, away from the freezer part, and throw it away if it freezes. A pen or cartridge in use can stay at room temperature for up to 4 weeks, away from sunlight and radiators.
• In a power cut, keep the fridge shut. Be Ready says closed fridges and freezers stay cold for several hours.
• Ready.gov (US) says that after more than a day without power, throw away refrigerated medicine unless the label says otherwise, and ask your doctor or pharmacist for a new supply.
• Different medicines have different rules. Read the leaflet and ask your pharmacist. Our guide to medicines that need a fridge in a power cut goes further.
• If someone at home relies on powered medical equipment or fridge medicines, sign up to the Priority Services Register. Be Ready says registered customers get advance notice of planned power cuts and priority support in an emergency.

Don't do these

• Don't buy prescription medicines from unregistered websites. The MHRA's #FakeMeds campaign says to check that an online pharmacy is on the General Pharmaceutical Council's register (in Northern Ireland, look for the registered seller logo or check the MHRA's register). It says fake medicines may not work and can make you ill, and it's illegal to sell fake or unauthorised medicines in the UK.
• Don't share or swap prescription medicines with family or neighbours.
• Don't keep antibiotics "just in case" from old prescriptions. Finish courses as prescribed.

(The last two points are general safety advice, not from a specific official source.)

For everyday medicines you can buy without a prescription, such as painkillers and rehydration sachets, see our home medicine cabinet post.

Related guides

• Run out of your medicine? How to get an emergency supply
• Medicines that need a fridge: what to do in a power cut
• Emergency planning for older people and carers (UK)
• Priority Services Register: a plain guide

Free tools

• Priority Services Register checker
• Fridge and freezer power cut timer

We're an independent UK site, not the government. We check guides against official sources and link to them. In an emergency call 999.

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