General Pharmaceutical Council – fee increase

GPhC Council agrees to increase fees in 2025, and to reflect further before making any decisions about fee increases for 2026. Unison submitted a national response that strongly opposed the increase, highlighting our concerns including the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and the disproportionate impact on the pay of lower banded staff. However…………

The GPhC has now agreed a 6% increase in the annual registration fees for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacies from September 2025. At the July meeting, the Council emphasised that it is committed to minimising fee increases as much as possible, and after reviewing the GPhC’s financial position, the Council concluded it was necessary to raise the fees by 6% in 2025.

The Council carefully considered the concerns raised through the consultation. In response to that feedback, the Council decided to postpone making a decision on the fees to be charged in September 2026, to enable the Council to reflect further. 

The fees apply to pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and owners of pharmacy premises.

This means that from September 2025:

• Pharmacist renewal fees will increase by £17 to £293
• Pharmacy technician renewal fees will increase by £8 to £138
• Pharmacy premises renewal fees will increase by £24 to £416

The consultation report

The consultation closed on 24 April 2025 and received a total of 3,166 responses. 

In summary:

• 84% of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the reasoning provided in the consultation report for increasing fees
• 79% of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the approach of raising fees by the same percentage across all registrant groups
• 96% of respondents stated that they felt the increase was either “much too high” or a “bit too high”
• There was a mixed reaction to the proposal to set fees for the next two years. 26% either agreed or strongly agreed with the proposal, 47% disagreed or strongly disagreed and 24% neither agreed or disagreed with the proposal. 

Read the full consultation report