For customers : find a supplier
It is essential that you only order veterinary medicinal products online from websites that are trading legally. We recommend that you verify beforehand whether a retailer is trading legally. Please find out how to do that here.
Verifying legal sale of veterinary medicinal products
One of the tools you can use to verify whether a retailer of veterinary medicinal products is trading legally is the European logo for internet trade in veterinary medicinal products. Retailers of veterinary medicinal products must register with the government (in the Netherlands the relevant body is the Veterinary Medicinal Products Unit). If a compliance check by the Veterinary Medicinal Products Unit shows that the supplier does in fact sell products it is legally entitled to sell and meets the other requirements, the retailer must display the logo on its website. This logo will contain a link to internethandel diergeneesmiddelen. You will be able to check the list of registered suppliers and whether the supplier is trading in veterinary medicinal products legally.
Logo only applies to veterinary medicinal products
This logo only applies to veterinary medicinal products. It does not apply to any other products offered on a web shop.
Veterinary medicinal products are understood to mean:
- Veterinary medicinal products that are listed in the Veterinary Medicines Information Bank
- Veterinary medicinal products with a marketing authorisation exemption for specific companion animals, such aquarium or pond animals, ornamental fish, cage birds, homing pigeons, terrarium animals, small rodents, ferrets and rabbits.
- Veterinary medicinal products mentioned on the overview list of veterinary medicinal products that have been scrapped as of 28 January 2022. These veterinary medicinal products, however, are currently still subject to a transitional provision.
Only veterinary medicinal products of the VRIJ category may be sold at distance via a web shop without a prescription.
Veterinary medicinal products subject to a prescription (veterinary prescription)
Veterinary medicinal products of the URA category may be sold online. However: this may only take place with a veterinary prescription and if the supplier holds a DR licence. Please check here whether the online supplier holds the correct DR licence. As such, you will need a prescription from your veterinarian to be able to order this category of veterinary medicinal products.
You will only receive the veterinary medicine after the seller has received the prescription you submitted. A prescription is intended for one-off use only. You should not use the same prescription to purchase from multiple web shops or use the same prescription to order veterinary medicinal products at different times.
Advertising
The information about a veterinary medicinal product must always be in accordance with the official package leaflet texts that are available in the Veterinary Medicines Information Bank and must comply with the statutory requirements on the advertising of veterinary medicinal products.
Information to be supplied when selling a veterinary medicinal product
When selling a product, you must provide information about the main features of the product, its price and additional costs. This is called an information obligation. You can read more about this on the Consuwijzer website. This also applies to veterinary medicines. That is why you must provide the consumer who orders the veterinary medicinal product with all information that is important when choosing a veterinary medicinal product. You do this before the consumer orders the veterinary medicinal product. For veterinary medicines, this includes:
• the name of the veterinary medicinal product
• the contents of the package
• the method of administration
• the target animals
• the indication
• the REG NL number
• the active substances
• the withdrawal period if applicable
• important safety warnings, contraindications and side effects
The information must be correct, complete and understandable. And the information must be easy to find.
Read the package leaflet before use
Is this information not listed? All this information can also be found in the package leaflet that comes with the veterinary medicinal product. It is therefore important that you always read the accompanying package leaflet before using a veterinary medicinal product.
You can find this on the basis of the REG NL number or the name of the veterinary medicinal product in the veterinary medicinal product information bank.
You need this information to be able to properly decide whether the veterinary medicinal product is suitable for your animal. In addition, you are then aware of any side effects and safety warnings. In addition, you will read information about possible additional measures that you should take when administering the veterinary medicinal product, such as the use of gloves.
Reporting illegal retail of veterinary medicinal products
The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) is the regulatory authority in the Netherlands that monitors the legal retail of veterinary medicinal products. If you believe an online supplier of veterinary medicinal products is not operating in accordance with the rules outlined above, this misconduct can be reported to the NVWA. In order to successfully consider a claim of this nature, it is vital that you substantiate your claim with as much information as possible that shows that the company is not acting in accordance with the rules.
Additional information
If you have any questions about online trade in veterinary medicinal products in The Netherlands, please contact the Veterinary Medicinal Products Unit via the contact form for veterinary medicines online.
Please find more information on the website of the EMA on internet trade: Buying veterinary medicines online.