Registration procedure for specific pets
A separate registration procedure applies for veterinary medicinal products for a number of specific pets. The products concerned are over-the-counter veterinary medicinal products. Every party that markets these veterinary medicinal products must submit a registration application by 31 December 2024. No new batches of products without a registration application may be released after 1 January 2025.
Under Article 2.1 of the Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulations 2022, there is a legal obligation in the Netherlands to register veterinary medicinal products for specific pets. These are animals that are kept exclusively as pets. They include aquarium or pond animals, ornamental fish, cage birds, homing pigeons, terrarium animals, small rodents, ferrets and rabbits. They do not include ducks, geese or chickens, nor other pets or animals for consumption that are kept as pets.
Are you a manufacturer or wholesaler marketing non-prescription veterinary medicines in the Netherlands which are intended for specific pets? We previously informed you about the registration requirement via these newsletters (in Dutch).
What you need to do by 31 December 2024
If you are responsible for marketing a veterinary medicinal product for specific pets in the Netherlands, you must submit a registration application for this product by 31 December 2024. If you do not submit this application, you will no longer be permitted to market your product. Use the form below to submit your application.
Key points to note:
- You may need to provide additional information during the assessment process. We may ask you to do this if relevant information is missing.
- When assessing your registration application, we will also look at the package size to which the application pertains. The application concerns veterinary medicinal products for small pets, so the package size must be consistent with this.
- You may continue to produce and market the product during the assessment process.
Granting a registration
When assessing the product, we verify that it meets a number of criteria, including that it is effective when used properly and that it poses no risk to humans, animals or the environment. If this is the case, we will register your product.
Upon registration, we will assign an RSG NL number to your product. RSG NL stands for ‘Registration of veterinary medicinal products for Specific Pets (Gezelschapsdieren in Dutch) for the Netherlands market’. We will then add this RSG NL number to the Veterinary Medicinal Products Data Bank and the UPD, alongside the approved labelling and package leaflet text.
At the beginning of 2025 we will publish a list of products that may still be used for specific pets.
Products for which no application has been submitted
After 1 January 2025, it will no longer be legal to release new batches of products for which no application has been submitted. Advertising these products will also be illegal from that date.
In line with national agreements, the following conditions will apply to existing stock of already released batches of these products:
- Wholesalers and retails may continue to supply these batches until (shortly before) the end of their shelf life.
- Pet owners and end users may continue to use these batches until the end of their shelf life.
More information
You can also find more information on the Marketing authorisation exemption page. If you have any further questions, you can submit them to the Veterinary Medicinal Products Unit using our contact form. Select ‘Other’ as the subject of your question and indicate that it concerns the exemption for specific pets.
