Track prescriptions online: free prescription delivery from Royal Mail

We'll check, dispense, pack, and dispatch your prescription as quickly as possible, ensuring it's with Royal Mail within 5 days of your request. They will then aim to deliver it within 2-3 working days.

If your order contains items that are delayed, we will:  

• Let you know which items are delayed 

• Give you the option to split your order 

• Send your other items straight away 

• Keep you informed about the progress of your delayed item(s)  

To prevent delays, we recommend that you check your medicine’s availability before you place your order using our online Medicine Stock Checker. 

If you need your prescription sooner, we’ll give you the option to collect your prescription at a local pharmacy and send you a code for the pharmacy you've chosen to dispense your prescription.

Yes, you can. With a Family Account you can request and track prescriptions for children, parents, partners, friends, neighbours, or anyone else who relies on you to take care of their NHS prescriptions. You’ll just need to be over the age of 16 and have their consent if they’re over 18. 

If a pharmacist has a question about your prescription or we need to check something with you, we will contact you directly and keep you informed about your estimated dispatch date. We may reach out to your GP if it’s a query they can answer.  

• Standard medicines 

Most medicines can be safely delivered using Royal Mail Tracked 48. These items are suitable for letterbox delivery too, so you don’t need to be home to receive them. You can also nominate a safe place with Royal Mail if you’d prefer the postman to leave your prescription in a chosen location. You’ll find more information on nominating a safe place on the Royal Mail website.  

• Refrigerated medicines 

We use Royal Mail Tracked 24 to get your refrigerated items to you as quickly as possible. They’re kept cool using special materials during the journey, ready for you to pop them in the fridge when they arrive at your chosen address. Don’t worry if you won’t be home to transfer them straight away; our temperature-controlled packaging means they’ll be kept cool for up to 72 hours from being dispatched.  

• Controlled medicines 

Some medicines have extra regulations that require us to deliver them in a different way. For these items, we’ll need you to sign for your delivery to receive it. We’ll share your 2-hour delivery slot on the day that it’s due to arrive. If your medicine is in this category, we’ll let you know when we send your order dispatch email. 

If you’re not home when your delivery is due, we will: 

• Give you the option to track and divert your parcel through Royal Mail 

• Enable you to rearrange your delivery day if you need to 

• Where possible, deliver your prescription through your letterbox  

If an item’s too big to fit through your letterbox, we’ll let you know and you’ll receive a 2-hour time slot on the day it’s due to arrive. 

Yes with the NHS’s Pharmacy First service you can get can get clinical advice and, if appropriate, suitable treatment for selected common health conditions, all from the comfort of your own home. Selected health conditions include UTIs, impetigo, sore throat, insect bites, and more.   

Discover our full list of NHS Pharmacy Healthcare Services here.