In short

  • If you need your NHS Repeat Prescriptions over the Christmas and New Year period, please make sure you have placed your order by the 12th of December for delivery by Christmas.
  • For delivery around New Year, please make sure orders are placed by the 18th of December.
  • Your GP surgery should understand earlier requests due to the Christmas period.

When do I need to order my NHS Prescription for delivery before Christmas and New Year?

If you need your NHS Repeat Prescriptions over the Christmas and New Year period, please make sure you have placed your order by the 12th of December for delivery by Christmas. For delivery around New Year, please make sure orders are placed by the 18th of December.

Your GP surgery should understand earlier requests due to the Christmas period. Usually, this should not affect your doctor issuing your prescription.

After the 12th December, we would advise you to order your prescription directly with your GP, and explain to them you require your prescription delivered before Christmas. This should allow enough time for Royal Mail to deliver your prescription before their cut-off dates.

For New Year delivery, after the 18th December, we would advise you to order your prescription directly with your GP, and explain to them you require your prescription delivered by the New Year. This should allow enough time for Royal Mail to deliver your prescription before their cut-off dates.

You can make sure you keep up to date with Royal Mails service delays here.

Normal turnaround times are expected to resume once GP surgeries open again in the New Year.

We understand circumstances can change and the unexpected can happen. 

If you need any support or have any concerns, please don’t hesitate to speak to our patient care team. We are available to help Monday-Saturday. You can call us on 0141 774 5023, or drop up a message or email, using the chat widget on the site.

Sources

References

2 sources were selected to match the subject of this article. Link destinations were checked twice when added. This does not mean every statement has been individually source-mapped or clinically approved.

  1. How to order a repeat prescription

    NHS · HTML · NHS service guidance · Link destination checked 5 September 2026

  2. NHS urges people to order and collect repeat prescriptions ahead of Christmas

    NHS England North West · HTML · Dated NHS operational reminder · Link destination checked 5 September 2026

Reference links open the cited source pages. If you spot something out of date, tell our content team.

Who wrote this

Written and reviewed by our team

Authored by

Hywel McGlinchy - Pharmacist and Medical Writer

Pharmacist / Content Writer

Hywel has been a registered pharmacist since 2017; he started with Simple Online Pharmacy in 2020. Hywel was responsible for helping review and author accurate site content. He worked with our GPs to make sure all aspects of the medications mentioned are covered.

Read Hywel’s profile

Medically reviewed by

Karim Nassar, Co-Founder, Pharmacist & Author

Karim Nassar

Co-Founder, Pharmacist & Author

Karim is a registered pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and was a founding member of Simple Online Healthcare in 2015. With a Master of Pharmacy degree from Strathclyde University, Karim brings a strong foundation in pharmaceutical care and a passion for leveraging digital solutions to improve patient access to healthcare.

Read Karim’s profile

Published

Last medically reviewed

Sources cited

See 2 references

Keep reading

More Health information advice

View all Health information advice