UK Law and Guidelines Every GPhC Candidate Must Know

How to use this page

The GPhC assessment tests UK practice. Clinical answers follow the BNF and BNFc, NICE guidance, MHRA Drug Safety Updates, the UKHSA Green Book, SIGN and BTS guidance on asthma, and FSRH guidance on contraception. Legal answers follow the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and its Regulations 2001, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the Equality Act 2010 and the GPhC standards.

We have marked each block as either checked or to confirm. Checked means we read the primary document on 25 October 2026. To confirm means the point is standard knowledge but we could not re-read the source in this review, so verify it before you rely on it. The GPhC assessment is scoped to Great Britain, so avoid Scottish or Welsh variations unless a question states them.

Controlled drug prescriptions (checked)

The following comes from the Community Pharmacy England factsheet of April 2026.

Amendments and collection

• Amending a prescription (Schedule 2 and 3 paper prescriptions only). A pharmacist may correct minor spelling or typographical errors where the intention is clear, or add missing words or figures for the quantity (not both). The amendment is made in ink or indelibly, with your name, the date, your signature and your GPhC number. More than one amendment needs a countersignature.
• Collecting a Schedule 2 drug. Establish whether the collector is the patient, a representative or a healthcare professional. ID may be requested. For a healthcare professional, record name, address and registration number. The collector completes the signature box.
• Register entries. Record the date, the name and address supplied, authority to possess, quantity, collector type and, for a patient or representative, whether ID was requested and provided.

Schedules and storage (to confirm)

Typical examples to learn and verify against the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001: Schedule 2 includes morphine, diamorphine, oxycodone and methylphenidate. Schedule 3 includes buprenorphine, tramadol, gabapentin and pregabalin (the gabapentinoids since April 2019, with prescription-writing rules but no safe-custody requirement for tramadol and gabapentinoids). Schedule 4 includes benzodiazepines, zopiclone and zolpidem. Schedule 5 includes low-strength codeine and morphine preparations. Schedule 2 drugs need safe storage, and the controlled drug register is kept for two years from the last entry. Check each of these in current guidance.

Valproate (checked)

MHRA measures announced on 28 November 2023 apply from January 2024. Valproate must not be started in new patients, male or female, younger than 55 years unless two specialists independently document that no other effective or tolerated treatment exists, or that the reproductive risks do not apply. Girls and women who could become pregnant must be on a pregnancy prevention programme. Existing patients are reviewed using the revised Annual Risk Acknowledgement Form, and women and girls who could become pregnant need a second specialist signature. A similar system for men followed later in 2024. In practice, remember what a pharmacist should do when valproate is prescribed for a woman of childbearing potential: check the programme is in place, give the patient information, and never withhold the medicine abruptly without advice.

Pharmacy First (checked)

Pharmacy First launched on 31 January 2024, building on the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service, which has run since October 2019. Seven clinical pathways, each with an eligibility rule:

Distance-selling pharmacies do not complete acute otitis media consultations. The exam may test the eligibility rule, the red flags that mean referral, and the choice of treatment from NICE and UKHSA guidance. Other NHS community pharmacy services to know include the New Medicine Service and hypertension case-finding.

Routine immunisation schedule (checked, with a caution)

The UKHSA schedule was revised in 2025 to 2026. The checked points are below. Before using any item whose answer turns on MenB or rotavirus timing, confirm against Green Book chapter 11.

• 8 weeks: 6-in-1, MenB and rotavirus.
• 12 weeks: 6-in-1, MenB and rotavirus (as listed in the table we read).
• 16 weeks: 6-in-1 and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.
• 1 year: pneumococcal, MMRV and MenB.
• 18 months (born on or after 1 July 2024): 6-in-1 and MMRV.
• 3 years 4 months: dTaP/IPV for children born on or after 1 January 2025, or dTaP/IPV plus MMRV for those born on or before 31 December 2024.
• 12 to 13 years: HPV. 14 years (Year 9): Td/IPV and MenACWY.
• Older adults: PPV23 at 65 years, annual inactivated flu from 65, shingles vaccine for those turning 65 from 1 September each year and for those aged 70 to 79, and RSV vaccine at 75.
• Pregnancy: inactivated flu at any stage in the season, pertussis from 16 weeks (ideally before 32 weeks) and RSV from 28 weeks.
• Children's flu: the nasal spray contains porcine gelatine, so an inactivated vaccine is used if the nasal spray is unsuitable.

Emergency contraception (checked windows, doses to confirm)

The copper intrauterine device works within 5 days (120 hours) and is the most effective option. Levonorgestrel works within 3 days (72 hours). Ulipristal acetate works within 5 days (120 hours). Emergency contraception is free from sexual health clinics, some GP surgeries, young people's clinics, minor injuries units, most pharmacies and some emergency departments, including for those under 16. Doses, weight or BMI adjustments and enzyme-inducer rules should be learned from the BNF and FSRH guidance.

Medicines legislation and supply (to confirm)

• Classification. POM, P and GSL under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. A pharmacist supervises P medicines.
• Emergency supply at the request of a patient. Regulations 224 and 225 allow it up to a maximum of 30 days, but not for Schedule 1, 2 or 3 controlled drugs (with phenobarbital as an exception). Record-keeping and labelling are required. Verify the detail in the Regulations.
• Patient group directions. A written direction allowing supply to a class of patients without an individual prescription.
• Sales limits. Pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and paracetamol have quantity limits for over-the-counter sales. We recall a limit of 720 mg of pseudoephedrine per sale and pack limits of 32 tablets of paracetamol in pharmacies. Confirm the current figures before relying on them.
• Responsible pharmacist. The regulations require a named responsible pharmacist and a notice of their name and registration number.

Professional standards and general law

• GPhC standards for pharmacy professionals. Nine standards that describe person-centred care, working with others, professional practice, communication and ethics. Know the duty of candour, raising concerns and the fitness to practise process.
• Standards for registered pharmacies. Governance, staff, premises, services, equipment and medicines supply.
• Mental Capacity Act 2005. The principles: assume capacity, support decision-making, an unwise decision is not proof of incapacity, act in best interests, choose the least restrictive option.
• Equality Act 2010. Reasonable adjustments for disabled patients and staff.
• Safeguarding. Know the duty to act on concerns about children and vulnerable adults.

Turning this page into revision

Make a one-page sheet of numbers: 28 days, 6 months, 12 months, 30 days, 14 days, and the Pharmacy First ages. Test yourself on it twice a week. Then practise questions that name the Act or Regulation, because exam items in this area usually specify the legal source and ask what the pharmacist must do. For the wider legal domain, read the pharmacy law, ethics and governance page. For clinical rules, see high-yield topics. The hub has the full blueprint.