Submit and retrieve prescriptions

Submit and retrieve prescriptions

Find information on prescription submissions, as well as retrieving copies of your submitted prescriptions.

Help us keep your payments timely

Here are the top tips that help prescriptions scan first time and your payments stay on schedule. When you’re getting paper prescriptions ready:

• Ask the GP to reprint them: If the text is not clear enough to safely dispense from, not valid as a legal record, or not readable for accurate payment.
• Keep text clear: No labels, stickers or sticky notes.
• Add your pharmacy stamp (top right): Ink must be clear, so we know who to pay.
• Band them: Include your paper prescriptions and GP34 declaration form. Keep them flat, facing the same way, with no tears, folds or staples.
• Form type CP4/3(SS): This form includes a CP3 and a CP4. Detach and submit the CP3 only. Do not send paper CP4s or include CP3s or CP4s in the declaration. Read the March 2026 CP4 detailed guidance.

Neat prescriptions = Quick scans = Timely payments

Download, print and display the Paper Prescription Submission Guide and A4 Paper Prescription Submission Poster in your workspace to help remind you of the right steps to follow.

Why it matters

A paper prescription is not just a clinical document. It triggers your payment, when we successfully scan it. If it is barcoded, the scan links it to your electronic message and we use the electronic data to pay the claim. If it is not barcoded, we use the information on the paper prescription to make your payment. This is why every paper prescription must arrive clean, clear and complete.

Across 2025, 75.8m paper prescriptions were scanned, holding 120.5m items used to calculate £1.68bn in payments to pharmacy contractors. At this scale, even a small proportion of paper prescriptions not being fit to scan results in significant duplication, extra handling work and delays to payments.

Need help

If you have any queries, please contact us before submitting your paper prescriptions. We are always happy to help you avoid delays or rejected items.

01506 705125

nss.p-cfs-scanningservices@nhs.scot

Do not miss any payments. Make sure you:

Know your in-house process

• Every practice works differently. Make sure you know your own steps, who is responsible for each stage and the deadlines you must meet.

Get your submissions in on time

• Send your submission by the fifth calendar day of the month or on your agreed Community Pharmacy Scotland courier collection date if you use this service. If this falls on a weekend or public holiday, use the next working day.
• If you do not use the Community Pharmacy Scotland service and you arrange your own delivery service submit on the 5th or next working day pending weekends/public holidays.
• Late forms may miss the month’s scanning batch, which may affect your payment. Anything too late goes into the next month.
• You can find CPS courier collection dates on the Community Pharmacy Scotland website.
• Dispensing doctors should follow the Requested Delivery Dates timetable.
• Send submissions to: Practitioner Services Scanning Centre, Public Services Delivery Scotland, Gyle Square, 1 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9EB.

If you use Community Pharmacy Scotland’s courier service, contact them on 0131 467 7766 if you are struggling to meet a submission date. If you arrange your own delivery, contact Practitioner Services (01506 705125). The submission date is the date by which the submission must be received by Practitioner Services.

Keep your bundles tidy

• Keep prescriptions facing the same way and secure them with elastic bands. Do not submit unbanded loose bundles of prescriptions.
• Remove any sticky labels, paper clips, sticky notes or tape. These can cover important information and can damage or jam the scanners.
• Avoid curled edges as these can slow the scanners or cause jams.
• Keep GP10A forms, invoices and PC70s separate.

Preparing bags for submission

• If you submit more than two bags, include a note in each bag stating, “part 1 of 2”, “part 2 of 2”, and so on. If you forget, you can write this on the front of the courier bag, but it is always better to include the note inside the bag. If you use multiple bags, put the original GP34 form in one bag and photocopies in the others. The GP34 must record the total number of paper forms being declared, remembering not to include CP3 forms.

For Community Pharmacy Scotland Members:

• Do not include too many prescriptions in one bag. The maximum is 5,000 items. Please split any submissions over 5,000 into more than one bag. A good rule of thumb is that the long edge of a GP34 is approximately 1,100 paper prescriptions. If you need more bags, please contact Community Pharmacy Scotland on 0131 467 7766.

Declare counts accurately

• Include your completed GP34 and make sure the number of paper forms you declare matches what you send.
• GP34 figures should not include electronic-only claim counts. Please ensure you manually check figures as those provided by PMR systems regularly don’t match those submitted. This is one of the easiest mistakes to avoid and one of the most common.

Perforated edges

• Keep perforated or rough edges flat. Curled edges can catch in the scanner and slow everything down.

Patient notes

• Detach the patient notes or repeat section before you send your forms. This part is not required, and it must not be included in your submission. If the notes section is left attached or folded over, the scanner may not capture the back of the prescription. This is particularly important for Schedule 2 and Schedule 3 controlled drugs where the patient signature on the rear of the form must be visible and recorded to meet mandatory requirements.

Retrieve a copy of a submitted prescription

Practitioner Services are happy to provide dispensing contractors with a scanned copy of prescriptions submitted for processing. Send your request to:

nss.psd-pscriber-statnry@nhs.scot

Where to send your submissions

Practitioner Services Scanning Centre

Public Services Delivery Scotland

Gyle Square, 1 South Gyle Crescent

Edinburgh

EH12 9EB

Need help

01506 705125 nss.p-cfs-scanningservices@nhs.scot