GPhC inspections: what happens on the day, how outcomes are decided, and what to do if you miss a standard
For pharmacy owners, superintendents and Responsible Pharmacists in Great Britain: how GPhC runs an inspection, what it finds most often in 2026, and the deadlines that follow if you don't meet a standard.
This guide covers GPhC inspections of registered pharmacies in Great Britain. To check your pharmacy against all 26 standards, use our free GPhC inspection checklist. To look up a pharmacy’s published report, use GPhC’s inspections website.
Most GPhC inspections are unannounced, last up to three hours and end with one of two outcomes: “standards met” or “standards not all met”. Miss a standard and you have five working days to tell GPhC how you’ll fix it.
| What | How it works |
|---|---|
| Notice | Generally none. GPhC wants to see the pharmacy the way patients find it. |
| Length | Up to three hours, mostly between 9am and 5pm. |
| What gets checked | 18 core standards in a focused inspection, all 26 in a full one. |
| Who takes part | The whole team, with the Responsible Pharmacist on duty, even if that’s a locum. |
| Outcome | “Standards met” or “standards not all met”. |
| If you miss a standard | An improvement action plan, which GPhC publishes with your report, and a re-inspection within six months. |
| Report | GPhC usually publishes it within six weeks of the inspection. |
Five kinds of GPhC inspection
Since early 2025, a routine inspection can be a shorter focused one or a full one.
| Type | When GPhC uses it | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Focused | A routine inspection. | 18 core standards: the ones pharmacies most often miss and the ones with the biggest impact on patient safety. The inspector can switch to a full inspection. |
| Full | Every pharmacy’s first inspection, or when the inspector needs more information or wants to speak to more of the team. | All 26 standards, in depth. |
| Re-inspection | After a “standards not all met” outcome, once you show the action plan is complete. | The standards you missed, through a visit or a desktop review. The inspector can switch to a full inspection. |
| Intelligence-led | When GPhC receives information about an immediate risk to patients, from other regulators, healthcare professionals, the public or the media. | A full inspection, or a targeted one on certain principles or standards. |
| Themed review | Visits to a selection of pharmacies on one issue. | A sector-wide report on learning and good practice. Recent themes include weight loss medicines, hub and spoke dispensing and homecare services. |
The 18 core standards are 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and 5.1. Our GPhC inspection checklist marks each one.
For routine inspections, GPhC picks a proportion of pharmacies at random, in a sample that represents every type of pharmacy on its register.
What happens during a GPhC inspection
The inspector shows a warrant card on arrival, and the Responsible Pharmacist should check it. If anyone doubts the person is a GPhC inspector, they can call GPhC’s contact centre to confirm.
The inspection goes ahead if the owner or superintendent isn’t there, and if the Responsible Pharmacist that day is a locum. GPhC expects a pharmacy to meet the standards every day, so it inspects with whoever is on shift.
Inspectors expect you to show them how you meet each standard, and they gather evidence in four ways:
- reading your records and documents
- watching how the team deals with patients
- asking the team questions and talking them through scenarios
- testing your systems and procedures
GPhC calls this “show and tell”. Inspectors talk to the whole team as well as the owner, superintendent or Responsible Pharmacist. If carrying on could put patients at risk, the inspector stops and comes back when it’s safe.
At the end, the inspector goes through the findings with the Responsible Pharmacist, who confirms they’ve had the feedback and can add comments. Use this to point to evidence the inspector didn’t see. GPhC relies on it to show the report matches what the inspector saw on the day.
What to have ready
- Every Responsible Pharmacist, locums included, knows to check the warrant card, can find the SOPs and risk assessments, and can walk an inspector through how the pharmacy works.
- SOPs and risk assessments in date and signed. GPhC’s two latest reports name missing, inadequate or out-of-date ones as a leading reason pharmacies miss standards.
- Complete fridge temperature and expiry date records. GPhC named gaps in both among the main reasons pharmacies missed standards in April to June 2026.
- An error and near-miss log that shows what you reviewed and what you changed.
- Complete records of consultations, the Responsible Pharmacist and private prescriptions.
- If you supply weight management medicines, records showing you independently verified each person’s weight, height or BMI.
How GPhC decides the outcome
An inspection has two possible overall outcomes: “standards met” and “standards not all met”. To get “standards met”, your pharmacy has to meet every standard the inspector checks. Miss one, and the overall outcome is “standards not all met”.
The report also gives a finding for each of the five principles, and can mark good practice and areas for improvement, where you meet a standard but could do better.
Inspectors judge each standard using GPhC’s inspection decision making framework, updated in January 2026. It gives examples of what meets and what fails each standard. The greater the impact on patient safety, the more likely the inspector fails the standard. Minor issues, such as small gaps in records or cluttered storage with no significant risk, are unlikely to fail a standard on their own. Several minor issues together can.
The inspector also weighs whether a problem is a one-off or keeps happening, how easily you can put it right, and what you’ve already done about it.
What GPhC finds most often in 2026
GPhC publishes its inspection findings every quarter. The two latest reports point at the same basics.
April to June 2026
GPhC carried out 399 inspections. Pharmacies most often missed standard 1.1 (managing risks) and standard 4.3 (medicines and medical devices). GPhC put this mostly down to missing or inadequate SOPs and risk assessments, procedures the team didn’t follow, poor fridge temperature monitoring and too few expiry date checks.
The most common areas for improvement were standards 1.6 and 4.2, mainly records of consultations, the Responsible Pharmacist and private prescriptions. Staff training (standard 2.2) earned the most positive findings, which GPhC linked to protected learning time.
January to March 2026
Pharmacies most often missed standards 1.1, 1.2 (reviewing and monitoring safety) and 4.2 (safe and effective services). GPhC pointed to out-of-date SOPs, errors and near misses that pharmacies didn’t record or review, and services they didn’t audit, such as weight management, where pharmacies often didn’t verify or record a person’s BMI. Seven pharmacies faced enforcement action in that quarter.
| Pharmacy type | Met every standard, routine inspections, April to June 2026 |
|---|---|
| Community | 90% |
| Internet | 77% |
| Hospital and prison | All of those inspected |
Internet pharmacies had been improving: 82% met every standard in routine inspections in January to March 2026, up from 60% in April to June 2025, after GPhC updated its distance-selling guidance.
If you don’t meet every standard
- Within five working days, tell GPhC what you’ll do. The owner and superintendent fill in the improvement action plan. GPhC can allow more time for exceptional reasons.
- Meet the deadline for each standard. The inspector sets 10, 20 or 60 working days for each standard you missed, and you name who will complete each action and by when. GPhC expects you to act as soon as possible where patients are at risk.
- GPhC publishes the plan alongside your inspection report.
- Tell GPhC when you’ve finished. Once the inspector is satisfied the plan is complete, GPhC schedules a re-inspection within six months of the date it sent you the final report.
- The re-inspection checks the improvements held. The inspector visits again or carries out a desktop inspection. If you now meet the standards, GPhC publishes an updated report showing “standards met” and keeps the earlier report in your inspection history.
When GPhC uses its enforcement powers
GPhC uses its statutory powers when an owner doesn’t complete the action plan and make the changes, or when patients face a serious risk. The powers include improvement notices and conditions on the pharmacy. The owner can later ask GPhC to remove or change a condition.
GPhC also holds regular meetings with pharmacy organisations whose inspection outcomes or reported concerns fall below the standards it expects.
Checking, publishing and challenging the report
Before GPhC publishes your report, the owner or superintendent checks it for factual accuracy. GPhC usually publishes it within six weeks of the inspection, on its inspections website, together with any improvement action plan and enforcement action.
If you think the evidence doesn’t support the overall outcome, the owner or superintendent can ask for a formal review within five working days of receiving the final report. GPhC has a form for this, and asks you to tell the inspector you’ve requested a review.
GPhC’s reports go back to April 2019, so anyone, including your patients, can read your pharmacy’s inspection history.
How to prepare for a GPhC inspection
- Audit yourself against the standards. Start with the 18 core standards a focused inspection checks, then cover the rest, because the inspector can switch to a full inspection.
- Fix the most common gaps first: SOPs and risk assessments (1.1), error and near-miss reviews (1.2), and medicines storage records (4.3).
- Brief every Responsible Pharmacist, locums included: check the warrant card, know where the SOPs and records are, walk the inspector through the pharmacy, and add comments at the feedback.
- Get the team ready to show and tell. Each team member should be able to explain their role, how to raise a concern and what to do when something goes wrong.
- Keep the evidence of every change. A re-inspection checks your improvements held, so keep the records that show it.
Our free GPhC inspection checklist sets out what to check for all 26 standards and what fails each one, with the 18 core standards marked.
Or have the evidence ready before GPhC arrives
CompliantCare tracks every GPhC standard for your pharmacy and gives each one an owner and a live status, linked to the policy, audit or training record behind it. You see a gap the day it appears, and when the inspector arrives, one click produces the evidence pack.
Last reviewed: 7 October 2026. We review this guide each quarter when GPhC publishes its insights report, and whenever GPhC changes its inspection pages. Where ours differs from GPhC’s, GPhC’s is correct.
Common questions
What happens in a GPhC inspection?
An inspector arrives, usually unannounced and between 9am and 5pm, and shows a warrant card, which the Responsible Pharmacist should check. Over up to three hours the inspector reads your records, watches how the team deals with patients, asks the team questions and scenarios, and tests your systems. At the end, the inspector goes through the findings with the Responsible Pharmacist.
What happens if you fail a GPhC inspection?
If you miss one or more standards, the overall outcome is "standards not all met" and you complete an improvement action plan. You tell GPhC within five working days what you'll do, and the inspector sets a deadline of 10, 20 or 60 working days for each standard. GPhC publishes the plan with your report. Once you show the plan is complete, GPhC re-inspects within six months of the final report. If you don't complete the plan, or patients face a serious risk, GPhC can use its enforcement powers, including improvement notices and conditions on the pharmacy.
How long does a GPhC inspection take?
Up to three hours. The length depends on the type of pharmacy and the focus of the inspection. A focused inspection checks 18 core standards, and a full inspection checks all 26.
Are GPhC inspections announced?
Generally not. GPhC inspects unannounced so it sees the pharmacy the way patients find it, day to day. The inspection goes ahead if the owner or superintendent isn't there, and if the Responsible Pharmacist that day is a locum.
How often does GPhC inspect a pharmacy?
GPhC's inspection pages don't give a fixed cycle. It inspects a proportion of pharmacies chosen at random, in a sample that represents every type of pharmacy, plus new pharmacies, re-inspections and intelligence-led inspections when it receives information about a risk. It carried out 1,973 inspections in 2025/26.
Can you challenge a GPhC inspection outcome?
Yes. Before GPhC finalises the report, the owner or superintendent checks it for factual accuracy. After the final report arrives, they can ask for a formal review of the overall outcome within five working days if they think the evidence doesn't support it.
References
- GPhC: Inspections
- GPhC: Carrying out inspections
- GPhC: Inspection outcomes
- GPhC: Inspection reports
- GPhC: Inspection decision making framework (January 2026)
- GPhC: Standards for registered pharmacies (June 2018)
- GPhC: Insights from Q1, April to June 2026
- GPhC: Insights from Q4, January to March 2026
- GPhC: GPhC reveals its plan to update the pharmacy inspections process (December 2024)
- GPhC: Registered pharmacies enforcement policy (December 2022)
For general information only. It reflects our understanding of GPhC's approach as of October 2026, so check pharmacyregulation.org for the current standards and inspection process.