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# Controlled Drugs Registers: Legal Requirements for UK Pharmacies
- URL: https://www.logbook.co.uk/controlled-drugs-register-pharmacy-uk/
- Published: 2026-04-06T21:23:12.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-28T18:59:06.000Z
- Description: The exact register headings from regulation 19, the seven format rules in regulation 20, what NICE, the GPhC and the CQC expect on running balances, and how the rules apply on wards, in GP practices, care homes and vets. Checked against the legislation on 28 September 2026.
- Author: Jamie Dawson
- Tags: Healthcare Logbooks

**Quick answer:** Anyone who obtains or supplies a Schedule 2 controlled drug in Great Britain must record it in a controlled drugs register kept in the form set by regulations 19 and 20 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001: a bound book or an approved computerised system, one register for each set of premises, a separate page for each strength and form of each drug, entries in chronological order made on the day of the transaction or the next day, in ink or otherwise indelible, never cancelled or altered (corrections go in a dated marginal note or footnote), and kept for two years from the last entry. The law does not require a running balance. NICE, the General Pharmaceutical Council and the Care Quality Commission all expect one, checked against physical stock at least weekly in most settings. Schedule 3, 4 and 5 drugs do not go in the register.

This guide is written for community and hospital pharmacies first, because that is where the register rules bite hardest, and then for wards, GP practices, care homes, midwives and veterinary practices, because the same regulations reach all of them. Every requirement is tied to the regulation or the guidance it comes from, and each was checked against the current text on 28 September 2026\. Where the law is silent and a regulator has filled the gap, the guide says so rather than dressing guidance up as statute.

## Quick answers to the questions people actually ask

- **Which Act is it?** The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 creates the offences and the Class A, B and C system used in sentencing. The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/3998) set the five schedules that govern who may possess, supply and record each drug, and they contain the register rules. Contravening the Regulations is itself an offence under section 18 of the Act.
- **Which drugs need a register entry?** Schedule 2 drugs, and Schedule 1 drugs where a Home Office licence allows them to be held. Not Schedule 3, 4 or 5.
- **How long must a controlled drugs register, or a ward or departmental CD record book, be kept?** Two years from the date of the last entry (regulation 23(1)).
- **When does a record not need to be made?** When the drug is in Schedule 3, 4 or 5 (tramadol, temazepam, midazolam, gabapentin, diazepam, zopiclone and low-strength co-codamol are the common examples), and when disposing of irretrievable amounts left in a liquid bottle (NICE NG46, recommendation 1.8.9). Schedule 3 invoices still have to be kept for two years.
- **Is a running balance a legal requirement?** No, but it is expected by every regulator and inspector. The section below explains exactly what is expected and how often.
- **Can the register be electronic?** Yes, since 14 November 2005, if it meets the conditions in regulation 20.
- **When did the rules last change?** 14 November 2005: computerised registers permitted. 1 February 2008: the identity-check columns and the separate page for each strength and form. 10 April 2013: the accountable officer regulations for England and Scotland. 30 November 2015: the mandatory requisition form FP10CDF in England. 1 April 2019: gabapentin and pregabalin moved into Schedule 3\. January 2026: the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs advised that ketamine should stay in Class B, so nothing about its handling changes.

## Who must keep a controlled drugs register

Regulation 19(1) applies to every person authorised under regulation 5 or regulation 8 to supply a drug in Schedule 1 or Schedule 2\. In practice that means the pharmacist responsible for a registered pharmacy (community or hospital), doctors, dentists and vets who hold their own stock, wholesale dealers, and holders of a Home Office licence. Each of them must keep the register described below for every drug in those schedules that they obtain or supply.

Regulation 19(3) lists the people who are exempt from keeping the statutory register. The one that matters day to day is the senior registered nurse, acting senior registered nurse or registered midwife in charge of a ward, theatre or department in a hospital, care home or prison (the wording was updated on 1 June 2015). They are not supplying drugs in the regulatory sense; they receive stock from the pharmacy and administer it, and they keep a ward controlled drugs record book instead, which NICE expects to provide a full audit trail (see the section on other settings). A midwife who obtains Schedule 2 drugs on a supply order keeps her own record book under regulation 21(3).

The Regulations apply in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own Misuse of Drugs Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002, which follow the same structure and headings; the differences are in the departmental guidance around them, not in the register itself.

## Which drugs go in the register: classes versus schedules

The Class of a drug (A, B or C) comes from the 1971 Act and determines the penalties for illegal possession and supply. The Schedule (1 to 5) comes from the 2001 Regulations and determines what a healthcare professional must do with it. The register is a Schedule question, so it is the Schedule you need to know.

- **Schedule 1:** drugs with no recognised medicinal use in the UK, such as LSD and raw cannabis, which can only be held under a Home Office licence. If a licence allows them to be held, register entries are required.
- **Schedule 2:** the register drugs. Examples: diamorphine, morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, alfentanil, methadone, pethidine, tapentadol, cocaine, methylphenidate, dexamfetamine, lisdexamfetamine and ketamine. Every receipt, supply and destruction is entered in the register, safe custody applies, requisitions and prescriptions must meet the controlled-drug formalities, and the identity of the person collecting a prescription supply must be considered and recorded.
- **Schedule 3:** no register entry. Examples: buprenorphine, temazepam, midazolam, tramadol, phenobarbital, gabapentin and pregabalin. A retail pharmacy must keep the invoice or equivalent record for every quantity obtained and supplied for two years (regulation 24). Prescription-writing formalities apply. Safe custody applies to temazepam and buprenorphine but not to the others.
- **Schedule 4:** no register entry and no safe custody. Part 1 is the benzodiazepines other than temazepam and midazolam, plus zopiclone and zolpidem. Part 2 is anabolic steroids and related substances.
- **Schedule 5:** preparations containing a low strength of a controlled drug, such as co-codamol 8/500 and low-strength dihydrocodeine. No register, and the invoice retention rule in regulation 24 applies to producers and wholesalers rather than to pharmacies.

Some pharmacies choose to record Schedule 3 drugs, methadone included where it is Schedule 2 in any case, in a register-style book for stock control. That is sensible, but keep such voluntary entries in a separate register: regulation 20(e) says the statutory register must not be used for any purpose other than the Regulations.

## What must be recorded: the headings, word for word

Regulation 19(1)(a) requires entries to be made under the headings that the regulation itself specifies. They are short, and the register must use them.

**Drugs obtained** (regulation 19(1)(d)):

- Date supply received
- Name and address of the person or firm from whom received
- Quantity received

**Drugs supplied** (regulation 19(1)(e)):

- Date supplied
- Name and address of the person or firm supplied
- Details of the authority to possess: the prescriber's or licence holder's details
- Quantity supplied

**Schedule 2 drugs supplied against a prescription, in addition** (regulation 19(1)(f), in force since 1 February 2008):

- Person collecting the Schedule 2 controlled drug: patient, patient's representative or healthcare professional, and if a healthcare professional, their name and address
- Was proof of identity requested of the patient or the patient's representative? Yes or no
- Was proof of identity of the person collecting provided? Yes or no

Those are the statutory columns. Every well-run register also carries a running balance after each entry, the signature or initials of the person making the entry, a second signature where a witness is used, and a reference to the prescription or requisition so the entry can be traced to its paperwork. None of those is in the Regulations; all of them are expected by inspectors, and the next sections explain why.

**The identity check itself.** Community Pharmacy England summarises the legal position: when a Schedule 2 drug is collected, the pharmacist must ascertain whether the person collecting is the patient, the patient's representative or a healthcare professional. A healthcare professional collecting on a patient's behalf must be asked for identification and evidence of their name, address and professional registration number, which are then recorded. Asking a patient or representative for identity is at the pharmacist's professional discretion, but the register must record whether it was requested and whether it was provided. NICE NG46 recommendation 1.6.2 adds the general duty to take reasonable steps to confirm the identity of the person you are supplying. It remains good practice for the person collecting a Schedule 2 or 3 drug to sign the back of the prescription.

## The format rules in regulation 20

Regulation 20 lists the requirements for how the register is kept. In order:

- **(a) A separate page for each strength and form.** Within the separate register, or separate part of a register, used for each class of drug, a separate page must be used for each strength and form of that drug. Morphine sulfate 10 mg tablets, 30 mg tablets and 10 mg/5 ml oral solution are three pages, not one. Each drug together with its salts counts as a class (regulation 19(1)(b)). In force since 1 February 2008.
- **(b) Entries on the day, or the next day.** An entry must be made on the day the drug is obtained or supplied, or, if that is not reasonably practicable, on the next day. Saving entries for the end of the week is a breach.
- **(c) No cancellation, obliteration or alteration.** A correction is made by a marginal note or footnote that specifies the date on which it was made. The original stays legible.
- **(d) Ink, indelible, or computerised.** Entries must be in ink or otherwise indelible, or in a computerised form that follows the best practice guidance endorsed by the Secretary of State. Computerised registers have been permitted since 14 November 2005.
- **(e) Register used for nothing else.** The register is for the purposes of the Regulations only. Regulation 19(2A) allows additional information to be recorded in it (a running balance, a witness signature), but not other business.
- **(f) One register per premises, and one per class.** A separate register must be kept for each set of premises at which the person carries on business. A pharmacy with two branches has two registers. Only one register may be in use at a time for each class of drug at each premises, unless the Secretary of State has approved otherwise.
- **(g) Kept on the premises.** The register in use must be kept at the premises it relates to, and a computerised register must be accessible from those premises.

The Regulations, and the government guidance built on them, add that a paper register must be a bound book: not loose-leaf, not a card index, so that a missing page is obvious. Regulation 23(1) then requires the book to be preserved for two years from the last entry.

## Paper or electronic: what an electronic register must do

An electronic register is lawful when it meets regulation 20(d) and the endorsed best practice guidance. In substance the system must:

- record every entry, and every amendment, in a way that can be audited afterwards, with no facility to delete;
- print or display the name, form and strength of the drug at the head of each page, screen or printout, mirroring the separate-page rule;
- be accessible from the premises the register relates to (regulation 20(g)), and be backed up so that a failure does not lose two years of entries;
- keep a separate register for each set of premises (NICE NG46 recommendation 1.2.1 restates this for organisations); and
- allow an inspector to see the register, and print from it, on request.

Most patient medication record systems now include a compliant CD register module that calculates the running balance for you. Two practical points: a system that calculates balances still needs a human to count the stock and confirm them, and when a pharmacy moves from paper to electronic the old bound books remain live records until two years after their final entry, so they must stay on the premises and be producible on inspection.

## Running balances and stock checks: the law versus what inspectors expect

**The law.** Nothing in the 2001 Regulations requires a running balance. Community Pharmacy Scotland describes it as good practice that is expected to become mandatory once electronic registers are in common use, and that is the position across Great Britain.

**What NICE expects.** NICE guideline NG46, *Controlled drugs: safe use and management*, recommendation 1.1.12, says every organisation should have a standard operating procedure for stock checks of all controlled drugs entered in the register. The procedure should include checking the balance in the register against current stock; a visual inspection of liquid balances, periodic volume checks and a check to confirm the balance when a bottle is finished; a frequency based on how often the drugs are used, any controlled-drug incidents and a risk assessment, which for most organisations means at least once a week; recording each check with the date and the signature of the professional carrying it out; and, if possible, two people present. Recommendation 1.1.13 asks for a separate procedure for auditing registers and cabinets, including who is responsible, how often, and how discrepancies between stock and records are reported and managed.

**What the GPhC expects.** The General Pharmaceutical Council's standard 1.6 requires that all necessary records for the safe provision of pharmacy services are kept and maintained, and standard 4.3 that medicines are managed securely. Its inspection knowledge hub publishes the failures it finds. One pharmacy checked its register against physical stock regularly, but when the team found a discrepancy it did nothing about it; the inspector's finding was that all discrepancies associated with the running balance must be investigated in a timely manner, the conclusions recorded clearly in the register, and unresolved discrepancies reported promptly to the NHS controlled drugs accountable officer. Another had not made any register entries for a considerable period, which breached the legal requirement outright. A third had crossed-out entries without footnotes, unchecked methadone balances and overdue destructions of patient-returned drugs.

**What the CQC expects.** The CQC's GP mythbuster 28 (updated 7 October 2024) says practices should keep a running balance of each controlled drug preparation because it makes discrepancies easier to spot, that a member of the practice should carry out regular stock checks of all controlled drugs held on the premises and in doctors' bags, and that discrepancies must be reported to the NHS England lead accountable officer for the area.

**Liquids.** The government's controlled drugs guidance for veterinary practice, which uses the same register rules, says the recording of small discrepancies that can be explained by wastage due to dead space in a bottle is not considered a breach. Record the explanation; do not silently adjust the balance.

**What to do with a discrepancy.** Count again with a second person. Check the last few entries against the prescriptions and invoices. If the cause is found, record it as a dated footnote against the entry and correct the balance forward from there. If it is not found within the day, report it to the accountable officer through the NHS England controlled drugs reporting route, tell the responsible pharmacist or registered manager, and record the investigation and its outcome in the register or in the discrepancy log that sits alongside it.

## Requisitions and prescriptions: the paperwork behind each entry

- **Requisitions for stock.** Since 30 November 2015 a requisition for a Schedule 2 or 3 controlled drug supplied from a community pharmacy in England must be on the approved form FP10CDF (WP10CDF in Wales). NICE recommendation 1.2.3 says requisitions should be kept for two years from the date on them, and recommendation 1.2.5 suggests hospitals with an internal pharmacy use one locally agreed requisition form across the organisation, carrying the signature and printed name of the person ordering, the ward or department, the drug name, form and strength, the total quantity, the date, and the signature of the person issuing it.
- **Private prescriptions.** A private prescription for a Schedule 2 or 3 drug must be written on form FP10PCD in England, WP10PCD or WP10PCDSS in Wales, or PPCD(1) in Scotland, and must carry the prescriber's six-digit identification number. Pharmacies send them to NHS Prescription Services each month with form FP34PCD rather than keeping them.
- **NHS prescriptions.** The prescription is your authority to supply and is referenced in the register entry; it goes to the NHS Business Services Authority with the month's bundle. Where a prescription is dispensed in instalments, the record of each supply is kept for two years from the date of the final instalment.

## Destruction: stock versus patient returns

**Expired or obsolete stock (Schedule 2).** Regulation 27 says a Schedule 2 drug held as stock may only be destroyed in the presence of, and in accordance with any directions given by, a person authorised by the Secretary of State or by a controlled drugs accountable officer. Authorised witnesses are typically appointed by the NHS England regional accountable officer; police controlled drugs liaison officers and Home Office inspectors are also authorised. The accountable officer appoints witnesses but may not act as the witness personally (regulation 27(1A)). The register entry must record the date of destruction and the quantity destroyed and be signed by the authorised witness. NICE recommendation 1.8.4 spells the record out as the name, strength and form of the drug, the quantity, the date, the witness's signature, and, as good practice, the signature of the person carrying out the destruction. Drugs are denatured (a denaturing kit is the usual method) and then disposed of as pharmaceutical waste. For Schedule 3 and Schedule 4 Part 1 stock the law requires neither a witness nor a record; NICE recommendations 1.8.5 and 1.8.6 suggest having a witness and recording the same details anyway.

**Drugs returned by patients or their families.** Regulation 27(6) exempts drugs that were supplied to a pharmacist or practitioner for the purpose of destruction, which is what a patient return is. No authorised witness is needed. Returned drugs are not stock and are never entered in the controlled drugs register. NICE recommendation 1.8.7 says to consider asking a second member of staff, preferably a registered professional, to witness the destruction, and recommendation 1.8.8 to record it in a separate book kept for the purpose, showing the date the drugs were received, the date they were destroyed, and the signatures of the person destroying them and any witness. Recommendation 1.2.4 suggests keeping that record for a minimum of seven years. Returns must be kept in the controlled drugs cabinet until they are denatured: a box of returned controlled drugs sitting outside the cabinet, with no record of what was in it, is one of the GPhC's published examples of poor practice.

**Liquids.** An irretrievable amount left in a bottle of stock oral solution can be rinsed into the pharmaceutical waste bin, the label removed and the clean bottle recycled, and that disposal does not need to be recorded (NICE 1.8.9).

## How long to keep each record

- **Controlled drugs register:** two years from the date of the last entry (regulation 23(1)). The same applies to a ward or departmental CD record book and to a midwife's register under regulation 21(3).
- **Records under regulation 22** (production, import, export and certain supplies of Schedule 3 and 4 drugs): two years from the date the record was made (regulation 23(2)).
- **Invoices for Schedule 3 drugs obtained and supplied by a pharmacy:** two years from the date of issue (regulation 24). NICE recommendation 1.2.4 suggests six years for controlled-drug invoices generally, which also matches the tax-records rule.
- **Requisitions:** two years from the date on the requisition (NICE 1.2.3).
- **Patient returns and their destruction:** seven years (NICE 1.2.4). The NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service's retention article (updated 18 March 2026) expresses this as six years plus one.
- **Private controlled-drug prescriptions:** sent to NHS Prescription Services monthly rather than retained.
- **Veterinary prescriptions for controlled drugs:** two years from the date of the final delivery under the prescription (regulation 23(3)).

If a pharmacy closes or changes hands, the registers stay with the premises' records for the rest of their two years and must be producible to an inspector. There is no obligation to digitise old paper books, only to keep them.

## The register in other settings

### Hospital wards and departments

The senior nurse or midwife in charge is exempt from the statutory register (regulation 19(3)), but every ward, theatre and department that holds Schedule 2 stock keeps a controlled drugs record book with a page for each drug, strength and form, showing stock received from pharmacy, each administration, the balance, and two signatures. NICE recommendation 1.8.1 requires records that provide an audit trail for supply, administration, disposal and movement between locations, and recommendation 1.7.4 lists what an administration record must contain: the name of the person receiving the dose, the date and time, the drug name, formulation and strength, the dose, and the names and signatures or initials of the person administering it and any witness. The completed book is kept for two years from the last entry, the same as the pharmacy register. Balance checks follow the same weekly expectation, and are commonly done at each shift handover for high-use drugs.

### GP practices and doctors' bags

A practice that holds Schedule 2 stock, including the drugs in a doctor's bag, must keep a register for it; the CQC's mythbuster 28 says any movement of a Schedule 2 drug into or out of the practice must be recorded, in a bound register with separate sections for each class, in chronological order, on the day or within 24 hours, with a running balance and regular stock checks of the premises and the bags, and the register kept for two years after the last entry. Stock destruction needs an authorised witness; patient returns do not, although witnessing is preferable.

### Care homes

The CQC's guidance on controlled drugs in care homes (updated 7 January 2025) says you must record any movement of a Schedule 2 controlled drug in a controlled drugs register, keep the drugs in a cupboard that meets the Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1973, and restrict access to it according to need. NICE guideline SC1 on managing medicines in care homes recommends a bound book with numbered pages (an electronic register is an acceptable alternative), with each entry signed and dated by the member of staff making it and, whenever possible, witnessed and countersigned by a suitably trained colleague. The dose is also recorded on the medicines administration record. A care home with nursing that holds its own Schedule 2 stock must destroy it in the presence of an authorised witness; a residential home's drugs belong to individual residents, so unwanted or returned doses are treated as patient returns, with one member of staff making the record and a second checking and signing it.

### Midwives

A midwife who obtains Schedule 2 drugs on a midwife's supply order must keep a book used solely for the purpose, entering on each supply the date, the name and address of the supplier, the name of the person the drug is intended for, the amount and the form, and on each administration the name and address of the patient, the amount administered and the form (regulation 21(3)). The book is kept for two years from the last entry.

### Veterinary practices

Vets and veterinary pharmacies keep the same register under the same regulations. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate's guidance (updated 5 August 2025) restates the rules in plain terms: a bound book or computerised system, separated by class, a separate page for each strength and form, chronological entries on the day or the next day, corrections by a signed and dated note in the margin or at the foot of the page, a running balance calculated after each transaction, and two years' retention. Destruction of Schedule 2 stock must be witnessed by a VMD inspector, an independent vet or a person legally authorised to witness, such as a police controlled drugs liaison officer.

## Accountable officers, local intelligence networks and reporting

The Controlled Drugs (Supervision of Management and Use) Regulations 2013, in force from 10 April 2013 in England and Scotland, require designated bodies (NHS trusts, integrated care boards, independent hospitals and other listed organisations) to appoint a controlled drugs accountable officer (CDAO). The CDAO must secure the safe management and use of controlled drugs in the organisation (regulation 11), monitor and audit that management (regulation 12), and monitor, assess and where necessary investigate individuals whose handling of controlled drugs gives cause for concern (regulation 13). NHS England's regional accountable officers run the controlled drugs local intelligence networks (LINs) established under regulation 14, through which pharmacies, practices, care homes, the police and the regulators share concerns. Community pharmacies are not designated bodies and do not appoint their own CDAO; they report incidents, unresolved discrepancies and losses to the NHS England regional CDAO, which is also who appoints their authorised witnesses. Recommendation 1.9.3 of NG46 adds that accountable officers must ensure robust systems are in place for the reporting and investigation of controlled drug incidents.

## What inspectors find: the common failures

- A discrepancy found at a stock check and not investigated, or investigated without the conclusion being recorded in the register.
- Entries crossed out, overwritten or corrected without a dated footnote.
- No entries made for a period, with supplies reconstructed later from prescriptions.
- Running balances not kept for high-use liquids such as methadone, or kept but never confirmed against the bottle.
- Patient returns stored outside the CD cabinet, entered in the main register, or held for months without destruction.
- Expired stock destroyed without an authorised witness, or with the witness's signature missing from the register.
- One register used for two premises, or the register kept off-site.
- The person-collecting and identity columns left blank on Schedule 2 prescription supplies.
- Standard operating procedures for controlled drugs out of date and not matching what staff actually do.

Beyond the regulatory consequences, section 18 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 makes contravention of the Regulations a criminal offence, and failing to keep the register is the most common way a pharmacy falls foul of it.

## A free controlled drugs record book template

The [Controlled Drugs Record Book template](https://www.logbook.co.uk/controlled-drugs-record-book-template/) (PDF and Excel) carries the statutory headings from regulation 19 with a running balance column, plus the four records the law leaves to you: a weekly balance check log built to NICE 1.1.12, a patient returns register built to NICE 1.8.8, a discrepancy investigation log, and a stock destruction record with the authorised witness fields from regulation 27\. One honest caveat, repeated on the template itself: where the law requires a register, that register must be a bound book or a compliant electronic system, so the printed register page is for ward and care-home record books and for practising layouts, not a substitute for the bound book in a pharmacy.

## What is changing in 2026

Nothing in the register rules has changed this year. Two things are worth watching. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs published its ketamine review in January 2026 and advised that ketamine should remain a Class B drug, so it stays in Schedule 2 with full register and safe custody requirements; the government asked for the review in January 2025 amid rising harms, and the ACMD's 14 further recommendations focus on treatment and testing rather than scheduling. Separately, the direction of travel on running balances is towards a legal requirement once electronic registers are universal, which Community Pharmacy Scotland has flagged for some years. If either moves, this section will be updated the same week.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is a running balance a legal requirement in a controlled drugs register?

No. The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 do not mention running balances. NICE NG46 says every organisation should compare the register balance with physical stock at least weekly in most settings, the GPhC treats a missing or unchecked balance as a breach of its standard 1.6 on records, and CQC inspectors look for one in GP practices and care homes. Treat it as mandatory in practice.

### Can I use an electronic controlled drugs register?

Yes. Since 14 November 2005 regulation 20(d) has allowed entries in a computerised form that follows the endorsed best practice guidance: every entry is auditable and cannot be deleted, the drug name, form and strength head each display or printout, and the register is accessible from the premises it relates to. A separate register is still needed for each set of premises.

### How long must a controlled drugs register be kept?

Two years from the date of the last entry (regulation 23(1)). The same period applies to a ward or departmental CD record book and to a midwife's book. NICE recommends seven years for records of destroying a patient's own drugs and six years for invoices.

### Do Schedule 3 drugs such as tramadol, temazepam or gabapentin go in the register?

No. Register entries are only required for Schedule 2 (and Schedule 1) drugs. A retail pharmacy keeps the invoices for Schedule 3 drugs for two years under regulation 24\. If you record Schedule 3 drugs voluntarily, use a separate book.

### What do I do if I make a mistake in the register?

Never cross out, overwrite, erase or use correction fluid. Add a marginal note or footnote with the correct particulars and the date, and leave the original legible. Electronic systems do the same with an audit trail.

### Who can witness the destruction of controlled drugs?

Expired or obsolete Schedule 2 stock: a person authorised by the Secretary of State or by an accountable officer, who signs the register entry showing the date and quantity. The accountable officer cannot be the witness. Patient returns are exempt and need only a second member of staff as good practice.

### Do patient-returned controlled drugs go in the register?

No. They are not stock. Record them in a separate patient returns book with the date received, the date destroyed and two signatures, keep that book for seven years, and store the returns in the CD cabinet until they are denatured.

### Does a care home need a controlled drugs register?

Yes for Schedule 2 drugs: the CQC says any movement must be recorded in a register, and NICE SC1 recommends a bound book with numbered pages, signed by the member of staff and, whenever possible, a trained witness, with the dose also on the MAR chart.

### How often should controlled drugs stock be checked?

At least weekly for most organisations, more often for high-use drugs, with liquids checked visually, measured periodically and confirmed at the end of each bottle, and each check dated and signed, ideally by two people (NICE NG46 1.1.12).

## Related guides on logbook.co.uk

- [Controlled drugs record book template](https://www.logbook.co.uk/controlled-drugs-record-book-template/): register page, balance checks, patient returns, discrepancies and destruction, PDF and Excel
- [CQC inspection records for care providers](https://www.logbook.co.uk/cqc-inspection-records-uk-care-providers-complete-guide/)
- [Mandatory training records and the CSTF](https://www.logbook.co.uk/mandatory-training-records-uk-healthcare-cstf-complete-guide/)
- [NMC revalidation: a UK nurse's complete guide](https://www.logbook.co.uk/nmc-revalidation-uk-nurses-complete-guide/)
- [HCPC record keeping for allied health professionals](https://www.logbook.co.uk/hcpc-record-keeping-uk-allied-health-professionals-guide/)
- [Veterinary medicine records on UK farms](https://www.logbook.co.uk/veterinary-medicine-records-farm-uk/)
- [What is a logbook? Every UK type explained](https://www.logbook.co.uk/what-is-a-logbook-every-type-uk-explained/)

## Sources

Every requirement above was checked against the following on 28 September 2026.

- The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/3998), as amended: [regulation 19](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/3998/regulation/19?ref=logbook.co.uk) (keeping of registers and the headings), [regulation 20](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/3998/regulation/20?ref=logbook.co.uk) (requirements as to registers), [regulation 21](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/3998/regulation/21?ref=logbook.co.uk) (midwives and ships), [regulation 23](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/3998/regulation/23?ref=logbook.co.uk) (preservation of registers), [regulation 24](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/3998/regulation/24?ref=logbook.co.uk) (Schedule 3 and 5 records) and [regulation 27](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2001/3998/regulation/27?ref=logbook.co.uk) (destruction)
- [The Controlled Drugs (Supervision of Management and Use) Regulations 2013](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/373/contents/made?ref=logbook.co.uk)
- [NICE guideline NG46: Controlled drugs: safe use and management](https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng46?ref=logbook.co.uk) (recommendations 1.1.12, 1.1.13, 1.2.1 to 1.2.5, 1.6.2, 1.7.4, 1.8.1 to 1.8.9, 1.9.3)
- [NICE guideline SC1: Managing medicines in care homes](https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/sc1?ref=logbook.co.uk)
- [CQC: GP mythbuster 28, Management of controlled drugs](https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/gps/gp-mythbusters/gp-mythbuster-28-management-controlled-drugs?ref=logbook.co.uk) (updated 7 October 2024) and [CQC: Controlled drugs in care homes](https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/adult-social-care/controlled-drugs-care-homes?ref=logbook.co.uk) (updated 7 January 2025)
- [GPhC inspections knowledge hub](https://inspections.pharmacyregulation.org/knowledge-hub?ref=logbook.co.uk): [failing to maintain running balances and investigate discrepancies](https://inspections.pharmacyregulation.org/knowledge-hub/notable-practice/failing-to-maintain-controlled-drug-running-balances-and-investigate-discrepancies.-493?ref=logbook.co.uk), [management of controlled drugs](https://inspections.pharmacyregulation.org/knowledge-hub/notable-practice/management-of-controlled-drugs-99?ref=logbook.co.uk), [poor management of controlled drugs](https://inspections.pharmacyregulation.org/knowledge-hub/notable-practice/poor-management-of-controlled-drugs-139?ref=logbook.co.uk)
- [Community Pharmacy England: Dispensing controlled drugs](https://cpe.org.uk/quality-and-regulations/pharmacy-regulation/controlled-drug-regulations/?ref=logbook.co.uk) (identity checks, private prescription forms and submission)
- [Community Pharmacy Scotland: Regulations](https://www.cps.scot/regulations?ref=logbook.co.uk) (running balances as good practice)
- [NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service: Controlled drugs records in pharmacy](https://sps.nhs.uk/articles/controlled-drugs-records-in-pharmacy/?ref=logbook.co.uk) (retention table, updated 18 March 2026)
- [GOV.UK (Veterinary Medicines Directorate): Controlled drugs: recording, using, storing and disposal](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/controlled-drugs-recording-using-storing-and-disposal?ref=logbook.co.uk) (updated 5 August 2025)
- [GOV.UK: ACMD announces decision on the classification of ketamine](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/acmd-announces-decision-on-the-classification-of-ketamine?ref=logbook.co.uk) (January 2026)

*First published 6 April 2026\. Rewritten and re-checked against the legislation and guidance listed above on 28 September 2026 by Jamie Dawson, Editor. Logbook.co.uk is independent of the Home Office, NHS England, the GPhC and the CQC; this guide is general information for professionals, not legal advice, and your standard operating procedures and your accountable officer's directions take precedence. Corrections: corrections@logbook.co.uk*