Special Control Prescription in veterinary medicine: when to use it, requirements, and how to issue it correctly

Prescribing medicines under special control is part of many veterinarians' routine — potent analgesics, anticonvulsants, anxiolytics, some anesthetics, and several other active ingredients require more than a simple prescription. For these cases there is the Special Control Prescription, a document with its own rules for completion, validity, and retention. Understanding when it applies protects the patient, the animal's owner, and your professional accountability.

This content is for guidance and describes general rules. Specific requirements change over time; always confirm the rules in force with Anvisa and your CRMV before adopting any procedure.

What the Special Control Prescription is

The Special Control Prescription is the prescribing model used for medicines covered by the health control set out in Ordinance SVS/MS No. 344/1998 and its supplementary rules. Unlike the simple prescription, it is issued in two copies with distinct destinations:

• 1st copy — retained by the pharmacy or dispensing establishment;
• 2nd copy — returned to the animal's owner, as proof of guidance.

Retaining one of the copies is precisely what gives traceability to the dispensing of these products. It is a control that exists to reduce misuse and to ensure the medicine was prescribed by a qualified professional.

Which drug classes require this model

Ordinance 344/98 organizes substances into lists. In general, the two-copy Special Control Prescription is the document associated with substances from lists such as C1 (other substances under special control) and related categories — for example, several psychotropic anticonvulsants, anxiolytics, and antidepressants used in veterinary practice.

Important: not every controlled medicine uses the same type of prescription form. Some lists require the Prescription Notification (their own models, such as the notification for narcotics and psychotropics in lists A and B), which is more restrictive than the Special Control Prescription. Before prescribing, check which list the active ingredient belongs to — that classification defines the correct model and the applicable validity.

Mandatory data

Although the exact fields depend on the rules in force, a Special Control Prescription usually requires, legibly and without erasures:

• Issuer identification: veterinarian's name, CRMV registration number, professional address, and contact;
• Medicine identification: name (active ingredient or brand), concentration, pharmaceutical form, and total quantity — generally spelled out and in figures;
• Dosage and treatment duration stated clearly;
• Identification of the animal patient and the owner (including owner details when required by the rules);
• Date of issue and the prescriber's signature.

Clarity is not a cosmetic detail: incomplete fields can prevent dispensing at the pharmacy and expose the professional to scrutiny.

Validity and copy retention

The Special Control Prescription has a validity period counted from the date of issue, and the prescribed quantity is normally limited to the treatment time set by the rules. Because these deadlines can vary depending on the substance's list and regulatory updates, check the validity applicable to the specific case. After dispensing, the pharmacy retains the corresponding copy and the establishment keeps the required bookkeeping.

Difference from the simple prescription

The simple (ordinary) prescription covers medicines not classified under special control: it is issued as a single copy, without mandatory retention and with more flexible validity rules. The Special Control Prescription, by contrast, exists to create an auditable trail: two copies, retention, full owner details, and often quantity limits. Using the wrong model — a simple prescription for a medicine that requires control — is a compliance failure, even if the clinical indication is correct.

The role of digital prescribing and the ICP-Brasil signature

Digital prescribing has advanced: documents signed with an ICP-Brasil digital certificate have legal validity and waive the handwritten signature, provided the applicable rules are met. In practice, a well-built digital prescription reduces completion errors, standardizes the mandatory fields, and generates a verifiable document.

Caution is needed, however, with the concept of a natively digital prescription for controlled models: electronic acceptance of controlled prescriptions depends on rules and, in some cases, on official systems and integrations that are still evolving. Confirm with Anvisa and the CRMV what is already accepted fully electronically and what still requires a specific flow for your medicine category.

In AllEars.Vet, the prescription is structured from the start: mandatory fields stay organized, the ICP-Brasil digital signature is applied to the document, and the prescription is linked to the patient's clinical record — reducing rework and the risk of missing fields.

Conclusion

The Special Control Prescription is not pointless bureaucracy: it is the mechanism that gives traceability to sensitive medicines and protects the prescriber. Knowing which list the active ingredient is on, using the correct model, filling in all the fields, and respecting validity and retention is what separates a safe prescription from a compliance problem. And because the rules change, keep the habit of confirming current requirements with Anvisa and your CRMV — using tools that keep the prescription always structured and signed with legal validity.