How to become a locum pharmacist: the UK setup checklist

Locum pharmacists are registered pharmacists who cover shifts for pharmacies on a day-by-day basis, usually as self-employed contractors. There is no separate locum qualification. What changes is that you become a small business: you find your own work, invoice for it, keep your own records and pay your own tax.

This is the setup, in roughly the order you will need it.

1. Be registered with the GPhC

You must be on the General Pharmaceutical Council register to work as a pharmacist, locum or not. Registration is renewed every year, and at renewal you submit your revalidation records: four CPD records (at least two of them planned learning), one peer discussion and one reflective account. As a locum nobody will remind you, so keep your records up to date through the year rather than the week before your renewal date.

2. Arrange your own indemnity cover

Having appropriate professional indemnity cover is a condition of registration, and you declare it when you renew. An employer's cover protects its employees; as a self-employed locum you need your own. It is commonly arranged through a professional body or defence organisation membership, or through an insurer. Check that it covers the work you actually do, such as vaccinations or prescribing, and every country you work in.

3. Register with HMRC as self-employed

Most locum pharmacists work as sole traders. You need to register for Self Assessment by 5 October after the end of the tax year in which you started. Start in June 2026, for example, and the deadline is 5 October 2027. Registering earlier does no harm and means you have your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) when pharmacies or agencies ask for it.

Whether each engagement really is self-employment depends on the facts: see PAYE vs self-employed.

4. Get a smartcard that works at any pharmacy

You need an NHS smartcard to use the Electronic Prescription Service and other NHS systems. Smartcards are issued by a Registration Authority after an identity check. For locums there is a multi-site arrangement: a profile registered against a generic locum organisation code (FFFFF), which lets you use NHS systems at any community pharmacy rather than at one site. Ask the Registration Authority for the area where you work most.

5. Complete the training for the services you will provide

Many NHS pharmacy services need service-specific training or a declaration of competence before you provide them: vaccinations, and the clinical services commissioned where you work. Pharmacies will ask what you can provide, and some will only book a locum who can run a particular service on the day. Keep your certificates together so you can send them on request.

6. Set up the business side

• A separate bank account for locum income. A sole trader does not legally need a business account, but keeping locum money apart makes your records and tax return much simpler.
• A savings pot for tax. Nobody deducts tax from your fees. Move a share of every payment aside as it arrives: the tax calculator shows how much.
• An invoice template and numbering (see how to invoice a pharmacy).
• A way to keep records of shifts, invoices, payments, expenses and mileage. From April 2027 Making Tax Digital applies to sole traders with more than £30,000 of income, so records need to be digital.

7. Find shifts

Locums find work through locum agencies and booking platforms, directly with independent pharmacies and chains, and by word of mouth once pharmacies know you. Many locums use more than one route. Decide your rates and your terms, such as cancellation notice, paid breaks and travel, before you start accepting shifts. The rates guide and questions to ask before accepting help.

The checklist

• GPhC registration current, revalidation records up to date
• Professional indemnity cover in your own name
• Registered for Self Assessment, UTR to hand
• NHS smartcard with a multi-site locum profile
• Training certificates and declarations of competence for the services you provide
• Separate bank account and a savings pot for tax
• Invoice template, numbering and payment terms
• Somewhere to record shifts, invoices, expenses and mileage
• Your rates, cancellation terms and travel policy written down