What a Prescription Must Contain in India: NMC, Drugs Rules and Dental Council Requirements
A prescription written in India has to carry the doctor's registration number, name the medicines by their generic names, legibly and preferably in capital letters, and be signed and dated. It must also name the patient and give their address, along with the total quantity and the dose. Those requirements come from three sources: the Indian Medical Council Regulations of 2002, which the National Medical Commission still applies, the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, and, for consultations by phone or video, the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines of 2020.
Which conduct rules apply: 2002 or 2023?
The National Medical Commission notified new Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations on 2 August 2023. Three weeks later, on 23 August 2023, it held them "in abeyance with immediate effect" and said they "shall not be operative and effective till further Gazette Notification" (NMC notice). The same notice keeps the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 in force. No reinstatement of the 2023 Regulations is listed on the NMC's rules page as of 10 October 2026, so the 2002 Regulations are the ones that apply.
The registration number
Clause 1.4.1 of the 2002 Regulations:
"Every physician shall display the registration number accorded to him by the State Medical Council / Medical Council of India in his clinic and in all his prescriptions, certificates, money receipts given to his patients."
The Telemedicine Practice Guidelines, 2020 (clause 3.2.5) extend this to "prescriptions, website, electronic communication (WhatsApp/ email etc.) and receipts".
Generic names, written legibly
Clause 1.5, as substituted by the Medical Council of India's notification of 21 September 2016 (Gazette copy):
"Every physician should prescribe drugs with generic names legibly and preferably in capital letters and he/she shall ensure that there is a rational prescription and use of drugs"
What the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules require
Rule 65(10) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 sets out what a prescription must do for a pharmacy to dispense Schedule H, H1 or X medicines from it. It must:
- "be in writing and be signed by the person giving it with his usual signature and be dated by him"
- "specify the name and address of the person for whose treatment it is given"
- "indicate the total amount of the medicine to be supplied and the dose to be taken"
Two further rules change how the pharmacy treats the prescription:
- A prescription is dispensed once only "unless the prescriber has stated thereon that it may be dispensed more than once" (rule 65(11)(a)). If the patient should get a repeat supply, write it on the prescription.
- For Schedule X medicines, "the prescriptions shall be in duplicate, one copy of which shall be retained by the licensee for a period of two years" (rule 65(9)(a)).
Prescriptions given over phone or video
The Telemedicine Practice Guidelines say a teleconsultation prescription must follow the same IMC Regulations, and Annexure 2 gives a sample format. Its fields are the doctor's name, qualification, registration number, address and contact details, the date, the patient's name, age, gender, address and weight, the diagnosis or provisional diagnosis, relevant history and findings, each medicine's generic name in capital letters with its form, strength, frequency and duration, and the doctor's signature and stamp.
Dentists
The Dental Council's Revised Dentists (Code of Ethics) Regulations, 2014 carry the same registration rule. Clause 3.4.1 requires every dental practitioner to display their State Dental Council registration number "in his clinic and in all his prescriptions, certificates and money receipts". Clause 3.5 asks dentists to prescribe "as far as possible" in generic form. The Drugs and Cosmetics Rules include dentists in their definition of a registered medical practitioner (rule 2(ee)), so rule 65 applies to a dentist's prescription in the same way.
Physiotherapists
The same definition in rule 2(ee) does not list physiotherapists. Rule 65 allows Schedule H, H1 and X medicines to be sold only against a registered medical practitioner's prescription, so when a physiotherapy patient needs one of them, the prescription has to come from a doctor or dentist.
A checklist for your prescription pad
| On the pad | Why |
|---|---|
| Doctor's name and qualifications | Telemedicine Guidelines sample format |
| Registration number and council | IMC Regulations 2002, clause 1.4.1 (dentists: DCI clause 3.4.1) |
| Clinic address and phone | Telemedicine Guidelines sample format |
| Patient's name and address | Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, rule 65(10)(b) |
| Patient's age, sex and weight | Telemedicine Guidelines sample format; weight matters for children's doses |
| Date | Rule 65(10)(a) |
| Diagnosis or provisional diagnosis | Telemedicine Guidelines sample format |
| Generic names, legibly, preferably in capitals | IMC Regulations 2002, clause 1.5 (2016 amendment) |
| Dose, frequency, duration and total quantity | Rule 65(10)(c) |
| Number of repeats, if any | Rule 65(11)(a) |
| Signature | Rule 65(10)(a) |
Our free prescription pad maker prints a pad with your name, qualifications, registration number, address and timings already on it, with spaces for the patient's details, vitals and diagnosis. In MyClinicDesk, prescriptions are typed as a table of medicines with morning, afternoon and evening doses and the duration, printed on your letterhead with your registration number, and saved to the patient's record.
This article quotes public regulations and is not legal advice. Check the current text with your State Medical Council or Dental Council.