A practical guide to pharmacies in Spain, from official figures and rules only: how to find the nearest pharmacy and tonight's on-duty one, the usual hours, what needs a prescription, and what you pay for SNS prescription medicines — plus the questions no official source answers, like the night surcharge. General information, not medical advice.
This guide uses official figures and rules only — the Ministerio de Sanidad copayment table, the medicines law (Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2015) and the distance-selling rules (Real Decreto 870/2013). Map Syndicat lists 3,844 pharmacies in five Spanish cities — Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla and Alicante — with a phone number for 3,842 of them and coordinates for 3,799. The directory has no opening hours, and no duty rota is published here: rotas change daily and are set by the provincial Colegio de Farmacéuticos. Where no official answer exists, the card says so and points to where to check.
How do I find a pharmacy near me in Spain?
Look for the green cross (cruz verde) on the street, or use the Map Syndicat directory: 3,844 pharmacies in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla and Alicante, with a phone number for all but two. Call before you go — the directory has no opening hours.
Pharmacies in Spain are called oficinas de farmacia — private health establishments of public interest. In the five cities Map Syndicat covers, the directory gives the name, address and phone number for 3,842 of the 3,844 pharmacies, and coordinates for 3,799, so you can find the nearest one and call ahead. Only two pharmacies in Spain carry an open-now claim on this site — Farmacia 24 Horas in Madrid and Farmacia Alcosa 24 Horas CB in Sevilla — because their names say they are open 24 hours. No other pharmacy is shown as open at night.
How do I find a pharmacy open now / open tonight in Spain?
Check the website of the Colegio Oficial de Farmacéuticos of your province, call 112 and ask for the nearest on-duty pharmacy, or read the list posted in the window of any nearby pharmacy. Call the pharmacy before you go.
The on-duty pharmacy changes every day, so no list on this site can tell you tonight's one — the rota is set by the provincial Colegio. Its website lists the pharmacy on duty for your town and date; many pharmacies also display the updated list for the area in their window. At night the pharmacy may work behind a closed door: ring the bell and the pharmacist inside must attend you. Only two pharmacies in Spain are open 24 hours every day by name — Farmacia 24 Horas in Madrid (+34913563573) and Farmacia Alcosa 24 Horas CB in Sevilla (+34954510720).
What are pharmacy opening hours in Spain?
There is no national schedule: each autonomous community sets its own hours, with a usual minimum of 40 hours a week. In Madrid the typical pattern is Monday to Friday 9:30–13:45 and 17:00–20:00, Saturday 10:00–13:45, Sunday closed.
The state law leaves the organisation of pharmacies to the health administrations, so hours differ by community and by pharmacy — city-centre pharmacies often run longer or continuous hours, and 12-hour and 24-hour licences exist. The Madrid figures come from Ley 13/2022 and the older Madrid decree: a minimum of 40 hours a week from Monday to Saturday, with mandatory bands Monday to Friday 10:00–13:00 and 17:00–20:00 and Saturday 10:00–13:00. A 2025 draft decree to liberalise Madrid hours was in public consultation and its final status is not confirmed — check the Colegio Oficial de Farmacéuticos de Madrid. Hours for Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla and Alicante are not verified: check the provincial Colegio before you go.
What is a farmacia de guardia and how do I find tonight's one?
A pharmacy on duty outside ordinary hours — nights, weekends and public holidays — so that access to medicines is guaranteed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The rota is organised by the provincial Colegio; find tonight's one on the Colegio website, by calling 112, or from the list in any pharmacy window.
The law guarantees pharmaceutical care around the clock, and the duty shifts rotate between the pharmacies of each municipality according to the calendar set by the Colegio Oficial de Farmacéuticos of the province, in coordination with the health authority. A farmacia de guardia is only on duty during its assigned shifts; a farmacia 24h is open 24 hours every day. This guide never lists tonight's duty pharmacy — the rota changes daily. In Barcelona, the Colegio de Farmacéuticos de Barcelona also runs the Farmaguia app.
Which medicines can I buy over the counter in Spain, and which require a prescription?
Spain decides it medicine by medicine: whether a presentation needs a prescription is shown in the AEMPS database CIMA (cima.aemps.es). Dose and presentation decide — the same active ingredient can be over the counter in one strength and prescription-only in another.
The dispensing rules sit in Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2015. There is no official published list of over-the-counter medicines to quote here: each presentation is classified individually, so check the medicine in CIMA before you buy, or ask the pharmacist, who can advise on what is available without a prescription. One rule is absolute and covered on the next card: antibiotics always need a prescription. A medicine sold without a prescription in Spain may need one in France or Andorra, and vice versa.
Can I buy antibiotics without a prescription in Spain?
No. All antibiotics require a prescription in Spain, in physical pharmacies and online. Any site offering antibiotics without a prescription is operating illegally and may sell falsified medicines.
The rule comes from Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2015, which regulates the dispensing of prescription medicines, and the AEMPS database CIMA shows the prescription requirement for each medicine — all marketed presentations of amoxicillin, for example, require a prescription. The reason given everywhere is antimicrobial resistance. Any site offering antibiotics without a prescription is operating illegally: the AEMPS has warned of falsified medicines sold through such channels.
How do I get a prescription in Spain as a visitor / non-resident?
Guidance only — no official text was read for this card, so check the Ministerio de Sanidad and Seguridad Social pages before relying on it. EU visitors use the European Health Insurance Card at a public health centre; other EU prescriptions are recognised if they meet the EU requirements; non-EU visitors normally need a private doctor.
With a European Health Insurance Card (TSE), EU/EEA/Swiss visitors get necessary public healthcare on the same terms as residents: go to a centro de salud with the card and get an electronic SNS prescription from the doctor. A prescription issued in another EU member state can be recognised in Spain if it meets the requirements — patient name and birth date, date, prescriber details and signature, and the medicine by common (INN) name, form, dose, quantity and dosage. The pharmacist may refuse if authenticity is in doubt, or the product is not authorised in Spain. Without public cover, a private doctor can issue a receta privada, valid 10 calendar days for the first dispensing and paid in full.
How much do I pay for prescription medicines in Spain?
If the prescription is from the public health system (SNS), you pay a percentage of the price set by your income and status (Ministerio de Sanidad, RDL 1/2015 art. 102): workers pay 40%, 50% or 60%; pensioners pay 10% with a monthly cap; some groups pay nothing.
These percentages apply to SNS (public) prescriptions only, from the Ministerio de Sanidad table. Visitors without SNS coverage pay the full price unless their European Health Insurance Card or insurer covers it — guidance, not a verified figure. Private prescriptions are paid in full: widely stated, not verified from an official text.
- ✓Workers earning under €18,000 a year: 40%. €18,000 to under €100,000: 50%. €100,000 or more: 60%.
- ✓Pensioners: 10%, capped at €8.23 a month (under €18,000), €18.52 (€18,000–€100,000) or €61.75 (€100,000 or more).
- ✓Reduced-contribution chronic-treatment medicines: 10%, capped at €4.24 a month in the Ministry table — one regional health service quotes €4.23 per pack, so confirm the current cap at sanidad.gob.es.
- ✓Mutualistas (MUFACE, ISFAS, MUGEJU): 30%, no cap stated.
- ✓Exempt from any payment: pensioners under €5,635 a year, non-contributory pension recipients, minimum-vital-income recipients, the unemployed who have lost their benefit, and work-accident and occupational-disease treatments, among others.
Can I collect a prescription medicine outside opening hours, and what do I need?
Yes — that is what the guardia is for: a farmacia de guardia dispenses prescription and over-the-counter medicines during its shift. Bring the same things as in normal hours: the prescription and ID. At night, ring the bell if the door is closed.
Guidance only — no official text was read for this card. Nothing extra is required because it is a guardia: the prescription and identification you would bring in normal hours are enough. For over-the-counter medicines, nothing is needed — ask, and the pharmacist advises.
- ✓Prescription medicine: the SNS electronic prescription with your health card, or a valid paper or private prescription.
- ✓Identification: ID or passport — visitors should also bring the European Health Insurance Card or the prescription from home, if applicable.
- ✓At night: ring the bell or use the night window if the door is closed.
Is there a surcharge for buying at an on-duty pharmacy?
For SNS-financed medicines, no: the regulated price and your copayment are the same at any hour, day or night. No official night surcharge was found — one website alone claims a 6.31% night surcharge on over-the-counter medicines, with no legal citation, and no other source corroborates it.
All sources agree on the first point: medicines financed by the Sistema Nacional de Salud cost the same whatever the hour, and the guardia service itself is free for the patient. The 6.31% claim appears on a single non-official site, for over-the-counter medicines during closed-door hours only, and a targeted search found no corroboration anywhere — no BOE text, no Colegio page, no second site — so this guide does not publish it as a figure. Whether any regional rule allows a night supplement on non-financed medicines is still unchecked: ask the Colegio Oficial de Farmacéuticos of the province.
Can I buy prescription medicines from an online pharmacy in Spain?
No. Distance selling is allowed only for medicines not subject to medical prescription, and only by an authorised physical pharmacy registered in DISTAFARMA (distafarma.aemps.es). Prescription medicines are never sold online in Spain.
The rule is Real Decreto 870/2013, which regulates distance selling of medicines not subject to prescription. A legal online seller must be a physical pharmacy with a licence, selling from its own website registered in DISTAFARMA, the AEMPS system — and it must show the EU common logo on every page with medicines, linking to its DISTAFARMA entry. If a site does not appear in DISTAFARMA, selling medicines online is not legal in Spain, however professional the website looks. One source claims authorised online pharmacies can dispense prescription medicines with a valid prescription; that contradicts the AEMPS position and is not used here.
What do I check before going to a pharmacy in Spain?
Five checks, before you go.
- ✓Find it first: the green cross on the street, or the Map Syndicat directory — 3,844 pharmacies in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla and Alicante, with a phone number for 3,842 of them. Call before you go: the directory has no hours.
- ✓Tonight: the Colegio website of your province, 112, or the list in any pharmacy window — never a list on this site, because the rota changes daily.
- ✓Hours: no national schedule. Madrid's typical pattern is 9:30–13:45 and 17:00–20:00, Saturday 10:00–13:45. Hours for the other four cities are not verified — check the provincial Colegio.
- ✓Prescriptions: antibiotics always need one; check any medicine in CIMA (cima.aemps.es); prescription medicines are never sold online — only DISTAFARMA-registered pharmacies sell over-the-counter medicines online.
- ✓Prices: SNS copayment 40% / 50% / 60% for workers by income, 10% for pensioners with monthly caps; SNS medicines cost the same day or night, and no official night surcharge was found.
