Finding an on-duty pharmacy

Proposed by Comité de la Démarche Accessible Updated on il y a 2 mois

If you need emergency medication in the evening, at night, on Sunday or on a public holiday, you need to find the nearest on-duty pharmacy.

An on-duty pharmacy is open outside of normal hours.

The list of on-duty pharmacies changes regularly; they are not always the same.

How to do it?

To find the nearest on-duty pharmacy, there are several solutions:

Call 3237
The number is available 24/7, every day, throughout France. It costs 35 cents per minute.

Go to the website www.3237.fr.

Write your postal code or city name
Check the box " I am not a robot "
Click on " Search "
Choose the time you expect to arrive at the on-call pharmacy
Click on “ Validate ”.

A site for pharmacies in Ile-de-France

In the Ile-de-France region, the website https://monpharmacien-idf.fr/ provides the addresses of pharmacies open during the week, and of on-call pharmacies open on Sundays and public holidays.
This service is available in 8 departments:

Paris (75)
Seine-et-Marne (77)
Yvelines (78)
Essonne (91)
Hauts-de-Seine (92)
Seine-Saint-Denis (93)
Val-de-Marne (94)
Val d'Oise (95).

On the website, you must:

Write your address
Choose a date
Check day or night (when you need to go to the pharmacy)
Click on " Search for a pharmacy " to see the addresses of pharmacies on call near you.

Call your pharmacy or go there

Another solution: some pharmacies display the nearest on-duty pharmacy on their door or specify it on their answering machine.
So you can try going to or calling your usual pharmacy.

In some towns, you must call the police station or the gendarmerie to find out which pharmacies are on call during the night.

Before going to an on-call pharmacy, remember to take these documents with you:

a document identity: residence permit, receipt, travel document, permit, etc.
the prescription (if you have one)
your Vitale card or your certificate of entitlement to Health Insurance
your mutual health insurance card (if you have one) or your complementary health solidarity certificate

Your certificate of rights is available on your Ameli account (under "My procedures").

Read on Réfugiés.info: " Having a Vitale card " and " Having complementary health insurance "

What happens next?

Go to the on-duty pharmacy with your prescription and documents.

If the pharmacy door is closed, do not hesitate to ring and explain your emergency.
If you have contacted the police or the gendarmerie before, the pharmacy has already been informed.

In an on-duty pharmacy, the service and medications cost more (this is called "on-call fees" or the "night rate").
But if you have a prescription and a Vitale card or complementary health insurance, the costs are covered by Health Insurance (you pay nothing).

The night rate for each prescription is:
- €10 from 8 p.m. to midnight and from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.
- €20 from midnight to 6 a.m.
- €6 on Sundays and public holidays, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

These prices are not valid in pharmacies which are usually open in the evenings, on Sundays and on public holidays.

Be careful, if If you do not have a prescription, you must pay all charges and you will not be reimbursed unless you have a "carte de mutuelle" (Health insurance card), you must pay and then request reimbursement.

In an on-call pharmacy, you must also accept generic drugs (drugs identical to the original but with a different brand), unless the doctor has specified otherwise on the prescription.

You must first pay for the medication and the on-call fees and ask the pharmacy to give you a treatment sheet.

A treatment sheet is a document completed by a healthcare professional (doctor, pharmacist) when the Vitale card or certificate of rights is not used.

If you have a Social Security number, you can then request a refund of part of the costs.
You must send the treatment sheet by mail to your Primary Health Insurance Fund (CPAM). It is advisable to make a photocopy before sending the original document.