---
title: "Cascade (prescription hors AMM) · Treats"
description: "The cascade is the derogation that lets a vet, exceptionally and on their own responsibility, prescribe a medicine outside its marketing authorisation when no authorised product exists for the species and condition (articles 112 to 114 of Regulation (EU) 2019/6)."
url: https://www.treats.vet/en/glossary/cascade/
lang: en-GB
updated: 2026-11-07
---

[Glossary](https://www.treats.vet/en/glossary/)

# Cascadeprescription hors AMM

The cascade is the derogation that lets a vet, exceptionally and on their own responsibility, prescribe a medicine outside its marketing authorisation when no authorised product exists for the species and condition (articles 112 to 114 of Regulation (EU) 2019/6).

The prescription must then state that it is off-label. Antimicrobials reserved for human use have been banned under the cascade since 9 February 2023.

Since 8 August 2026, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1973 makes cascade use of certain antimicrobials conditional on prior identification and susceptibility testing, with derogations; equines are outside its scope.

## Sources

* [Regulation (EU) 2019/6 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019R0006)
* [Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1973 (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg%5Fimpl/2024/1973/oj)
* [Ordre des vétérinaires, the new cascade](https://www.veterinaire.fr/je-suis-veterinaire/mon-exercice-professionnel/les-fiches-professionnelles/la-nouvelle-cascade-dite-du-hors-amm)

 Checked on 7 November 2026 · by [Amir Davies](https://www.treats.vet/en/about/amir-davies/)

## See also

* [AMM](https://www.treats.vet/en/glossary/amm/) The AMM is the marketing authorisation a veterinary medicine needs before it can be sold, granted in France by the ANMV or at EU level by the European Commission.
* [RCP](https://www.treats.vet/en/glossary/rcp/) The RCP, or SPC (summary of product characteristics), is the official document attached to a veterinary marketing authorisation that sets out the medicine’s composition, target species, indications, dosage, contraindications and withdrawal periods (article 35 of Regulation (EU) 2019/6).
* [Critically important antibiotics](https://www.treats.vet/en/glossary/antibiotiques-critiques/) Critically important antibiotics are substances, mainly third and fourth-generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones, whose veterinary use France restricts because they are essential in human medicine (article L5144-1-1 of the French Public Health Code).