The British National Formulary for Children (BNF-C) is produced jointly by the British Medical Association, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group. BNF-C guides doctors, pharmacists and nurses on the safe and effective use of medicines for the management of childhood conditions. Information has been gleaned from numerous local and national guidelines including Medicines for Children, from authoritative reviews and appropriate studies, and from the manufacturers' literature. Advice in BNF-C is validated by clinical paediatric experts and the text is prepared under the guidance of the Paediatric Formulary Committee. While sharing the BNF's familiar structure, BNF-C has a distinctly paediatric focus. Although the two publications are entirely complementary, BNF-C is designed for use on its own in paediatric as well as community and general practice settings. Recognising that many medicines are not licensed for use in children, BNF-C includes authoritative advice on licensed as well as unlicensed and 'off-label' use of medicines to treat common neonatal problems through to adolescent conditions.