Pilot schemes to enable pharmacists to give women the Pill without the need for a GP prescription will go ahead next year.
Two London primary care trusts (PCTs) have received cash to act as pilot sites to see if the scheme is suitable for rolling out across England.
Women will be able to obtain the oral contraceptive after an interview with a qualified pharmacist.
If the pilots are successful, the Pill could be put on the same footing as the morning-after pill, which is already available at pharmacies without direct authorisation from a doctor.
Health minister Lord Darzi insisted last year that "robust" standards would be put in place to ensure that staff were up to the job.
The move requires a senior clinician at strategic health authorities (SHAs) to issue instructions called patient group directions (PGDs) to pharmacists. PGDs are documents which make it legal for medicines to be given to groups of patients without the need for individual GP prescriptions. These arrangements are currently in place for the morning-after pill.
Separate PGDs are needed to give the Pill to under-16s. Such arrangements are currently in place for the morning-after pill and involve the pharmacist assessing whether a youngster is mentally competent.
The new pilot sites for issuing the Pill will run at Lambeth and Southwark PCTs.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: "We will be receiving quarterly updates from SHAs on improving access to contraceptive services and will be working with them to assess the success of the schemes in their areas."
She added: "Any woman who receives contraception from a pharmacy without a prescription can still expect a full consultation with a health professional such as pharmacist or a nurse. We want to improve women's access to contraception and help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies without undermining patient safety."
