Research · 9 min read
How to Check an Online Pharmacy Before You Buy
FDA publishes both the warning signs and the lookup tools, and the whole check takes a few minutes. The hard part is knowing which pharmacy to look up, which is a question worth asking before you pay.
Key takeaways
- A telehealth program is usually not the pharmacy, so the pharmacy's name is the fact every other check depends on.
- FDA's safe signs are a required prescription, a physical United States address and phone number, a licensed pharmacist on staff, and a state board of pharmacy license.
- FDA publishes a directory of state board of pharmacy license databases and says not to use a pharmacy that is not listed.
- FDA describes a safe pharmacy as licensed both in your state and in the state where it operates, so check both boards.
- FDA's telehealth red flags include claiming a compounded drug is the same as an FDA-approved drug and prices that seem too good to be true.
- FDA has reported fraudulent labels naming pharmacies that do not exist, which is why a name on a box gets verified rather than believed.
Answer first: get a name, then check a license
A telehealth program is not usually the pharmacy. It arranges a consultation and routes a prescription, and a separate licensed pharmacy prepares and ships what arrives at your door.
That makes the pharmacy's name the piece of information everything else depends on. FDA's own advice for buying medicine online rests on a license check, and a license check needs a name.
FDA runs a consumer campaign called BeSafeRx for exactly this, and it publishes both the signals to look for and a directory of state license databases to look a pharmacy up in.
Ask for the name before you enter a card. A program that answers plainly has made itself checkable, and a checkable answer is worth more than a reassuring one.
The signals FDA says point at a safe pharmacy
FDA lists what a likely-safe online pharmacy does. It always requires a doctor's prescription. It provides a physical address and telephone number in the United States. It has a licensed pharmacist on staff to answer your questions. And it is licensed with a state board of pharmacy.
Those four are worth reading as a set rather than a menu. Each one is checkable from outside, which is what makes them useful signals rather than reassurance.
The licensed pharmacist item is the one people skip. FDA's guidance treats a real person you can reach with a question about the product as part of what a safe pharmacy provides.
FDA's frequently asked questions add a detail worth noticing. They describe a safe pharmacy as licensed by the state board in your state, and in the state where the pharmacy operates. A pharmacy shipping into your state is generally answerable to your state's board as well as its own.
The warning signs, in FDA's own terms
FDA's warning list for a website that may be unsafe starts with the prescription. A site that does not require a doctor's prescription is the first item on it.
The rest are practical. Not licensed in the United States and by your state board of pharmacy. No licensed pharmacist on staff to answer questions. Medicine that looks different from what you receive at your local pharmacy, or packaging that is broken, damaged, in a foreign language, has no expiration date, or is expired.
Three more are commercial rather than physical. Deep discounts or prices that seem too good to be true. Charges for products you never ordered or received. And no clear written protections for your personal and financial information, or the sale of it to other websites.
FDA's frequently asked questions add that medicine stated to be shipped from a foreign country, and a seller located outside the United States, are warning signs too. The agency also says plainly that unsafe sites are often difficult to spot, because many use fake storefronts designed to look licensed.
The lookup that settles it
FDA publishes a page that links a board of pharmacy license database for each state, along with the District of Columbia and several territories. You pick your state and search for the pharmacy there.
FDA's instruction on that page is blunt. If your online pharmacy is not listed, you should not use that pharmacy. If it is listed, FDA says to also confirm that it requires a doctor's prescription, provides a physical address and telephone number in the United States, and has a licensed pharmacist to answer your questions.
The lookup is the part that converts a name into a fact. It is also why the name has to be exact: a search on an approximate name returns approximately nothing, and an empty result is easy to misread as an answer.
Where a program tells you the pharmacy operates in a different state from yours, check both boards. FDA's own description of a safe pharmacy covers the state where the pharmacy operates and your own.
What FDA has flagged specifically in this category
FDA maintains a page on its concerns with unapproved GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss, and it includes a list of telehealth red flags for consumers.
Several are about claims. FDA names a company claiming that a compounded drug is the same as an FDA-approved drug, and a company offering medicine at deep discounts or at prices that seem too good to be true.
Several are about process. No screening and prescription by a licensed doctor before medicine is provided. No licensed doctor available to answer questions after you receive it.
The rest are about what shows up. Medicine that looks different from what you received before or from what was pictured. Packaging that is broken, damaged, or lacking instructions for use. Spelling errors on the label or an incorrect pharmacy address. And a pharmacy name on the label you think might be fraudulent.
Why the label itself is worth checking
FDA states that it is aware of fraudulent compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide marketed in the United States carrying false information on the product label.
The agency describes two patterns. In some cases the compounding pharmacy named on the label does not exist. In others the label carries the name of a licensed pharmacy that, based on information FDA gathered, did not compound the product.
That is the reason a license lookup is a check on the label rather than only on the program. A name that appears on a box is a claim until a state board confirms it belongs to a real, licensed pharmacy.
FDA also directs anyone with questions about instructions for use or information on the label to contact the compounder who made the drug or the telehealth platform where it was purchased. Both should be reachable, and knowing which one answers what is worth establishing early.
A check you can finish before you pay
Ask for the pharmacy's name and the state it operates in, in writing. Then search your own state's board database and the operating state's, and confirm the license is there and active.
Confirm a physical United States address and a telephone number, and confirm that a licensed pharmacist is available to answer a question about the product itself.
Ask who answers a question after the medicine arrives, and how. FDA treats reachable clinical and pharmacy contact after delivery as part of what a safe arrangement looks like, not an extra.
If something looks wrong once it arrives, FDA asks people to report it. Unexpected experiences or side effects go to its MedWatch program, and websites that appear to be selling medicine illegally can be reported to the agency as unlawful sales.
Sources
- BeSafeRx: Your Source for Online Pharmacy InformationThat FDA runs the campaign, and where to report an unlawful sale.
- Considering an Online Pharmacy?Every safe sign and warning sign quoted on this page.
- Locate a State-Licensed Online PharmacyThe per-state license lookup, and what to do if a pharmacy is not listed.
- BeSafeRx: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)Licensing in both states, and why unsafe sites are hard to spot.
- FDA's Concerns with Unapproved GLP-1 Drugs Used for Weight LossThe telehealth red flags and the fraudulent-label findings.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find out which pharmacy a telehealth program actually uses?
Ask directly, in writing, and ask for the name and the state it operates in. A telehealth program is generally not the pharmacy: it arranges the consultation and routes the prescription, and a separately licensed pharmacy prepares and ships the product. The name is what makes every other check possible, because FDA's guidance for buying medicine online rests on looking a pharmacy up in a state board of pharmacy license database. A program that will not name the pharmacy has answered a different question than the one you asked.
Where do I look up a pharmacy license?
FDA publishes a page linking a board of pharmacy license database for each state, along with the District of Columbia and several territories, as part of its BeSafeRx campaign. Pick your state and search for the pharmacy by its exact name. FDA's instruction is direct: if the pharmacy is not listed, you should not use it. If it is listed, FDA says to confirm three more things. That it requires a doctor's prescription. That it provides a physical address and telephone number in the United States. And that a licensed pharmacist is available to answer your questions.
What are FDA's warning signs for an unsafe online pharmacy?
FDA's list starts with a site that does not require a doctor's prescription. It continues with one not licensed in the United States and by your state board of pharmacy, or with no licensed pharmacist on staff. It includes medicine that looks different from what you get at your local pharmacy, or packaging that is broken, damaged, in a foreign language, undated or expired. It also names deep discounts or prices that seem too good to be true, charges for products you never ordered, and the absence of clear written protections for your personal and financial information.
The website looks professional. Is that worth anything?
Not on its own, and FDA says so directly. The agency states that it may be difficult to spot an unsafe online pharmacy, and that many use fake storefronts to make consumers think they are licensed pharmacies. Appearance is the one signal that costs a seller nothing to produce. The checks that mean something come from outside the site. A state license database entry. A physical United States address and phone number. And a licensed pharmacist you can actually reach with a question.
Is a pharmacy name on the label enough?
It is a starting point rather than a confirmation. FDA states it is aware of fraudulent compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide sold in the United States with false information on the label. In some cases the compounding pharmacy named on the label does not exist. In others the label names a real licensed pharmacy that, based on information FDA gathered, did not compound the product. That is precisely why the name gets checked against a state board database rather than taken at face value.
What should I do if something about the medicine looks wrong?
Do not use it, and ask before you do anything else. FDA directs questions about instructions for use or information on the label to the compounder who made the drug or the telehealth platform where it was purchased. For an unexpected experience or a side effect, FDA asks people to report it through its MedWatch program, and it accepts reports of websites that appear to be selling medicine illegally. Anything about whether a product is safe for you to use is a question for your prescriber or the pharmacy, not for a comparison site.