Follow the medicine back to its source
People receiving care online may not know who made their medicine, notes the US drug agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
FDA has a state-by-state route to pharmacy licence searches.
As of September 2026, most states require their own permit or licence for a pharmacy shipping medicine in from another state.
FDA lists access to a licensed pharmacist among its signs of a suitable online pharmacy.
A label name is worth checking
FDA has found false pharmacy details on labels for made-to-order, or compounded, semaglutide and tirzepatide.
In some cases the named pharmacy did not exist. In others, an existing pharmacy had not prepared the product.
Read the badge for what it says
Accreditation means the organization named on a badge has checked the pharmacy against its standards. Ask who awarded the badge and what they checked. It is different from a state licence.
FDA registration means a business has entered its details on the agency’s register. It does not mean FDA has approved either the business or the medicine it supplies. Medicines made to order, called compounded drugs, have no FDA approval.