FDA approval
As of September 2026, FDA approval applied to a drug and to the illness or use FDA reviewed it for. A compounded drug was not FDA-approved.
Source desk / verification worksheet
Check the claim, not the logo
A polished badge can be copied. A public licence record is harder to fake. Start with names, then use the official record.
Four words, four meanings
Four official words that sound alike but mean different things
When you choose care, the state licence matters most. The other three are extra information.
FDA registration
As of September 2026, a company registering its building with FDA, or listing a drug with FDA, did not mean FDA had approved that place or product.
State licence
A state board’s record shows whether a clinician or pharmacy has legal permission in that state.
Accreditation
Accreditation means an outside group checked that a pharmacy follows a set of quality standards. For a compounding pharmacy, it checks the way medicine is made, not each batch. It can be a useful extra sign, but it does not replace a state licence.
Run the checks
Use the full name shown by the service
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Official lookups
Open the record that matches the claim
As of September 2026, a physician treating someone online generally needed permission to practise from the state that person was in at the time.
Most states also required a pharmacy based in another state to hold a licence or permit from your state before posting prescription medicine to you.
Find a state medical board
This directory from the Federation of State Medical Boards lists every state’s medical board. Some states have a second board for osteopathic doctors, who have DO after their name. If your clinician is a DO, check that board.
Open the board directoryFind a state pharmacy board
NABP links to each state board. The state board’s own record is the authority.
Open the pharmacy-board directoryUse FDA’s state pharmacy lookup
FDA links directly to state pharmacy licence searches and warns against using a pharmacy that is not listed.
Open the FDA lookupMore public records
Registration and warning letters need context
As of September 2026, being on the FDA outsourcing-facility list meant a facility had registered, not that FDA had approved it. Some details on the list came from the facilities themselves, and some listed facilities might not yet have been inspected. Treat the list as a first step, then still check the pharmacy licence and FDA warning letters.
An FDA warning letter records the agency’s concerns at one point in time. The company may answer it, and FDA may later record that the problems were fixed, which it calls a closeout.
FDA registered outsourcing facilities
Use the facility name from the label, then read the table notes as well as the row.
Search the FDA facility listFDA warning letters
Search by company or pharmacy name. Read the date, the problem FDA found, and whether a closeout is shown.
Search FDA warning lettersA simple source rule
Match the source to the question
Use a drug label for a drug warning. Use a state board for a licence. Use FDA records for approval, shortages, compounding alerts and warning letters. Use the insurance plan or government program for a coverage decision.
Keep the date
Licence status, prices, coverage and shortage status can change. Save the date beside what the record said.