How to Check Whether a Medicine Is Authorised in the UK

To check medicine authorisation in the UK, identify the exact product and compare it with official regulatory information. For human medicines, start with the MHRA Products service. For veterinary medicines, use the VMD Product Information Database. A matching ingredient alone is not enough: the name, strength, form and authorisation details need to fit. [1][2][3]

This guide helps you make a documented check. It does not certify any product in this shop. It also separates authorisation from two other questions: whether a physical pack is genuine and whether its supplier is operating appropriately.

Step 1 – Gather the exact details

Have the actual carton, immediate container and leaflet available if you have already received a product. Otherwise, record the full information supplied in the listing and ask for missing details. Do not shorten the name to the active ingredient at this stage.

Write down the product name, strength with its unit, pharmaceutical form, authorisation holder and any licence number shown. Record the batch and expiry separately; they identify your pack but are not substitutes for a product licence. A photograph can preserve the spelling for comparison.

If a seller gives only an ingredient name and a promotional claim, there is not yet enough information to establish a specific authorised product. Ask for the missing identity rather than treating a broad search match as confirmation.

Step 2 – Choose the correct database

MHRA Products provides information about human medicines, including patient leaflets, professional product information and public assessment reports where available. The GOV.UK guidance explains the service and links to it. Use the official address rather than an advertisement or copied search snippet. [1][2]

Veterinary medicines belong in the VMD database. That service includes product identity, target species and territory. A record found there confirms a veterinary context; it does not establish human authorisation. [4][3]

A manufacturer’s published leaflet can be useful supporting information, and emc carries company-provided medicine documents. However, failure to find an item on emc alone should not be described as proof that it has no licence. Use the regulator’s information and resolve uncertainties directly.

Step 3 – Search and match the product

Search using the product name or active substance, or the licence number where the service supports it. If an exact search fails, try a simpler version of the name, check spelling and remove unnecessary punctuation. Do not quietly change the strength or formulation to obtain a result.

Open the actual document or record. Check more than the title: a matching name attached to a different strength or route is not an exact match. Where applicable, compare the authorisation holder and number in the professional document with the pack.

Check	Record the result
Full name	Exact match, difference or missing
Strength and unit	Exact match, difference or missing
Form and route	Exact match, difference or missing
Licence number and holder	Match or point requiring clarification
Territory and current status	What the source states
Source and date checked	Official page or document and the date

This is a checking worksheet, not a certificate. Keeping differences visible is more useful than reducing the result to a green tick.

Step 4 – Check the current territorial position

For human medicines, UK-wide arrangements changed under the Windsor Framework in January 2025. By default, existing PLGB licences automatically converted to UK-wide marketing authorisations on 1 January 2025 without losing their existing licence numbers or PLGB prefixes. A PLGB number therefore should not be interpreted solely from what the letters historically meant. Northern Ireland-only licences can also exist. [5]

Consult the current information for the product. If the territorial scope is not clear, ask MHRA or a pharmacist to interpret it. Do not assume that authorisation elsewhere in Europe covers the UK, or that UK status automatically establishes authorisation in Poland.

For veterinary products, read the territory field directly. VMD records can distinguish different territorial authorisations. Human-medicine explanations of the Windsor Framework are not a substitute for that veterinary check. [6]

Step 5 – Resolve missing or conflicting information

No result means that you have not established an exact match through that search. It is not a complete legal conclusion. Spelling, old product names, record presentation or a product supplied through a legitimate unlicensed route may require explanation. [7][1]

Ask the dispensing pharmacist or supplier for the exact authorisation reference and matching official documentation. If they say that the product is unlicensed, ask what that means for its supply and the clinician’s involvement. Unlicensed status should not be presented as ordinary marketing authorisation.

Keep a short record of the question and response. A useful question is: “Which official product record matches this exact name, strength and formulation?” A claim such as “the ingredient is approved” does not answer it.

Step 6 – Check the supplier separately

For a pharmacy in Great Britain, check the General Pharmaceutical Council register. For a pharmacy in Northern Ireland, use the Pharmaceutical Society NI register. Compare the name and address, not merely a logo displayed on a website. The NHS advises checking online pharmacy registration. [8][9][10][11]

A registered pharmacy and an authorised product are two distinct findings. Neither is established by a copied badge. A valid product record also cannot confirm that the physical pack in your hand came from that product’s legitimate supply chain.

If you suspect a falsified medicine or another product problem, keep the pack and ask a pharmacist how to proceed. MHRA’s Yellow Card service provides a reporting route; urgent health concerns require clinical assistance rather than a database search.

Questions readers often ask

Does a matching licence number guarantee a genuine pack?

No. A number can be printed or copied. The match identifies a regulatory product, while authenticity depends on the physical item and supply chain.

Is the absence of UK Only proof that a pack is illegal?

No. Published exceptions and legacy-stock arrangements exist. Its presence also does not prove authenticity. Read the relevant rules and ask about the particular pack. [12][13]

Can I mark the product as verified after finding its ingredient?

No. The product match must include the details that distinguish one presentation from another. An ingredient search is a starting point, not a completed check.

Save a useful result

Your final note should say either which exact product record matched, or what remains unresolved. Include the date and source. That is a more accurate outcome than a general statement that a brand, ingredient or whole shop is “approved”.

Editorial note: this process was checked on 9 September 2026. Database interfaces and product records can change; unresolved matches should be referred to a pharmacist or the relevant regulator.