The short answer
Which pharmacy or facility is responsible for preparing the medicine and sending it? Record that source in its own right, even when another service arranged the appointment.
For a compounded medicine, the named source prepares that particular drug to order.
For product claims, the federal reviewer is FDA, the Food and Drug Administration.
The compounder’s identity can remain unknown to a person ordering online, according to FDA.
A state board of pharmacy, rather than the medical board, keeps pharmacy license records.
Find the name behind the service
Ask for the pharmacy’s full name and location before making a commitment. If the service says the pharmacy depends on your location, ask when the exact name will be given. A general answer about a network leaves the lookup unfinished.
FDA’s guidance checked in September 2026 calls it misleading for an online visit service’s branding to imply that it made a compounded drug when it did not.
A company name on a website is therefore not enough to establish who prepared the medicine.
Ask who handles questions about what is sent, who can connect you with a pharmacist, and whom to contact if the delivery does not match the order. Keep those answers beside the pharmacy’s name.
Use the pharmacy board search
FDA links to state pharmacy license searches through its BeSafeRx page.
Enter the full pharmacy name into the relevant state search. Look through the status and the public details linked from the result. Ask the board to help when a match is uncertain.
For shipping from elsewhere, a receiving-state pharmacy permit or license is required by most states, as checked in September 2026.
The precise terms differ, so ask about the state where the medicine would be delivered. Do not assume a record in the pharmacy’s home state answers the shipping question.
When the online pharmacy is absent from that state database, FDA advises against using it.
Finding a license completes that record check. It cannot vouch for each decision about dispensing medicine.
Know what facility registration means
A 503B outsourcing facility makes batches of sterile medicines to order, often for hospitals or clinics. The name comes from the section of federal law it registers under. It may supply medicine without a prescription naming each person.
The word sterile describes the absence of living germs.
Under the September 2026 rules, a facility could choose to register with FDA under that law. Registration did not mean FDA endorsed the facility or approved its medicines.
The facility must meet federal rules for how drug factories make medicines. FDA sets its inspection schedule based on risk.
FDA keeps a public list of registered outsourcing facilities.
Read the table’s notes as well as the name. It includes information reported by facilities and does not include state pharmacy-board actions.
If a badge refers to accreditation, ask what was assessed and who issued it. Accreditation is a separate check of standards, not a state license.
For compounding accreditation, the outside body checks how the pharmacy prepares medicines against quality standards. That check does not include testing every batch it makes.
Check claims alongside the record
FDA’s online-pharmacy checklist includes a prescription requirement, a licensed pharmacist available for questions, and state pharmacy licensure.
The agency also cautions that unsafe websites can look like ordinary pharmacy storefronts.
Use the record and the answers together. A neat badge, attractive page, or low headline price cannot finish a name search for you.
By the September 2026 check, FDA had described fraudulent labels for some compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide. Some named a nonexistent pharmacy; others falsely named a real pharmacy as the source.
That is a reason to check the specific name rather than assume a printed label proves the source.
If you already have an order, compare the named source with the information given before the visit. Bring any mismatch to the prescriber or pharmacist and ask for a direct explanation.