Pause and check
Stop when a basic fact stays hidden
Most checks are ordinary. A real name, a real record and a way to ask a question are not fussy demands.
These answers need more checking
A website that offered prescription medicine without requiring a prescription violated federal law as of September 2026.
The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, publishes a checklist for spotting an unsafe online pharmacy.
Guidance written as a model for state medical boards says a fixed form cannot support a prescription when nobody can ask follow-up questions or gather enough health information. The model is advice for boards, not a law by itself; each state sets the rule that applies there.
- No medical professional’s name before the decision
- No pharmacy name before medicine is sent
- No way to ask a follow-up question
- A compounded medicine called FDA-approved
- A research-only label paired with mixing supplies or a dosing guide
Turn the concern into one small check
Ask for the missing name in writing. Then use the state board page or FDA record that matches it.
No named pharmacist, no United States address and no phone number are all FDA and FTC warning signs for an online pharmacy.
Next in the pathway
Now read the medicine cautions
The label has useful questions for the next visit.