Nearby still needs a California check
Find out who would make and send the medicine.
Get the dispensing pharmacy’s name. For a medicine prepared to order, find out who will make it too.
Separate the care service from the pharmacy
The care website’s name
It tells you where you found the offer. Ask which pharmacy would fill the prescription.
The pharmacy’s full name
Use that name to look up the license and to ask questions about the actual product.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notes that people receiving medicine online may not know who makes their medicine to order.
The term compounder refers to whoever prepares medicine to order: a pharmacy, a doctor, or a facility.
FDA registration means the business has signed up to be listed with FDA. That listing is neither approval of the business nor approval of its medicines (as of September 26, 2026).
Open the sources for this check
Use California’s pharmacy license records
The California State Board of Pharmacy licenses pharmacies and provides links for checking different license types.
The word sterile means that no living germs are present. Sterile compounding makes medicine to that standard.
Its search separates ordinary pharmacy licenses from sterile compounding licenses, including those for pharmacies outside California.
As of September 28, 2026, a pharmacy outside California needs a California license to send prescription medicine here. The record calls this a nonresident pharmacy license.
An out-of-state pharmacy making sterile medicine for California also needs the state’s sterile compounding license (as of September 26, 2026).
Open the pharmacy license checksAsk what happens if there is a problem
- Can a licensed pharmacist answer questions about this product?
- What name will appear on the medicine label?
- What are the storage and delivery requirements?
- How are a damaged delivery, a product concern, or a recall handled?
FDA’s online-pharmacy checklist looks for a valid prescription, a state license, and access to a licensed pharmacist.
A listing confirms that a license exists. It does not tell you whether this prescription fits your medical needs.
Check a made-to-order medicine