Official registers

Choose the correct register

Use the General Pharmaceutical Council for pharmacies and pharmacists in England, Scotland and Wales. Use the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland for Northern Ireland. Doctors appear on the GMC register; nurses and midwives on the NMC register.

Ask for a registration number or PIN where possible. Names can be shared by several people, and a trading brand may use a differently named dispensing pharmacy.

Read the entry, not just the search result

Match the person's name or pharmacy address with the details supplied by the service. Read the registration status and any published restrictions. For a pharmacist or nurse prescribing, check the relevant prescribing qualification or annotation.

A GMC search also includes professions other than doctors, so check the profession shown. Registration does not establish that somebody is authorised and competent to provide every possible treatment. Ask the service to explain unclear details.

Keep the checks in context

If information does not match, pause the purchase and contact the provider or regulator through independently obtained contact details. Keep a note of what you checked and when.

A register entry confirms a regulatory record; it does not approve a website's pricing, promise good aftercare or decide whether a medicine suits you. Also establish how the consultation works, who handles side effects and how complaints are managed.