EMA urges patients to beware of potential falsified medicines sold by unregistered websites and vendors.
To stay safe when buying medicines online, look out for the logo. The logo is clickable and will appear on the websites of all online medicine retailers in the EU that are registered with their national regulatory authority.
Clicking on the logo will take you to the register of online retailers of the country where the retailer is established and registered, corresponding to the flag displayed on the logo. Once there, check that the retailer is listed.
Do not continue with your purchase if the retailer is not on the list.
The national flag and the text are an integral part of the logo. Only national flags of an EU Member State, as well as those of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein can be displayed. A logo that displays the EU flag, for example, is not authentic.
When you buy medicines from unregistered sources you are at greater risk of purchasing falsified medicines. These medicines may not have passed through the usual rigorous evaluation processes that ensure that a medicine is fit for the EU market.
Falsified medicines may:
As a result, these medicines may not work or may be harmful. The consequences of taking falsified medicines can be serious for patients and may include:
| EU Member State | Register of online retailers | |
|---|---|---|
 | Austria | https://versandapotheken.basg.gv.at (DE) |
 | Belgium | |
 | Bulgaria | https://www.bda.bg/bg/ (BG) |
 | Croatia | http://www.halmed.hr (HR) |
 | Cyprus | |
 | Czechia | http://www.sukl.eu (EN) |
 | Denmark | |
 | Estonia | http://rkav.tehnik.ee (ET/EN) |
 | Finland | http://www.fimea.fi (FI) |
 | France | www.ordre.pharmacien.fr (FR) |
 | Germany | http://www.bfarm.de (DE) |
 | Greece | To be made available shortly |
 | Hungary | http://www.ogyei.gov.hu (HU) |
 | Ireland | http://thepsi.ie (EN) |
 | Italy | |
 | Latvia | |
 | Lithuania | http://www.vvkt.lt (LT) |
 | Luxembourg | To be made available shortly |
 | Malta | http://medicinesauthority.gov.mt (EN) |
 | Netherlands | http://www.aanbiedersmedicijnen.nl (NL) |
 | Poland | https://www.gov.pl/web/gif (PL) |
 | Portugal | http://www.infarmed.pt (PT) |
 | Romania | To be made available shortly |
 | Slovakia | http://www.sukl.sk (SK) |
 | Slovenia | http://www.mz.gov.si (SI) |
 | Spain | www.distafarma.aemps.es (ES) |
 | Sweden | https://lakemedelsverket.se (SE) |
 | Iceland | https://www.lyfjastofnun.is/eftirlit/apotek/listi-yfir-netapotek/ (IS) |
 | Liechtenstein | To be made available shortly |
 | Norway | https://legemiddelverket.no (NO) |
The legal framework for the common logo is set out in European Commission Directive 2001/83/EC as amended by Directive 2011/62/EU on falsified medicines for human use and by the Implementing Regulation 699/2014 on 24 June 2014.
By 1 July 2015:
The Directive obliges Member States to conduct and promote information campaigns on:
To support this effort, the Commission provides Member States with information and communication materials to be used as such or adapted for national campaigns.