Before you buy peptides or GLP-1s online — UK checklist

The 12-check checklist

Registration and identity

1. The dispensing pharmacy is on the GPhC or PSNI register

Get the actual name of the pharmacy that will dispense the medicine. Look it up on the GPhC register or PSNI register (Northern Ireland). Confirm name and address. ✗ if the clinic won’t name the pharmacy.

2. The prescriber is named and on the GMC / NMC / GPhC register

A real prescriber is a named individual on the appropriate register. Look them up yourself before paying. ✗ if anonymous.

3. The website has a UK address and registered company

Check Companies House for the registered company name. Foreign-address-only sellers shipping to UK are flagged. ✗ if no UK trading address or company registration.

Clinical process

4. There is a real clinical assessment, not a form

The assessment should cover medical history, current medications, contraindications, mental-health screen, and (for weight management) BMI and comorbidities. A 60-second form isn’t it. ✗ if you can complete signup in under five minutes without any clinical conversation.

5. Contraindications are checked, not flagged for self-disclosure only

Real assessment asks specifically about pregnancy, breastfeeding, history of pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, thyroid conditions, MEN syndromes, mental-health history. ✗ if the form is just ‘any reason you shouldn’t take this?’

6. Follow-up is built in

Titration review, side-effect check, and an adverse-event escalation path. ✗ if it’s one-prescription-and-done.

Product and supply

7. The medicine is a licensed UK brand

For GLP-1s: Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro, Saxenda, Rybelsus, Victoza, Trulicity, Byetta, Bydureon. ‘Compounded semaglutide’ and ‘tirzepatide-equivalent’ are not licensed UK products. ✗ if the product isn’t a licensed UK brand.

8. The supply chain is UK-only

The medicine ships from a UK pharmacy. ✗ if it ships from EU, Turkey, India, or any other non-UK origin — this has been the consistent counterfeit-pen route.

9. The pen and packaging will be the genuine branded product

For GLP-1s: pre-filled branded pen (FixDose, KwikPen), UK PIL in English, intact tamper seals. ✗ if you’ll receive generic vials or repackaged product.

Pricing and payment

10. Pricing is in the genuine market range

Significantly underpriced supply is a counterfeit-supply signal. Don’t optimise for the cheapest pen. ✗ if pricing is half or less of the genuine private market.

11. Payment is via regulated methods

Card, BACS, or recognised payment processor with consumer protection. ✗ if crypto-only, gift cards, or peer-to-peer transfer.

Marketing and behaviour

12. The marketing doesn’t use the red-flag phrases

Run the seller through the red flag glossary. If two or more high-confidence phrases turn up, ✗.

If you fail three or more checks

Walk away. The cost of finding another supplier is much less than the cost of a counterfeit pen — financial, clinical, and legal.

If the medicine you need is genuinely hard to access via NHS or lawful private routes:

• Talk to your GP about referral to a specialist service.
• Look at NHS vs private GLP-1 for the trade-off picture.
• For investigational drugs (retatrutide, cagrilintide, amycretin), trial participation is the lawful UK route. See NIHR Be Part of Research.

If you’ve already paid and now suspect the seller

• Don’t inject anything until you’ve worked out what you have.
• Photograph everything when it arrives. See what to do if your pen looks wrong.
• Report to MHRA via Yellow Card and the GOV.UK report-a-problem form.
• Report fraud to Action Fraud and dispute the payment with your bank.