How to check a UK weight-loss provider is legitimate
Mounjaro and Wegovy are prescription-only medicines, and demand for them has attracted unregulated sellers and outright fakes. Five checks, all free and all against official registers, separate a regulated provider from a risky one in a few minutes.
About this page. Written by the GLPInfo editorial team with AI assistance from the official sources listed at the end, and approved by the site owner before publication. It has not been reviewed by a named clinician. Published 18 Aug 2026 · last updated 18 Aug 2026 · next scheduled review 18 Nov 2026. What changed: first publication.
This page is information, not medical advice. It never tells you which medicine, dose or format is right for you: those decisions sit with you and a qualified prescriber. Spotted an error? Tell us and we'll fix it fast.
1. Look up the pharmacy on the GPhC register
Every legitimate online pharmacy in Great Britain is registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council and displays its registration number. Take that number, or the pharmacy's name, and check it yourself on the GPhC online register: confirm the registration is current and the registered address matches what the site claims. GLPInfo does this for every provider we list; each profile shows the number with a green tick linking to the register entry so you can verify it in one click.
2. Check clinical-service registration where it applies
Providers running doctor-led clinical services in England register with the Care Quality Commission, which inspects and rates them. Not every legitimate pharmacy-led service needs CQC registration, and Scotland has its own regulator (Healthcare Improvement Scotland), so the absence of a CQC entry is not automatically a red flag; a claimed CQC rating that the CQC's own site does not show absolutely is.
3. Understand who prescribes and who dispenses
A lawful supply has two regulated parts: a UK-registered prescriber (doctor, or a pharmacist or nurse prescriber, checkable on the GMC, GPhC or NMC registers) who assesses your suitability, and a registered pharmacy that dispenses. Many online brands are the storefront for both. A site that supplies a prescription-only medicine with no health questionnaire, no prescriber involvement and no named pharmacy is not a shortcut; it is the warning sign.
4. Know the red flags of unregulated sellers
- No GPhC number anywhere on the site, or a number that fails the register check.
- No consultation or an obviously token one, or "no prescription needed" claims.
- Sales through social media DMs, messaging apps or online marketplaces. Beauty salons and gyms are not pharmacies.
- Prices dramatically below every regulated provider (compare against our price index), pressure tactics and payment only by bank transfer or crypto.
- No UK address, no way to speak to a pharmacist, no complaints route.
Fake GLP-1 pens and vials are in circulation and have hospitalised people. If you suspect a fake or have had a reaction, report it to the MHRA's Yellow Card scheme.
5. Expect a real clinical process
A regulated provider will ask about your health history, weight, medications and pregnancy status, may request photo ID and evidence of weight, will decline you if the medicine is unsuitable, and provides aftercare with access to a clinician. If being declined seems impossible on a given site, that is not convenience; it is the absence of the safeguard the law requires.
How GLPInfo applies these checks
Every one of the 12 providers listed on this site operates with UK-registered prescribers and GPhC-registered dispensing, and we publish the registration evidence: 12 providers currently carry verified GPhC or CQC entries with deep links to the registers on their profiles. Listing is free and never affects comparison order, and our methodology explains the verification process. If any registration detail on this site looks wrong, tell us and we will fix it fast.
Provider safety questions
Is it legal to buy Mounjaro or Wegovy online in the UK?
Yes, from a regulated provider. These are prescription-only medicines, so a lawful supply always involves a UK-registered prescriber assessing you first and a GPhC-registered pharmacy dispensing. Any route that skips the prescription is unlawful and unsafe, whatever the website looks like.
What is the single fastest legitimacy check?
Find the pharmacy's GPhC registration number (regulated sites display it, usually in the footer) and look it up yourself on the GPhC register. If a site selling medicines shows no registration number, or the number does not match the register, do not buy.
Does a cheap price mean a provider is fake?
Not by itself: regulated providers run genuine introductory offers, and this site exists to compare them. But a price far below every regulated provider, on a site with no GPhC number, no consultation and pressure to pay quickly, is the classic pattern of an unregulated seller. Check the register before the price.