Where to Find Information on UK Wholesale Authorisations

During several GDP events in the first half of 2026, participants asked where to find information on current and expired wholesale distribution authorisations in the United Kingdom.

Register of Licensed Wholesale Distribution Sites

For the verification of UK business partners, the MHRA provides a register of licensed wholesale distribution sites for human medicines. The tables contain information on sites authorised as wholesalers by the MHRA or by the UK Department of Health and Social Care: Human medicines: register of licensed wholesale distribution sites

The register is updated regularly. The July 2026 version was published on 10 July 2026. The data are available as a CSV file and can therefore be used, for example, for supplier qualification, periodic business partner reviews or maintaining qualification databases.

As an additional or alternative source, the MHRA-GMDP database can be used. In addition to information on manufacturing and wholesale distribution authorisations, the database also contains information on the related GMP and GDP certificates. The database can therefore be used to verify whether a corresponding authorisation or GDP certificate has been published for a particular site.

List of Sites Granted a Manufacturer or Wholesale Dealer Licence

On a separate GOV.UK page, the MHRA also publishes a monthly updated list of newly granted manufacturing and wholesale dealer licences. The current file for July 2026 was also made available on 10 July 2026: Medicines: new manufacturing and wholesale dealer licences.

This list can be particularly useful when verifying whether a new wholesale distribution authorisation has been granted to a company or site.

What Should be Considered During the Verification Process?

For a GDP-compliant qualification, the specific authorised site should be verified rather than merely checking the company name. The following details should be taken into account:

• the company’s exact legal name;
• the address and site number;
• the licence number;
• the status of the wholesale distribution authorisation;
• the scope of the authorised activities;
• where applicable, the date of the last update.

As part of supplier or customer qualification, it is advisable to document the verification in a traceable and auditable manner.