How to Check if a Pharmacy Is Licensed in Punjab

Check whether a pharmacy or medical store in Punjab is licensed on the Chief Drugs Controller's own CDSL portal, at cdsl.pshealthpunjab.gov.pk, under Valid DSL Outlets. Search by district and outlet name, then match the address against the shop in front of you. Over 72,000 outlets are on that list, and a shop that is not on it, or whose details do not match, is one you should ask directly for a license number.

We opened that portal directly on 4 October 2026. It is a real, working, public search grid, not a login wall, listing 72,687 outlets across 7,269 pages at the time we checked. You can filter by district, then narrow by town, then search the outlet or owner name.

Most people never think to check this. You walk into a medical store, hand over cash, and walk out with a strip of tablets. But the shop itself needs its own license to sell drugs at all, separate from whether the medicine inside is genuine, and that license is not automatic just because the shop looks busy and well stocked.

A shop license and a medicine's registration are two different checks

A pharmacy or medical store license, issued by the Chief Drugs Controller Punjab, permits that specific shop to sell drugs. A medicine's registration, issued separately by DRAP, permits that specific product to be sold anywhere in the country. One does not guarantee the other.

A fully licensed shop can still have a fake or unregistered box on its shelf. An otherwise genuine, registered medicine can still be sold out of a shop with no valid license at all. Checking only one side leaves half the picture.

The CDSL portal is where you actually search

Punjab's Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department runs the Centralized Drug Sales Licensing system, and its own site offers a public link straight to the licensed outlet list, no account needed.

1. Open cdsl.pshealthpunjab.gov.pk and find the Valid DSL Outlets list.
2. Filter by district, then by town if the list is long.
3. Search the outlet or owner name shown on the shop's signboard or bill.
4. Match the address on screen against the shop in front of you.
5. If it is not listed, ask the pharmacist for their license number directly.

The grid shows district, town, the outlet's business name and its address. It does not show a license number or an expiry date on screen, so treat this as a name and address match, not a certificate lookup. If a shop's name is close but the address does not line up, that is worth a direct question rather than an assumption either way.

Three separate licenses cover three kinds of outlet

We read the Chief Drugs Controller's own new-license checklist directly. A pharmacy applies on Form 8-A, a medical store on Form 8-B, and a distributor on Form 8-C, each with its own fee and its own paperwork.

The fee alone tells you something about the level of inspection behind it. A distribution license, which lets a business supply drugs onward to other outlets, costs more than a retail license and goes through heavier scrutiny, because more product moves through it.

Getting a license is not a rubber stamp

The checklist for a new drug sale license asks for a rent deed attested by the area police station, or a property ownership document with a copy of the registry, plus a location map. Both the proprietor and the qualified person running the shop must each give an affidavit on a stamp paper attested by a first class Judicial Magistrate, along with a valid, unexpired original CNIC.

Both of them also have to show up in person. The checklist states this plainly: physical appearance of the proprietor and the qualified person is mandatory, with the original CNIC checked on the spot. A shop cannot get licensed purely on paperwork submitted by someone else.

That qualified person matters as much as the paperwork. A retail pharmacy is required to have someone registered with the Punjab State Pharmacy Council actually responsible for the shop, not just a name on the application that nobody at the counter can explain.

A license should be visible, and staff should be able to name it

A licensed pharmacy is expected to display its license somewhere a customer can see it. If you ask and nobody behind the counter can give you a license number, or point to a certificate, that is worth treating as a flag rather than brushing past.

None of this tells you whether a specific box of medicine on the shelf is genuine. That is a separate question entirely, and one worth checking through DRAP's own registration index if something about a product itself looks wrong, covered in the steps for checking a medicine's DRAP registration. A licensed shop and a genuine product are two different checks, and you may need both before you trust what you are buying.

Common questions

How do I check if a pharmacy is licensed in Punjab?

Search the Valid DSL Outlets list on cdsl.pshealthpunjab.gov.pk by district and outlet name, and match the address shown against the shop. The list holds over 72,000 licensed outlets.

Is a pharmacy license the same as a medicine's registration?

No. A pharmacy license lets the shop sell drugs, issued by the Chief Drugs Controller Punjab. A medicine's registration, issued separately by DRAP, covers the product itself and applies nationwide.

What is the fee for a new pharmacy license in Punjab?

Rs 3,000 for a pharmacy on Form 8-A, Rs 2,000 for a medical store on Form 8-B, and Rs 5,000 for a distribution license on Form 8-C.

What if a pharmacy does not appear on the CDSL list?

Ask the pharmacist directly for their license number. The portal shows outlet name and address rather than a certificate number, so a near match is worth a direct question before you assume either way.

Who is responsible for running a licensed pharmacy day to day?

A qualified person, usually a pharmacist registered with the Punjab State Pharmacy Council, is required to be attached to the license and is checked in person during licensing.

Does a valid pharmacy license mean every medicine inside is genuine?

No. A license covers the shop's right to sell drugs. Whether a specific product is genuine and registered is a separate check through DRAP's own registration index.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 4 October 2026. The Valid DSL Outlets search grid, its columns and its filter options were read directly on cdsl.pshealthpunjab.gov.pk. License forms, fees and required documents were read directly from the Chief Drugs Controller Punjab's own new-license checklist published on the same portal. The qualified person and display requirements reflect general, widely stated practice rather than a specific clause we read on an official page ourselves, and no license renewal period is stated because none was confirmed in this session.