Selling Medicines and Health Products Online in SG: HSA Rules

The three classes of medicines and what you can sell online

HSA registers therapeutic products under one of three classifications, shown on HSA's retail pharmacy licensing page. The class decides who may sell it and how.

The Ministry of Health has stated in Parliament that only licensed healthcare institutions or licensed pharmacies can supply prescription and pharmacy-only medicines online, that those medicines must be HSA-registered, and that illegal online sellers can be fined up to S$50,000, jailed for up to two years, or both.

Pharmacy licence and HSA e-pharmacy approval

To supply P or POM medicines by retail at all, a business needs an HSA retail pharmacy licence. HSA's licence overview says the pharmacy must be under the control of a pharmacist-in-charge who is registered with the Singapore Pharmacy Council, holds a valid practising certificate and is in active practice.

Selling those medicines online is a separate approval. HSA's e-pharmacy page lists the requirements, including:

• a Singapore-registered business holding a retail pharmacy licence or therapeutic products wholesaler's licence;
• the e-pharmacy service hosted on a Singapore domain;
• only HSA-registered medicines, bought from licensed manufacturers and dealers;
• a competent pharmacist-in-charge responsible for storage and supply;
• IT safeguards for security, integrity, accuracy and confidentiality;
• a closed-loop system so e-prescriptions go straight from the clinic, cannot be changed or reused and trace back to the doctor;
• procedures for packing, labelling and secure delivery under pharmacist supervision, plus quality systems and audits.

HSA's guidance notes also say IT platform providers that support the infrastructure are not themselves an e-pharmacy, and that controlled drugs and compounded medicines are outside the scope of e-pharmacy. An existing licensee adds e-pharmacy through a licence amendment application.

Health supplements and other health products

Supplements are regulated differently. HSA's health supplements overview, updated September 2026, says supplements are not subject to HSA approval or licensing for import, manufacture or sale. The responsibility sits with the dealer, which includes online sellers.

Products in food or drink form (biscuits, coffee, juices) are food under the Singapore Food Agency, not supplements. Cosmetics need an HSA notification before sale. Our guide to licences for selling online in Singapore covers those other product types.

Advertising rules that catch online pharmacies

Product pages, social posts, marketing emails and search ads all count as advertisements. HSA's advertising page explains that ads do not need prior approval but must follow the Health Products Act and the advertising regulations.

A practical consequence for websites: an online store can let logged-in patients reorder their prescribed medicines through the e-pharmacy flow, but it should not show prescription medicines in public product listings, search ads or promotional emails.

What your website must block, gate and record

Most of the compliance work lives in the website set-up. A small pharmacy can plan it in these steps.

1. 1

   Tag every product by HSA class

   Mark each SKU as GSL, P, POM or supplement in your product data, so rules can be applied automatically.

2. 2

   Publish only GSL and supplements in the open store

   Hide P and POM from public catalogues, search, feeds to Google Shopping and marketplace listings.

3. 3

   Route P and POM through the approved e-pharmacy flow

   Patients log in, prescriptions arrive by closed loop from the clinic, and a pharmacist reviews and counsels before release.

4. 4

   Add pharmacist checkpoints and records

   Record who checked each order and when. The pharmacy licensing regulations require a record of every supply, kept for at least two years.

5. 5

   Protect patient data

   Prescriptions and medication histories are sensitive personal data; collect only what is needed and secure the admin accounts.

6. 6

   Review every page against the advertising rules

   Check product descriptions, banners and emails for disease claims, endorsements and promotions.

Do it yourself or get help?

Setting up a store for supplements and GSL products is straightforward on Shopify or a similar platform. The e-pharmacy part is a regulated system: the closed-loop prescription link, validation documents and audit trail need an e-pharmacy platform and HSA's approval. Speak to HSA before building it. This page is general information, not legal or regulatory advice.

Our Shopify Store (S$1,890) builds the open store with product tags that keep P and POM out of public listings. The PDPA Compliance Pack (S$690) covers privacy notices and data handling for patient information. See what a Shopify store costs in Singapore for running costs, and our clinic advertising rules guide if you also run a clinic.