To check an FDA registration number, go to the FDA’s free online database for the product category the facility handles: medical devices, drugs, blood and biologics, or tobacco each have their own searchable tool, while food and cosmetic registrations are not openly searchable and require a different approach. If you only have an FDA Establishment Identifier (FEI) rather than a product-specific registration number, the FDA’s FEI Search Portal will confirm whether that identifier exists and which facility it belongs to.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Registration and Listing of Cosmetic Product Facilities and Products
The search itself takes a couple of minutes. Knowing which database to open, and what your result actually proves, takes a little longer.
Figure Out Which Number You Have
Two different identifiers get called “FDA registration numbers” in casual use, and they are not the same thing.
An FDA Establishment Identifier, or FEI, is a permanent number the FDA assigns to a physical facility to track inspections. It stays with that location regardless of what products the facility handles or how many times it registers across different FDA centers.2U.S. Food and Drug Administration. GDUFA Cover Sheet Clarifications: Facility One building can have a single FEI while holding several product-specific registrations.
A registration number is tied to a particular product-category registration. A food facility registration is an alphanumeric string assigned under the food safety rules. The medical device database issues its own numbers. So the same site might legitimately have one FEI and multiple product registration numbers, and searching the wrong database with the wrong number returns nothing even when the facility is fully compliant.
If you have an FEI but no product-specific registration number, start with the FEI Search Portal to confirm the identifier and identify the facility, then move to the product-specific database that matches what the facility actually makes.
Where to Search by Product Type
The FDA does not run one master lookup. Each center maintains its own tool.
Medical Devices
The Establishment Registration and Listing database is the public search tool for medical device facilities. It contains registration and listing information releasable under the Freedom of Information Act and is updated weekly, usually on Mondays.3U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Search Registration and Listing You can search by establishment name, registration number, or FEI number. Results show the facility name, address, registration status, and the devices listed under that registration.
Device establishments must register annually between October 1 and December 31.4U.S. Food and Drug Administration. When to Register and List A facility that missed that window will show as inactive even if it was registered the year before.
Drugs
Drug manufacturers, repackers, and other drug establishments appear in the Drug Establishments Current Registration Site (DECRS), hosted through the FDA’s accessdata portal.5U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Drug Establishments Current Registration Site (DECRS) Drug establishments must also renew annually during the October-through-December window under 21 U.S.C. 360.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 21 USC 360 – Registration of Producers of Drugs or Devices
Food Facilities
Food is the category most people expect to search and can’t. The FDA maintains food facility registrations through its FDA Industry Systems (FIS) portal, but public access is more restricted than the device or drug databases.7U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Online Registration of Food Facilities You cannot simply type in a food facility’s registration number and pull up its record.
To verify a food facility, ask the facility itself for its registration confirmation, contact the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, or request the information through formal channels. Facilities registered under section 415 of the FD&C Act must supply their facility name, address, and the types of food they handle when providing registration information.8U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Registration of Food Facilities and Other Submissions
Cosmetics
The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) added cosmetic facilities to the registration list, and the FDA uses the FEI number as the facility identifier for cosmetics. Registrations are submitted through the Cosmetics Direct portal.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Registration and Listing of Cosmetic Product Facilities and Products The FDA has not launched a dedicated public search tool for cosmetic facility registrations. The FEI Search Portal is the closest workaround; it can at least confirm whether the facility has an FEI on file.
Blood and Biologics
Facilities that manufacture human blood and blood products register through the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Their registration and product listing data is publicly available through the Blood Establishment Registration Database, searchable by establishment name, registration number, or location.9eCFR. 21 CFR Part 607 – Establishment Registration and Product Listing for Manufacturers of Human Blood and Blood Products and Licensed Devices
Tobacco Products
Tobacco establishments and their listed products are searchable through the FDA’s Tobacco Registration and Listing Module, refreshed daily.10U.S. Food and Drug Administration. TRLM-NG – Search Establishment Registrations
Reading Your Results
A match will typically show the establishment name, physical address, and current registration status. For device registrations, status codes indicate whether the facility is active or awaiting assignment of a registration number.11OpenFDA. Device Registration List Field Reference Drug results add the types of operations the facility performs.
If nothing comes back, don’t jump to conclusions. The likely explanations, in rough order of frequency:
- A typo in the number you entered.
- A recently submitted registration that hasn’t hit the weekly update yet.
- A lapsed registration from a missed annual renewal window.
- You’re searching the wrong database for the product type.
The FEI Search Portal is a useful cross-check because it spans all FDA-regulated facility types. If the facility genuinely does not appear anywhere after you have confirmed the number and the product category, that is a serious red flag, particularly if you were planning to buy from or import from that facility.
What Registration Does and Does Not Prove
A confirmed registration tells you the facility exists and has told the FDA what it does. It does not tell you the FDA has reviewed the facility’s products, inspected its operations, or endorsed anything about it. The agency has said plainly that it does not approve facilities, and while manufacturing sites may be inspected in connection with a product application, the FDA does not approve facilities independently.12U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Is It Really ‘FDA Approved’?
Two practical corollaries follow. First, “FDA registered” on marketing material is not a quality claim; every facility that handles FDA-regulated products is legally required to register, so compliance is the baseline, not a distinction. Second, the FDA does not issue registration certificates. A framed “FDA Registration Certificate” from a third-party service has no official standing, and the agency has warned about fraudulent communications that impersonate it to target food businesses.13U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Beware! FDA Name Used Fraudulently in Phishing Attempt Any certificate offered as proof of registration should be checked against the actual database using the number it cites.
Why the Check Matters at the Border
The reason to verify a registration before goods ship, rather than after, is that the FDA detains shipments from unregistered facilities. Import Alert 99-34 lets border divisions detain drug and medical device shipments without physically examining them if the manufacturing facility lacks a valid registration or product listing. Products from unregistered foreign firms are treated as misbranded, and shipments will be refused admission. To release a detained shipment, the owner or consignee has to prove the facility is registered and the products are properly listed.14U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Import Alert 99-34 – Detention Without Physical Examination of Drugs or Medical Devices From Firms Without a Valid Drug or Medical Device Registration and/or Listing
Food imports carry the same exposure. Food from a foreign facility that has not registered with the FDA must be held at the port of entry and cannot be delivered to the importer. It cannot be moved or transferred while it is held, and posting a bond does not lift the hold. The shipment stays put until the facility completes its registration.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 21 USC 381 – Imports and Exports Running the registration number in advance is a two-minute step that prevents the far longer and more expensive scenario of goods stuck at the port.