Medikamente Info Austria is BASG’s official portal for checking medicines authorized or registered in Austria. It brings together medicine records, approved product information, supply restrictions, export restrictions and current BASG notices. For consumers, it is one of the most useful places to verify whether the identity and regulatory details shown on a pack or website match an official record.
This guide shows how to search the database and interpret the result. A product search and a seller check answer different questions: finding a medicine in the database does not prove that a particular website is allowed to sell it.
What can you check in Medikamente Info Austria?
The medicine search can display information such as:
- product name and Austrian authorization or registration number;
- active ingredient and ATC code;
- authorization holder;
- authorization date;
- prescription status and dispensing status;
- pharmaceutical form and use;
- approved patient and professional information, where available;
- whether a supply restriction has been reported.
BASG states that the portal is available in German and English and that its data is updated daily. The time of the latest update is shown in the search area.
Step 1: Open the correct register
Go to Medikamente Info Austria – Arzneispezialitäten. The portal also contains separate areas for supply restrictions, export prohibitions, BASG announcements and BASG decisions. For a basic product-identity check, start with “Arzneispezialitäten”.
Step 2: Choose the strongest search term
You can search using:
- Bezeichnung / Zulassungsnummer: the exact product name or authorization number;
- Wirkstoff: the active ingredient, such as the INN;
- Inhaber:in: the authorization holder;
- advanced filters: prescription status, dispensing status, category, authorization date and other regulatory fields.
An authorization number is usually the strongest identifier because names can be similar. BASG’s FAQ also explains that the asterisk wildcard can be used in text searches: placing it before or after a term broadens matching.
Step 3: Match the full medicine identity
Open the result and compare it with the package or listing. Check all of the following:
- Exact product name, including any suffix.
- Strength and active ingredient.
- Pharmaceutical form, such as film-coated tablet or capsule.
- Authorization or registration number.
- Authorization holder.
- Prescription and dispensing status.
- Approved leaflet and professional information.
A partial match does not prove equivalence. A medicine sold under a similar name in another country might have a different authorization, holder, strength or formulation.
Step 4: Understand prescription and dispensing status
“Rezeptpflichtig” means a valid prescription is required. “Apothekenpflichtig” means dispensing is restricted to pharmacies. These fields matter when assessing whether an online offer is compatible with Austrian rules.
BASG states that only finished medicines authorized or registered in Austria and available without prescription may be supplied through registered online distance-selling pharmacies. A medicine that is prescription-only in Austria may not be obtained by distance selling from another EEA country.
Step 5: Check approved product information
Where documents are available, use the official patient leaflet and professional information linked to the product record. They are more reliable than summaries copied between shops. Confirm that the document covers the exact product, strength and form shown on the package.
For centrally authorized medicines whose authorization numbers begin with “EU/”, BASG notes that corresponding information is available from the European Medicines Agency. Follow official links rather than an unaffiliated product page.
Step 6: Review supply restrictions separately
Authorization does not necessarily mean that the product is currently available. The “Vertriebseinschränkungen” area contains reported supply restrictions. BASG explains that the register records reported procedures; it does not show stock held by individual wholesalers or pharmacies.
Use this area to understand reported availability issues, then ask a pharmacy about actual supply. Do not interpret a shortage entry as permission to obtain the medicine from an unverified source.
What if no result appears?
No result is not, by itself, proof that a pack is falsified. Before drawing a conclusion:
- check spelling, spaces and suffixes;
- try the active ingredient or authorization number;
- use the wildcard search described by BASG;
- consider whether the medicine is centrally authorized and listed through EMA information;
- ask a pharmacist or BASG to verify the record.
However, an online seller should not treat “not found” as unimportant. If the product identity, authorization or prescription status cannot be verified, stop and obtain professional advice.
Product verification is not seller verification
After checking the medicine, verify the online pharmacy separately. A legal distance seller uses the EU common safety logo. Clicking the logo must lead to the competent national authority’s official register, where the seller and website can be matched. Read our Austrian BASG checklist for online pharmacies before relying on any online offer.
Frequently asked questions
Is Medikamente Info Austria an official database?
Yes. It is operated by BASG, the Austrian Federal Office for Safety in Health Care.
Can I search by active ingredient?
Yes. BASG provides an active-ingredient field as well as searches by product name, authorization number and authorization holder.
Does a database entry mean any website may sell the medicine?
No. Product authorization, prescription status and seller registration are separate checks. Distance-selling restrictions still apply.
How current is the information?
BASG states that the database is updated once each day, with the latest update time displayed in the search area.
Where do I check whether an online pharmacy is registered?
Use the EU common logo on the seller’s site and follow it to the competent national authority’s official register. Do not trust a static logo image.
Official sources
- Medikamente Info Austria: medicine search
- BASG: introduction to Medikamente Info Austria
- BASG: Medikamente Info Austria FAQ
- BASG: legal distance selling and seller verification
Last reviewed: 10 September 2026. Verify the latest official record whenever you make a medicine-related decision.