NDC lookup
Decode a US National Drug Code — its labeler, product and package segments — and resolve it to the FDA openFDA drug record. Identification only, not medical advice.
Format parsing runs in your browser; the product lookup queries the public openFDA API. Identification only — not medical advice.
How to look up an NDC
- Enter an NDC. Type the NDC with its hyphens, e.g. 0002-3227-30, or the 11-digit form.
- Look up. The segments are parsed locally, then the product is looked up in openFDA.
- Review. See the brand/generic name, labeler, dosage form and active ingredients.
How an NDC is structured
A National Drug Code identifies a drug product in three parts. The labeler code is assigned by
the FDA to the company that markets the drug (manufacturer, repackager or distributor). The
product code — chosen by that labeler — pins down the specific strength, dosage form and
formulation. The package code identifies the pack size and type. Together they make a 10-digit
code, but it's issued in three shapes — 4-4-2, 5-3-2 and 5-4-1 — depending
on how the segments were allocated. That variability is why hyphens matter: 0002-3227-30 is
unambiguous, but the bare digits alone can't tell you where one segment ends and the next begins.
10 digits, 11 digits, and billing
Insurance and pharmacy billing systems expect a single 11-digit format — always
5-4-2 — so they normalise every NDC by padding a leading zero into whichever
segment is short. A 4-4-2 code gains a zero on the labeler, a 5-3-2 on the product, a
5-4-1 on the package. The result is that the very same product can appear as a 10-digit code on the
carton and an 11-digit code on a claim, differing only by a zero in a position that depends on the original
configuration. This tool shows both the segments as issued and the normalised 11-digit form when the layout is
unambiguous.
What this tool is — and what it is not
The lookup resolves an NDC against openFDA, the FDA's public National Drug Code Directory, to name the product, its labeler, dosage form and active ingredients. It is strictly an identification aid. It is not a prescribing reference, and it must never be used to make a dosing, substitution or treatment decision — for that, rely on the product label, the dispensing pharmacist and a qualified clinician. Listings can also lag reality: a code may be valid yet belong to a product that has been discontinued, or one not finished for marketing, so a "not found" isn't proof a drug never existed. To identify the prescriber or provider instead of the drug, the NPI lookup searches the healthcare-provider registry.
Frequently asked questions
- The National Drug Code is the FDA identifier for a drug product marketed in the United States. It is a 10-digit number in three segments — labeler (the company), product (strength, dosage form and formulation) and package (the pack size). This tool parses that structure and looks the product up in the FDA’s openFDA data.
- NDCs are issued in three configurations — 4-4-2, 5-3-2 and 5-4-1 — which all total 10 digits. Billing systems pad the code to an 11-digit 5-4-2 form by adding a leading zero to the short segment, which is why the same drug can appear as both 10 and 11 digits.
- Without the hyphens the three configurations look identical, so the labeler-product-package split is ambiguous. Enter the NDC with its hyphens (e.g. 0002-3227-30), or use the 11-digit form, and the segments and lookup are reliable.
- When the product is in openFDA, it shows the brand and generic name, the labeler, dosage form and route, active ingredients, and the package description. It draws on the FDA’s public National Drug Code Directory.
- No. This is an identification tool only — it tells you which product an NDC refers to, not how to use it. It is not a prescribing reference and must not be used to make dosing or treatment decisions. Always rely on the label, the dispensing pharmacist and a qualified clinician.
- The format parsing runs in your browser. To fetch the product record the NDC is sent through our server to the public openFDA API; nothing is stored.