Pill Finder

Imprint codes, when used in conjunction with a tablet or capsule size, shape, and color, allowing medicine to be correctly identified when it is no longer in its original container.

Being able to identify a lone tablet or a collection of capsules is useful in different situations, for example:

• A person has found a pill in their house that does not look familiar and wishes to identify it.
• A person taking several medications has mixed them up in their pill case and needs to work out which one is which.
• Your pharmacy has given you medicine that looks different to the one that you normally take.
• Law enforcement officers have found a collection of pills during a personal property search and wish to identify them.
• A person has been found unconscious and pills have been found in their pockets that need to be identified.
• A person has been brought into the hospital with loose pills in a pill case but is not sure what they take.
• A caregiver has been asked to give a certain pill to the person they are looking after but is confused about which pill it is.

All approved solid, oral dosage form medications in the U.S. are required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to have a unique imprint. This also applies to some other medicines, such as homeopathic medicines, unless they have applied for an exemption from the FDA.

The inclusion of a letter or number in the imprint, while not required, is encouraged as a more effective means of identification than a manufacturer's symbol or logo by itself.

All oral solid dosage form medications (such as capsules, tablets, wafers) that are approved in the U.S. are required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to have a unique imprint. If your medicine does NOT have a unique imprint, it may be because it:

• Is a vitamin or other dietary supplement.
• Is an investigational medicine that is part of a controlled trial that is comparing its effects to a placebo (pretend) drug.
• Is a medicine that has been compounded by a licensed pharmacist upon receipt of a valid prescription specifically for you.
• Is a radiopharmaceutical product.
• Is an illegal drug of abuse.
• Is a foreign medication.
• Is a counterfeit drug.
• Has an exemption from the FDA because of its size, shape, or physical characteristics make imprinting technologically infeasible or impossible.
• Has an exemption from the FDA because it is not provided to patients for self-administration and only used in controlled healthcare settings.
• Is actually candy.

Some solid dosage forms (such as tablets, capsules, or wafers) are printed with a logo, instead of a number or letter. A logo is a symbol or other small design that has been adopted by an organization to represent its products. It may also be called a brand.

To identify tablets or capsules with logos within Pill Finder, just write "Logo" in the search box, where it says, “Enter imprint”.

For example, the manufacturing company, Actavis, imprint their logo on several medications, usually in addition to a number.

• If you recognize the logo as Actavis, then type in “Logo (Actavis)” and then the number. For example: Logo (Actavis) 270.
• If you don’t recognize the logo, just type in “Logo”, then the number. For example: Logo 270.

Both searches would bring up Morphine sulfate extended-release tablets 15mg, which correspond to Actavis 270.

Always choose the result that looks like your tablet. Occasionally, another tablet may have the same number, but a different logo, color, or shape. For example, Merck Sharp & Dohme also make a tablet with a bone logo and the numbers 270 on it. This is Fosamax Plus Vitamin D. Not only is the logo different but the tablet is shaped differently as well to the Actavis 270 tablet.

All our data that is stored within Pill Finder is kept and not archived.

This means that if the pill you are trying to identify was discontinued, one year, two years, or even ten years ago, you could still identify it.

Imprints on medicines that are manufactured illegally are not available for identification within Pill Finder. This is because these are essentially made up and have not gone through the FDA approval process.

This means they can contain toxic, unregulated, or banned substances. Not being able to find an imprint code or logo within Pill Finder should be taken as a warning. Either do not take the medicine or take it to your doctor or pharmacist and see if they can identify it.

Many prescription medications that have been approved by the FDA are commonly abused, such as painkillers, anti-anxiety benzodiazepines, or stimulants, and these can be identified within Pill Finder by entering the imprint codes, colors or shapes.

Unfortunately, counterfeit pill presses are readily available, and individuals with ill intent can turn any ingredient, either legal or illegal into a counterfeit medication that may resemble a legitimate product. Many even attempt to copy the logo or imprint, but there are usually subtle differences that distinguish legitimate medicine from the counterfeit one. If you think your medicine may be counterfeit, take it into your doctor or pharmacist to be checked.

Of grave concern is the number of illegal medicines in circulation that contain cheaply imported fentanyl-like substances. These are highly toxic with deaths reported after a single pill.

You should contact your doctor or pharmacist immediately if you cannot identify your medication.