The numbers, letters, or other text that you see on a pill are its “imprint code,” a feature that helps you identify it. The FDA requires most OTC and prescription drug tablets and capsules to have an imprint. This code — combined with the pill’s size, color, and shape — helps you tell it apart from other medications.
A pill’s imprint code can be made up of any single letter or number, or any combination of letters, numbers, marks, or symbols. It might include words, the drugmaker’s name, or other details. Once a drugmaker submits a pill’s imprint code to the FDA, the agency stores it in a database that health care professionals can access.
The FDA encourages drugmakers to include a letter or a number in a drug’s imprint code because those digits can help health care workers identify a pill more easily than a symbol or logo alone, the agency says. Being able to quickly ID a pill can save someone’s life during a medical emergency, like an accidental overdose or drug poisoning, when every second counts.
Still, the FDA does exempt certain approved drugs from needing an imprint. It considers making exemptions for reasons like:
- The physical qualities of the pill make an imprint impossible.
- Health workers give people the pill in a controlled health care setting, like a doctor’s office.
- The drug isn’t meant for a patient to take on their own.
