How to Check NPRA Product Registration: MAL Number, Hologram and QUEST3+

Registered, notified or neither: three kinds of product

The rule sits in the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984, made under the Sale of Drugs Act 1952. Regulation 7(1) says no person shall manufacture, sell, supply, import or possess a product unless it is a registered product. The Ministry of Health states that all pharmaceutical products, including health supplements and traditional medicines, must be registered with the Drug Control Authority (in Malay, Pihak Berkuasa Kawalan Dadah) before they are marketed in Malaysia.

Cosmetics take a different route. Since 1 January 2008 they have been controlled by notification: the company, called the cosmetic notification holder, declares to the Director of Pharmaceutical Services through NPRA that the product complies with the rules, and it stays responsible for the product after that. Regulation 18A(1) prohibits selling a cosmetic that is not a notified cosmetic. So a cosmetic is notified, never registered, and you look it up by a notification number instead of a MAL number.

Food is the third group, and it matters in MLM because so many products are sachet drinks. NPRA's product classification guide lists premix coffee, tea, chocolate, soy and cereal drinks, meat essences, cordials, honey, vinegar, and products in ordinary food form such as gummies or biscuits as food regulated by the Food Safety and Quality Division of KKM, not by NPRA. A food has no MAL number to look up, so a missing number on a coffee sachet is not a red flag by itself.

How to read a MAL registration number

The Ministry of Health describes a valid number as the letters MAL, then eight digits, then a letter showing the registration category. Its own example is MAL20125467T. A registered product must show this number and the hologram on its label or packaging.

Use the letter as a cross-check. A capsule sold to you as a health supplement should end in N, and a herbal remedy in T. If the letter does not match what the seller says the product is, ask why. The codes are:

• A: controlled medicines, the prescription category.
• X: over-the-counter (OTC) medicines.
• T: natural products and traditional medicines.
• N: health supplements, for example vitamins and minerals.
• H: veterinary products.
• Extra letters after the category are administrative codes: C for contract manufactured, R for packed or repacked, S for a second source manufacturer, and E for export only, meaning the product is not for sale in the local market. A number ending in TC is a traditional product made by a contract manufacturer.

Cosmetics: the NOT notification number

NPRA's cosmetic guideline gives the format as NOTyymmxxxxxK: the letters NOT, two digits for the year, two for the month, a five-digit serial number, and a final K. When we searched QUEST3+ for the word sunscreen in September 2026, all 2,236 results followed that pattern.

A notification is valid for two years and has to be renewed, and some product changes require a fresh notification with a new number, so a number printed on old marketing material may no longer match the database. The guideline also says a cosmetic should not use a name or claims that are medicinal in nature or beyond the cosmetic scope. One more rule catches people out: NPRA's natural products guideline says traditional preparations used for cosmetic purposes, such as whitening the skin, have to be notified as cosmetics.

Check the hologram security label

Registered products carry a hologram security label as well as the MAL number. KKM introduced holograms for registered pharmaceutical products in 2005 under the Meditag name and replaced Meditag with the FarmaTag hologram from 1 September 2019. KKM lists six physical features to look for: a hologram image, a QR code, a colour shift from blue to purple, a hologram serial number, a hologram PIN number, and an orange fluorescent colour.

You do not have to judge it by eye. KKM says the label can be checked with a decoder kept at all licensed pharmacy premises and at the Pharmacy Enforcement Branch office in each state, so you can walk into a pharmacy and ask. There are free apps too. In a notice dated 17 December 2025, KKM said a new version of the FarmaTag label took effect on 2 October 2025 and is verified in the MyUBAT app from 1 January 2026, once the app is updated. The older FarmaTag version remains valid and is checked with the FarmaChecker app.

A hologram alone proves little. The regulations anticipate borrowed numbers: regulation 7(1A) prohibits selling a product labelled with a registration number that belongs to another registered product. So run the number through the database as well, and check that the product name matches. The hologram belongs to registered products. For a cosmetic, rely on the notification search.

Step by step: search the official NPRA QUEST3+ database

QUEST3+ is NPRA's public search for registered products and notified cosmetics. It is free and needs no login. On the NPRA website it sits under Consumers, then Products Search.

1. Open the QUEST3+ Product Search page.
2. Under Product Category, choose Pharmaceutical or Cosmetic. Health supplements and traditional products are listed under Pharmaceutical.
3. Under Search By, pick Product Registration Number. If you chose Cosmetic, the same option reads Notification Number. You can also search by Product Name, Holder Name, Manufacturer Name or Importer, and by Active Ingredient for pharmaceutical products.
4. Type at least five characters, the minimum the search accepts. Enter the number exactly as printed and watch for the letter O typed in place of the digit 0.
5. Read the result table. It shows the registration or notification number, the product name and the holder. Click the number to open the product information page, which lists the holder and manufacturer with their addresses, the active ingredients and the registered pack sizes.
6. Compare every detail with the pack in your hand: the product name, the number including its letters, and the company named as holder or manufacturer. A number that returns a different product is not a match.
7. Save a screenshot with the date. QUEST3+ itself warns that a result only applies at the date and time of the search, because a product's status can change.

Product not found, or registration cancelled

If the search returns "No results found", rule out the dull explanations first. Try the product name as well as the number, since the registered name can differ from the brand name used in marketing. Try the holder name. Ask the seller for the exact registration number and the name of the registration holder, which a company with a registered product will have on file. And check whether the product is a food, which NPRA does not register.

If it is a supplement, traditional product or cosmetic and it still is not there, treat it as unregistered. NPRA's own reporting page says a product is considered registered if it appears in QUEST3+ with an active status, and describes a suspected unregistered product as one that does not appear in the search. Cancelled products drop out too. When we tested the 18 registration numbers on NPRA's list of products cancelled for adulteration in September 2026, every one returned no result.

Cancellation is not a paperwork matter. NPRA publishes a list of complementary and alternative products whose registration was cancelled and a list of cosmetics whose notification was cancelled, in both cases because the products were found to contain prohibited substances, including scheduled poisons. Our guide to banned ingredients in supplements explains what these substances do to the body. NPRA says the listed products may no longer be imported, manufactured, distributed or sold, and that stock must be withdrawn from the market. The Pharmacy Enforcement Division keeps a separate Banned Product list of seized products that were unregistered or contaminated with poisons.

KKM sets out the penalties. An individual who commits an offence under the 1984 Regulations faces a fine of up to RM25,000 or up to 3 years in jail, or both, for a first offence, and up to RM50,000 or 5 years, or both, for a subsequent one. A company faces a fine of up to RM50,000 for a first offence and up to RM100,000 after that.

Registered does not mean the claims are true

A valid MAL number tells you the Drug Control Authority evaluated the product and allowed it on the market with its approved label. It does not endorse whatever a seller says beyond that label, and what was evaluated is narrower than most people assume. NPRA's registration guideline says natural products are evaluated on safety and quality and, where appropriate, on claimed benefits. For traditional medicines only low-level claims are accepted, worded as "Traditionally used for" a purpose such as general health, and the label must state "This is a traditional medicine".

The same guideline lists 20 non-permissible indications for natural products. They include diabetes, cancer, hypertension, asthma, epilepsy, tuberculosis, infertility, and diseases of the kidney, heart and eye. Health supplements face a parallel rule: their claims must not be medicinal or therapeutic, such as implying treatment, cure or prevention of disease.

So when an upline tells you a registered capsule cures diabetes or replaces your medication, that claim was never part of what was registered. The registration is real and the claim is still unsupported. This guide is consumer information, not medical or legal advice. For any health condition, speak to a doctor or pharmacist before you start or stop anything.

How to report an unregistered product

Do not buy it, and do not agree to stock it. Keep what you have: the pack, the batch number, receipts, and screenshots of the sales messages and health claims. For a quality report NPRA asks for the product name, registration number, batch number, manufacturing and expiry dates, the manufacturer or distributor name, and clear photos. For a suspected unregistered product it asks for as much detail as possible about the product and where you got it.

• Suspected unregistered product: NPRA directs these reports to KKM's public complaints system, SISPAA. It says complaints about unnotified cosmetics and their advertisements go to the Pharmacy Enforcement Division through the same system.
• Quality problem with a registered product, such as discolouration, foreign particles or faulty packaging: use NPRA's quality reporting form (N3-FR-68), emailed to [email protected].
• Complaint about a notified cosmetic or its advertising: NPRA has an online complaint form, or you can email its form N3-FR-66 to [email protected].
• General enquiries: NPRA's line is 03-7883 5400, extension 8888.
• Warn other consumers: file a community report on CheckMLM and read what others have reported.

Why this check matters more for MLM products

In a pharmacy, a pharmacist stands between you and the shelf. In direct selling the seller is usually someone you know, the pitch arrives over WhatsApp or at a home demo, and there may be nobody in the chain whose job is to check registration. The health claims are spoken, not printed, so they never pass through the label rules described above.

A product range can also mix categories. One company may sell a capsule that needs an N registration, a herbal tonic that needs a T registration, a skincare set that needs NOT notification numbers, and a sachet drink that is plain food. One registered product does not cover the rest, so check each item you are asked to buy or stock. If you are joining as a distributor the stakes are higher, because regulation 7(1) applies to the person who sells or possesses the product.

Treat this as one of two separate checks. The company needs a direct selling licence from KPDN, which you can verify with our guide on how to check a KPDN licence and in the company directory. Each product needs its own NPRA registration or notification. A KPDN licence says nothing about the products, and a MAL number says nothing about the business model, so read the warning signs of a pyramid scheme as well. CheckMLM's product directory records the NPRA status we found for products sold by MLM companies, and our alerts page covers licence changes and product warnings. Always confirm on QUEST3+ itself before you pay.