Written and maintained by CASRAI Editorial Board
Last updated
Short answer: yes, dropshipping is legal. It is an ordinary way of fulfilling orders, and what makes a particular operation lawful is the products sold, the claims made and who is treated as the seller. For medical and laboratory supplies two rules matter most: under the FTC’s order-fulfilment rule the business that takes the order is the seller, whoever ships the box, and FDA device rules apply to the product regardless of how it travels. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Definition and scope
In dropshipping, the business that takes the customer’s order does not hold the stock. It passes the order to a supplier, who ships to the customer. Legality therefore is not a single yes-or-no rule attached to the model. Shopify’s own guide to the question states that dropshipping is legal and that what matters is the products, suppliers, markets and claims involved. The topics it lists run from counterfeits and intellectual property to consumer protection, product liability, truthful advertising, tax and licensing, business registration, platform rules, data protection, permits for regulated goods, sanctions and forced-labor rules (Shopify, checked 2026-11-01).
Those are the same questions that apply to any online seller. This page adds the layer that general ecommerce guides do not cover: what changes when the goods are medical devices, wound care, gloves or laboratory consumables. For the device rules in detail, see drop shipping medical supplies: what the FDA and FTC rules say.
Who counts as the seller under the FTC rule?
The Federal Trade Commission’s Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (16 CFR Part 435) covers, in the FTC’s words, “most goods a customer orders from the seller by mail, telephone, fax, or on the Internet.” Its business guide says that if you make no shipment statement, “you must have a reasonable basis for believing that you can ship within 30 days.” On drop shipping, the guide is direct: “the person soliciting the order, not the agent fulfilling it, is the seller under the Rule” (FTC business guidance, checked 2026-11-01).
The consequences follow from the rule’s own wording:
- Delay: if shipment will be late, the seller must “seek the customer’s consent to the delayed shipment.”
- Refund: if the goods do not ship, “you must, without being asked, promptly refund all the money the customer paid you for the unshipped merchandise.”
- Contracting out: merchants can contract with fulfilment houses to comply with the rule and to monitor fulfilment times, but the obligation stays with the merchant.
So a supplier’s stock-out does not move the refund duty to the supplier. It is a delay-and-refund event for the business that took the order.
The device layer: what FDA registration rules say
Medical supplies that are devices carry rules that apparel or gadgets do not. The CASRAI guide on drop shipping medical supplies, linked above, covers the labeling, adverse-event and registration definitions (21 CFR 801.1, 803.3 and 807.3). One further provision is worth knowing on its own. 21 CFR 807.65 lists businesses exempt from establishment registration, including pharmacies, surgical supply outlets and similar retail establishments making final delivery or sale to the ultimate user, and a retail establishment that “purchases a device for subsequent distribution under its own name,” as well as carriers acting “in the usual course of business as carriers” (eCFR, current as of 2026-10-01).
Read these exemptions narrowly. They are specific classes listed in the regulation, not a general exemption for distributors, and the retail-establishment paragraph applies to persons located in a State. Whether a particular drop-ship arrangement falls inside any exemption depends on who does what, which is a question for regulatory counsel rather than a rule of thumb.
Dropshipping legal requirements: a questions checklist for buyers and resellers
The sources above point to a set of questions worth settling in writing with a drop-ship supplier before taking orders. These are questions derived from the rules quoted on this page, not a legal standard.
| Question to settle | Why it comes up | Source behind it |
|---|---|---|
| Who is named as manufacturer on the product label, and who sells under their own name? | Distribution under your own name is addressed specifically in the device registration exemptions. | 21 CFR 807.65 |
| Who is the seller of record on the order? | The person soliciting the order is the seller under the FTC rule. | FTC business guidance |
| What happens, and who tells the customer, when the supplier cannot ship on time? | The seller must seek consent to delay and refund unshipped orders without being asked. | FTC business guidance; 16 CFR Part 435 |
| Can fulfilment times be monitored? | The FTC notes merchants may contract with fulfilment houses to comply and to monitor fulfilment times. | FTC business guidance |
| Are product claims on your listing the same as the supplier’s labeling? | Truthful advertising and consumer protection are listed among dropshipping legal issues. | Shopify guide |
For the economics and handling differences between this model and holding stock, see drop shipping versus direct stocking for medical supply distributors. For what a supplier’s return terms should spell out, see reading a vendor’s return and restocking policy, and for sorting out the roles in the supply chain, medical supply wholesaler versus distributor versus manufacturer.
Common misunderstandings
“The supplier ships it, so the supplier answers for it.”
Under the FTC rule quoted above, the person soliciting the order is the seller, not the agent fulfilling it. A contract can allocate costs between the parties; it does not change who the rule treats as the seller.
“A device exemption means none of the device rules apply.”
The 807.65 exemptions relate to establishment registration. They are specific paragraphs with conditions, and the text contains no blanket exemption for drop shippers.
“Legal everywhere means legal for every product.”
Shopify’s guide lists permits for regulated goods among the issues. Medical products are regulated goods; the general statement that dropshipping is legal does not settle whether a specific product can be sold.
FAQ
Is dropshipping legal?
Yes. It is a lawful fulfilment model, and lawfulness depends on the products, claims, markets and the seller’s own compliance with rules such as the FTC order-fulfilment rule. For medical and laboratory supplies, FDA device requirements apply to the product as well.
Can I get sued for dropshipping?
Any seller can face claims. Two points are relevant: under the FTC rule the person taking the order is the seller, and Shopify lists product liability and consumer protection among the legal issues. How liability would be split in a given case is a matter for a lawyer, and this page does not give legal advice.
Does Amazon ban dropshipping?
Marketplace permissions are set by each platform’s own seller policy, which can change. Read the current policy on the platform you plan to use before listing; this page does not state any platform’s rules.
What are the main dropshipping legal requirements?
The categories in Shopify’s guide are business registration, tax and licensing, truthful advertising, consumer protection, product liability, intellectual property and platform rules, plus permits for regulated goods. The FTC rule adds shipment-time, delay-consent and refund duties for the seller.
Sources
- FTC, Business Guide to the Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule, checked 2026-11-01.
- FTC, Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (16 CFR Part 435), checked 2026-11-01.
- eCFR, 21 CFR 807.65, Exemptions for device establishments, current as of 2026-10-01, checked 2026-11-01.
- Shopify, Is dropshipping legal?, checked 2026-11-01 (secondary source, used for the general list of legal topics only).
