VAWD Accreditation: Requirements and What to Check

Short answer

VAWD stands for Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributors, the name the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) used in its 2018 program materials. NABP’s current program page is titled Drug Distributor Accreditation: a 3-year accreditation that NABP says helps keep counterfeit drugs and devices out of the US medical supply. It is not an FDA approval and it does not replace a state distributor license. Checked 2026-11-01.

What VAWD accreditation means

NABP’s 2018 news release describes the Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributors (VAWD) program as playing “a pivotal role in preventing counterfeit drugs from entering the US drug supply” and calls it a recognized quality assurance measure. NABP’s current Drug Distributor Accreditation page makes the same point in broader terms: accreditation “plays a role in preventing counterfeit drugs and devices from entering the United States medical supply.”

NABP’s current program pages use the title Drug Distributor Accreditation rather than the VAWD name, and “NABP VAWD accreditation” remains a common way to search for it. To confirm what a distributor holds, ask which accreditation it has and when its current term began, and check it with NABP.

VAWD accreditation requirements

Eligibility and process

NABP’s program page sets out who can apply and in what order. Every row below comes from that page.

Step or condition	What NABP states
Licensure	Current, active US distributor licenses in every jurisdiction where the company does business
Operating history	Operational for at least 30 days
Prerequisite inspection	A Supply Chain inspection completed within the past 12 months, with an eligibility letter
Product knowledge	The applicant must know the FDA approval status of each prescription drug it handles; unapproved drugs are assessed under NABP’s Unapproved Prescription Drug Evaluation policy
Process	Self-assess with the eligibility matrix, review the criteria, complete the Supply Chain inspection, then apply
Term	A 3-year accreditation

What the criteria cover

NABP’s criteria page (latest revision shown: December 2025, when the liability insurance requirement was removed) groups the requirements into eight categories: Licensure; Facility; Personnel; Record Keeping; Authentication and Verification; Returned, Damaged, and Outdated Drugs; Policies and Procedures; and Information for Nontraditional Business Models. Three specifics are stated on the page:

• Records kept at a central location must be available for inspection within two working days of a request.
• The designated representative or facility manager needs a minimum of two years of verifiable full-time managerial or supervisory experience.
• Licenses or registrations must be in good standing, or the company must be eligible to become licensed or registered, in all applicable jurisdictions.

Older articles and distributor pages may still list liability insurance as a requirement. As of the December 2025 revision it is no longer one.

Is VAWD accreditation required?

NABP states that “in some states, it may be necessary to possess NABP accreditation to obtain a license,” and tells applicants to contact each state for its requirements. The accreditation is therefore not a substitute for a state license: licensure in every jurisdiction served is itself an eligibility condition. For the wider licensing and track-and-trace picture, see the CASRAI entry on DSCSA compliance requirements for distributors.

Checking a distributor against the criteria

This is an editorial reading of the criteria categories above, not an NABP checklist. Each question maps to a category NABP names.

Question to put to a distributor	NABP criteria category it maps to
Which states are you licensed in, and are the licenses in good standing?	Licensure
When did your current accreditation start, given the 3-year term?	Program term (3 years; not a criteria category)
Can records be produced within two working days of a request?	Record Keeping
Who is your designated representative or facility manager?	Personnel
How are returned, damaged and outdated drugs handled?	Returned, Damaged, and Outdated Drugs

The same vetting logic applies to non-drug suppliers, where the relevant checks differ; see medical equipment suppliers: types, FDA registration and what to verify, medical supply wholesaler vs distributor vs manufacturer, and, for a different accrediting program, DMEPOS accreditation.

Common misunderstandings

• It is not an FDA program. NABP is the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. Eligibility requires the applicant to know each drug’s FDA approval status; the page does not say NABP approves products.
• It is not a state license. Active licenses in every jurisdiction served are a precondition, not an outcome.
• It does not last forever. The term is three years, so a distributor’s claim should be dated.
• It is not the only accreditor in healthcare. Other bodies accredit other things; for example HQAA is a separate organisation.

FAQ

What are the VAWD accreditation requirements?

Active distributor licenses in every jurisdiction served, at least 30 days of operation, a Supply Chain inspection within the past 12 months, knowledge of each prescription drug’s FDA approval status, and compliance with NABP’s criteria across eight categories (NABP, checked 2026-11-01).

What is NABP VAWD accreditation?

It is the accreditation NABP ran as Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributors in its 2018 materials and now presents as Drug Distributor Accreditation, a 3-year accreditation aimed at keeping counterfeit drugs and devices out of the US medical supply.

Does the criteria still require liability insurance?

No. NABP’s criteria page records a December 2025 update that removed the liability insurance requirement.

Sources

• NABP, Drug Distributor Accreditation, checked 2026-11-01.
• NABP, Drug Distributor Accreditation criteria (December 2025 revision shown), checked 2026-11-01.
• NABP news release, Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributors (VAWD) program, 2018, checked 2026-11-01.