Every pharmacy and drug shop in Uganda trades under the National Drug Policy and Authority Act. Most owners know they need a licence from the National Drug Authority (NDA). Fewer have read what the Act actually asks for, and the gap shows every time the NDA runs an enforcement operation. This post sets out the rules in the Act itself, so you can check your own shop against them before an inspector does.
Two kinds of licence
The Act separates a pharmacy from a drug shop.
A licensed person (section 14) runs a pharmacy. The NDA must be satisfied that the applicant is fit to carry on the business of mixing, compounding, preparing and supplying restricted drugs by retail, and that the business is carried on under the immediate supervision of a pharmacist in each set of premises. Where the owner is a company, at least one director must be a pharmacist resident in Uganda; in a partnership, at least one partner must be.
A licensed seller (section 15) runs what the trade calls a Class C drug shop. The applicant is a person other than a pharmacist, allowed to supply restricted drugs by retail other than Class A or Class B drugs. The NDA may only issue the licence if it is satisfied the area is not sufficiently served by existing facilities, and the licence may carry conditions. Both kinds of licence are valid for the period stated on them and can be revoked if the holder breaks the Act or a licence condition.
The premises need their own certificate
Section 16 says no one may supply restricted drugs from premises unless a general or limited certificate of suitability is in force for them. Under section 17 the NDA issues that certificate when the accommodation, fixtures, equipment and other physical attributes make the premises suitable. The owner must notify the NDA of any alteration to the premises, and if nothing changed in a calendar year, must still say so before the end of January of the following year. Few owners know about that January notice.
What unlicensed trading costs
Section 14(3) makes carrying on the business of a pharmacist without a licence an offence with a fine of up to UGX 1,000,000, imprisonment of up to five years, or both. The general penalty clause (section 60) adds that where no specific punishment is set, a person contravening the Act is liable to a fine of up to UGX 1,000,000, withdrawal of the licence or permit for up to five years, impounding or destruction of the items involved, or imprisonment of up to one year, and a subsequent offence raises the ceiling to UGX 2,000,000 or five years.
Those are the statutory figures. The practical cost is the stock. In September 2025 the NDA closed 82 outlets in Kassanda, Mubende, Kabarole and Mityana and seized more than 165 boxes of medicines valued at over UGX 150 million, according to the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. In February 2026 a week-long operation in the Teso sub-region closed more than 105 outlets and impounded 260 boxes worth about UGX 65 million, The Independent reported. Owners whose stock is impounded are invited to the regional office for guidance on formalising, but the shelves are empty in the meantime.
What the inspectors look for
The Independent's report on the Teso operation lists what a compliant outlet shows on the day: a valid licence, approved premises and a qualified person in charge, with the licence and that person's photograph visibly displayed. The same report notes that licensed Class C drug shops in the north-eastern region rose from 884 a year earlier to 1,010, which the NDA read as previously closed outlets coming back inside the law.
The UBC report on the western operation adds that, with the 2025 licensing cycle closing, the NDA said it would open the 2026 cycle in October and asked operators to prepare early. If your licence period ends with the calendar year, October is the month to gather documents, not December.
A short checklist for owners
- Know which licence you hold (section 14 pharmacy or section 15 licensed seller) and the conditions written on it.
- Keep the certificate of suitability for the premises current, and send the January notice even when nothing changed.
- Display the licence and the in-charge's photograph where customers and inspectors can see them.
- Keep purchase records, stock cards and the prescription and classified drugs books the Act requires (we cover those in a separate post).
- Diarise the opening of the next licensing cycle and the expiry date of each professional's practising licence.
None of this is new law. It is the same Act the NDA has enforced for years, and the owners who read it have a quieter inspection day than those who do not.
Sources
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