Pharmacy services can only be provided in pharmacies that have a valid activity license issued by the Estonian State Agency of Medicines. This also applies to their branch locations. Pharmacy services can be provided by qualified pharmacy professionals – pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
Different types of pharmacies may have certain restrictions based on their category.
You can find all pharmacies holding a corresponding activity licence in the National registry of activity licences.
There are different types of pharmacies in Estonia: general pharmacies, veterinary pharmacies and hospital pharmacies.
Types of pharmacies in Estonia
- A general pharmacy is an enterprise formed for the purpose of offering pharmacy services (as explained above). Its location must be marked with the word " Apteek " [pharmacy], accompanied with the name of the pharmacy.
- A veterinary pharmacy is an enterprise which also offers pharmacy services, but has the right to dispense only veterinary medicines. The location of a veterinary pharmacy must be marked with the word " Veterinaarapteek " [veterinary pharmacy].
- A hospital pharmacy is a structural unit of a hospital, which supplies medicines and other products for medical purposes to the hospital. They may also supply other hospitals, care homes, and ambulance services by agreement. Hospital pharmacies do not sell medicines directly to the public. You will mainly find hospital pharmacies in larger hospitals.
The structural unit of a pharmacy is a branch pharmacy. Branch pharmacies are often smaller and usually don’t prepare medicines at the pharmacy itself. A branch pharmacy of a general pharmacy may be located in a settlement that is not a city or a rural town having less than 4000 inhabitants.
Online pharmacies
In addition to regular pharmacy services, pharmacies holding a valid activity license are allowed to sell medicines online (distance selling of medicines). Only general or veterinary pharmacies with the appropriate license are permitted to offer online pharmacy services. There are no separate internet-only pharmacies in Estonia; distance selling of medicines can only be conducted as part of the license held by a general pharmacy.
Online-pharmacies in Estonia are allowed to sell medicines under following general conditions:
- The distance selling of medicines is only allowed through websites that display a compliant, internationally recognized logo, confirming that the online pharmacy is operating legally.
- You can buy from online pharmacies over-the-counter (OTC) medicines for human and veterinary use.
- Prescription medicines can only be sold online based on an electronic prescription recorded in the Estonian Prescriptions Centre. The sale of anabolic steroids, narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, blood and blood components, cells and tissues for medicinal use, and advanced therapy medicines is prohibited through online pharmacies in Estonia.
- When purchasing prescription medicine from an online pharmacy, identity verification is required using an ID card, Mobile-ID, bank link or another form of secure identification.
Online-pharmacies in a member state of the European Economic Area:
- The delivery of medicinal products ordered by way of distance selling is permitted from a pharmacy holding the respective right and having a place of business in a member state of the European Economic Area, except anabolic steroids, narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, blood and blood components, cells and tissues for medicinal use, and advanced therapy medicinal products.
When medicines are sold online to patients in Estonia, the products must be authorized for sale in Estonia. Medicines ordered online must be packaged with labels in Estonian and include information in Estonian about their ingredients, active substances, and instructions for use and storage.
Cross-border digital prescription
The cross-border digital-prescription is important for anyone who needs to buy prescription medicines while abroad. In Estonia, TEHIK takes care of the cross-border prescription service. This service works through the systems used by Estonian pharmacies and is available to all pharmacies that use these systems.
More detailed information about how the cross-border prescription service works can be found HERE.
You can find detailed information about which countries currently participate in cross-border data exchange HERE.
Estonian pharmacies also dispense prescription medicines based on paper prescriptions from other EU member states. This is possible if the prescription has enough necessary information, is clear to the pharmacist, and the medicine is available in the pharmacy.
Other pharmacy services
In Estonia, there are also some pharmacies that offer an automated dose dispensing (ADD) service. This means that individually packaged medications can be ordered for yourself as well for your family members. During the service, medications prescribed to the contractual patient are packaged in single-use packs with a specific marking and at a predetermined time, which constitutes a medication strip of a fixed duration agreed upon in advance.
Beyond traditional pharmacy services, pharmacies are expanding their role by offering a growing range of health-related services. In many pharmacies, for example, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels can be measured, and other health indicators assessed. It is also possible to get vaccinated against influenza, COVID-19, and tick-borne encephalitis at various pharmacy locations.
All citizens can return expired or otherwise unused medicines to pharmacies – every pharmacy is required to accept them. Pharmacies do not accept other items, such as empty medicine packages, syringes, dietary supplements, etc. The returned medicines are forwarded for proper disposal.
Estonian pharmacies can purchase medicines from wholesalers (who are authorized to conduct the wholesale of medicines) and also from other pharmacies. In Estonia holders of an activity license for the manufacturing of medicinal products or wholesale distributers of medicinal products have the right to engage in wholesale activities.
In addition pharmacies may buy veterinary medicines from wholesalers located in other EU Member States. Before doing so, pharmacies must ensure that the foreign wholesaler has the appropriate license and GDP certificate (available in the Eudra GMDP database), and comply with Estonia’s import and reporting requirements.
Last updated: 27.10.2025
