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What is an NPN, and why does it matter on a supplement?
Johanan Thomas · September 15, 2026 · 1 min read
Last updated
Quick answer
An NPN, or Natural Product Number, is an eight-digit licence number Health Canada assigns to a natural health product after reviewing its ingredients, doses, claims, labelling and safety. Any supplement legally sold in Canada must display one on the label. You can look up any NPN for free in Health Canada's Licensed Natural Health Products Database to confirm the product is real and see exactly what was approved. Lilibear Ovarian & PMOS Support is licensed under NPN 80136308.
What the number means
Before a natural health product can be sold in Canada, the company has to submit its full formula, the amount of every medicinal ingredient, its intended use, the claims it wants to make, and supporting evidence. If Health Canada accepts the submission, the product receives an eight-digit Natural Product Number, or NPN. Homeopathic products get a DIN-HM instead.
Where to find it
The NPN is printed on the label, usually near the ingredient panel. You can then search it in Health Canada's Licensed Natural Health Products Database, which is free and public. The listing shows the licence holder, the approved medicinal ingredients with their amounts, and the approved claims.
That last point is the useful one. If a brand markets a claim that does not appear on its licence, the licence itself is the evidence.
What an NPN does not mean
An NPN is not a guarantee that a product will work for you, and it is not a clinical trial. It means the formula and its claims cleared a pre-market review against Health Canada's ingredient monographs and evidence standards. It also does not certify third-party purity testing, which is a separate thing a brand chooses to do.
Why it is worth checking
Supplements bought from outside Canada often carry no NPN, because they were never reviewed here. An unlicensed product may still be fine, but nobody has checked the dose, the claims or the warnings against Canadian requirements.
Our licence
Lilibear Ovarian & PMOS Support holds NPN 80136308. The approved formula provides 2,000 mg myo-inositol, 50 mg D-chiro-inositol, 100 mg CoQ10, 100 mg ashwagandha root, 400 mcg folate and 25 mcg vitamin D3 per daily dose.
Common questions
- How many digits is an NPN?
- Eight. It appears on the product label, usually beside the medicinal ingredients panel.
- How do I look up an NPN?
- Search it in Health Canada's Licensed Natural Health Products Database, which is free to use and shows the licence holder, approved ingredients and approved claims.
- Is a supplement without an NPN illegal in Canada?
- A natural health product sold in Canada is required to carry an NPN or a DIN-HM. Products imported for personal use from other countries often do not have one, because they were never reviewed here.
- Does an NPN mean the product is third-party tested?
- No. Licensing and independent lab testing are separate. A brand can hold an NPN and also choose to test each batch through an outside lab, but the licence itself does not prove that.
- What is the difference between an NPN and a DIN?
- A DIN is issued to a drug. An NPN is issued to a natural health product such as a vitamin, mineral or herbal supplement.
