21 CFR Part 211 · Current Good Manufacturing Practice for Finished Pharmaceuticals

§ 211.204 Returned drug products

Subpart K - Returned and Salvaged Drug Products Official text on eCFR Amendment history

shall be identified as such and held. If the conditions under which returned drug products have been held, stored, or shipped before or during their return, or if the condition of the drug product, its container, carton, or labeling, as a result of storage or shipping, casts doubt on the safety, identity, strength, quality or purity of the drug product, the returned drug product shall be destroyed unless examination, testing, or other investigations prove the drug product meets appropriate standards of safety, identity, strength, quality, or purity. A drug product may be reprocessed provided the subsequent drug product meets appropriate standards, specifications, and characteristics. Records of returned drug products shall be maintained and shall include the name and label potency of the drug product dosage form, lot number (or control number or batch number), reason for the return, quantity returned, date of disposition, and ultimate disposition of the returned drug product. If the reason for a drug product being returned implicates associated batches, an appropriate investigation shall be conducted in accordance with the requirements of § 211.192 . Procedures for the holding, testing, and reprocessing of returned drug products shall be in writing and shall be followed.

Independent copy, not an official legal edition. 21 CFR is a U.S. Government work in the public domain; this text comes from the eCFR and the annual CFR edition, and may lag recent amendments. The authoritative version is on ecfr.gov. Compliome is not affiliated with or endorsed by FDA. Not legal advice.

What FDA inspectors cite under § 211.204

Form FDA 483 observations citing this section, fiscal years 2009–2026 (Drugs).

  • Returned drug procedures in writing and followed 60
  • Record information inclusions 13
  • Returned drug products identified and held 10
  • Returned drug products with doubt cast as to safety et. al. 9
  • Record information maintained 8
  • Reprocessed returned drug products 6

Warning letters citing § 211.204

1 FDA warning letters since 2017 cite this section :

FDA guidance that cites § 211.204

Amendment history

Federal Register documents that created or amended this section.