You can carry prescription and over-the-counter medication on a flight out of the US, and liquid medicine is exempt from the usual carry-on liquids limit as long as you tell the TSA officer about it. The harder part is the other end of the trip: some drugs that are routine in the US, including Adderall and some cold medicines, are illegal or need a permit in countries such as Japan and the UAE. This guide covers both, using what the TSA, CDC, State Department and destination governments say.
This is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about your own medication and timing, and check with the embassy of every country you will visit or pass through.
Getting through TSA security
- Pills and solid medication can go in your carry-on in any reasonable amount once screened. You do not need to show them to the officer.
- Liquid medication over 3.4 ounces (100 mL) is allowed in carry-on bags in reasonable quantities for your trip. It does not need to go in your quart-size bag, but you must tell the officer at the start of screening. Expect extra screening, which may include being asked to open the container.
- Prescription bottles: the TSA does not require medicine to be in its original bottle, but some states have their own labeling laws, and you have to follow them.
Separate liquid medicine from your other liquids before you reach the belt so you can hand it over quickly. If you use injectable medicine, equipment or cooling packs, check the TSA's "What Can I Bring?" pages for that item before you pack.
Pack it in your carry-on, in the original container
The CDC and the State Department both say to keep medication in your hand luggage, not your checked bag, so it cannot be lost, delayed or stolen with your suitcase. If a bag does go missing, our lost baggage guide covers what to do, but medicine is not something you want to wait for.
The TSA may not need labels, but foreign customs officers might. The CDC advises keeping medication in its original, labeled containers and avoiding pill organizers, since loose pills are hard to identify. Make sure the name on the label matches your passport.
Bring enough for the whole trip plus several extra days in case you are delayed.
Bring a doctor's letter and prescription copies
The State Department recommends a letter from your doctor explaining your condition and listing every prescription medicine by its generic name, kept with the medicine. Brand names differ from country to country, so the generic name is what an officer abroad will recognize. The CDC adds that the letter should give the dose and the reason for each medicine. It also helps to have the letter on office letterhead with the doctor's contact details, and to carry copies of your prescriptions.
A letter is not a permit. For drugs that a country restricts, you may need advance approval from that government as well.
Medicines many countries restrict
The CDC lists the drug classes that most often cause trouble abroad:
- Stimulants for ADHD, such as amphetamine products (Adderall) and lisdexamfetamine, are illegal in some destinations. Methylphenidate is also restricted in many places.
- Opioid pain medicines, including codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, tramadol and morphine.
- Benzodiazepines and sleep aids, such as alprazolam, diazepam and lorazepam. Zolpidem, often taken for jet lag, needs permission in some countries and is banned in others.
- Pseudoephedrine, found in many cold and allergy products, is illegal in some countries.
Most countries also bar visitors from bringing more medicine than they have been prescribed for personal use. The CDC points travelers to the US embassy website for their destination and to the International Narcotics Control Board, which publishes country rules for travelers carrying controlled medicines. It notes that INCB information depends on what countries submit and may be out of date, so check more than one source.
Japan: some common US medicines are banned
Japan is the strictest major destination for American travelers. According to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and the US Embassy in Japan:
- Amphetamine is a controlled stimulant and cannot be brought in, even for treatment. That rules out Adderall. A valid US prescription does not change this, and the US Embassy warns that travelers carrying such medicine risk arrest and detention.
- Medicine containing more than 10% pseudoephedrine is classed as a stimulant raw material and cannot be brought in without advance permission from the MHLW. Check the ingredients of any cold or allergy medicine before you pack it.
- Ordinary prescription medicine for your own use can usually be brought in up to one month's supply without paperwork, if it is not a prohibited or specially controlled drug.
- Larger quantities need an import certificate (Yunyu Kakunin-sho), applied for online through the MHLW import confirmation system. Apply well before your trip and have the approval in hand before you fly.
- Narcotics and some psychotropic drugs follow separate rules and may need a permit from a regional MHLW bureau in advance.
There is no complete public list of banned medicines. If you are unsure about one, contact the MHLW before you travel, and talk to your doctor about an alternative if yours is prohibited. Planning a trip on a route such as Los Angeles to Tokyo? Sort this out before you book.
UAE: declare controlled medicines
The UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) says narcotic, psychotropic and other controlled medicines are not freely imported into the country. Its rules for travelers:
- You can apply online in advance for approval to bring narcotic and controlled medicines, up to a three-month supply. For other prescription-only medicines the limit is a six-month supply.
- You need a recent prescription and medical report showing your name, the medicine, dose, form and treatment length. MOHAP's service asks for documents issued within the last three months; check the current requirement when you apply.
- If you did not get approval in advance, you must declare controlled medicines on arrival and show the prescription and medical report.
- Guidance for passengers only changing planes, who do not leave the airport, has been reported differently, so carry the prescription and medical report and check with MOHAP if your medicine is controlled.
- Other prescribed medicines can generally be brought in normal personal quantities, though the UAE government notes that some need a permit.
That transit point matters for the many US travelers who connect through Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Asia and Africa. If you leave the airport on a layover, the arrival rules apply to you.
Time zones and dosing
Crossing several time zones can shift when your doses fall. Ask your health care provider before the trip when to take each medicine once you change time zones. This matters most for medicines taken at fixed intervals. Do not change the schedule on your own; ask your doctor or pharmacist before the trip, and write the plan down.
A simple habit helps: keep your watch or a second phone clock on home time for the flight, and set dose alarms in the zone your doctor told you to use. For sleep and jet lag in general, see our jet lag guide.
A checklist for the weeks before you fly
- Ask your doctor whether any of your medicines are restricted at your destination or connection, and about dose timing across time zones.
- Check the US embassy page and the destination government's rules for each country you enter, including layovers outside the airport.
- Apply for any permit or import certificate early, and carry the approval.
- Get a doctor's letter with generic names and doses, plus prescription copies.
- Pack medicine in your carry-on, in labeled original containers, with extra days of supply.
- Tell the TSA officer about liquid medicine at the start of screening.
Rules change and differ by medicine, so confirm with your doctor and the destination's embassy before every international trip.
