Travelling with controlled medicines: when it will be taken and what paperwork you need

A medicine prescribed routinely in Britain can be a controlled drug at the border — and it will be taken off you if you cannot prove it is yours. Here is what is required of a passenger, and where the limits fall.

Where must the medicine be carried?

In hand luggage only. That is a direct requirement for medicine containing a controlled drug. Border staff may take it if you cannot prove it was prescribed to you.

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How much can you bring?

Up to three months' supply. Anything beyond that is taken. Medicine posted to you is taken as well — this category cannot be sent by post.

What paperwork should you carry?

A prescription or a letter from your doctor as proof. For people who are not UK residents the requirement is stricter: a signed letter from the prescriber giving your name, your travel dates to or from the UK, and a list of your medicines with amounts, doses and strengths.

How do you know if your medicine is controlled?

Ask your doctor or pharmacist before you travel. It is the kind of question that takes a minute and saves a journey.

What about the destination country's rules?

Check them with that country's embassy. UK rules may permit taking the medicine out, but that says nothing about whether it will be allowed in at the other end: controlled substance lists differ between countries.

What if you need more than three months' supply?

Two routes. Arrange a prescription from a UK doctor or pharmacist after you arrive — this may involve a cost, including for medicines not licensed in the UK. Or, in exceptional circumstances, apply for a personal licence to bring in more than three months' supply.

A separate case: Schedule 1 drugs

For Schedule 1 substances, contact the licensing unit before travelling. They require a licence, generally granted only for research or other special purposes, and a Schengen Certificate cannot be used for them.

Who do you contact?

The Drug and Firearms Licensing Unit: dflu.ie@homeoffice.gov.uk, or 0300 105 0248, Monday to Friday. UK residents prescribed medicine abroad contact the same unit.

Checklist before you travel

Ask whether the medicine is controlled. Check the destination country's rules through its embassy. Put it in hand luggage, not the hold. Carry a prescription or doctor's letter — and, if you are not a UK resident, a signed letter with the full list. Stay within three months' supply, and never post it.

Checked against GOV.UK on 27 October 2026.