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Bringing medication into Thailand: what is allowed, restricted and banned (2026)

Thailand's answer depends on which of four tiers your medicine falls into, and the tiers do not follow the ones you know from home. Tramadol is uncontrolled here and controlled in Britain. Your decongestant is a scheduled psychotropic. Co-codamol needs a permit applied for two weeks before you fly.

Last verified: 7 September 2026. Every one of the 73 entries below was queried by generic name against the Thai FDA's traveller drug-checker that day, and the tool's verdict is printed on the row. 4 entries are marked “verify” because the checker's database held no such name.

The four answers

  • 7 have no route in. Narcotic category 1, 4 or 5 and psychotropic category 1 — Adderall, cannabis, kratom. The FDA issues no permit, so a prescription from home changes nothing.
  • 10 need a permit before you fly. Narcotic category II: the opioids, plus Vyvanse and Lomotil. Form IC-1, at least 15 days ahead.
  • 46 travel on a prescription. Up to 30 days' supply in labelled packaging, no permit — the benzodiazepines, Z-drugs, Ritalin, and everything unscheduled.
  • 10 are sold over the counter here. Usually cheaper at a Bangkok pharmacy than the suitcase space costs.

73 medications, matched against generic names, brands and drug class. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

The full table: 73 medications by status

Grouped by what you have to do about it, hardest first. Search by generic name rather than brand — the FDA's tool indexes generics, and so does this table.

Prohibited

No import route exists

7 entries

Narcotic category 1, 4 or 5, or psychotropic category 1. The FDA issues no permit for these, so a prescription from home changes nothing. Leave them at home and see a doctor in Thailand about an alternative.

  • Amphetamine (mixed amphetamine salts)

    ADHD stimulant

    Sold as Adderall, Adderall XR, Evekeo, Mydayis

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category 1
    Quantity
    None — the FDA issues no permit for this class
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 1 — import prohibited

    Thailand puts amphetamine in the same category as heroin and methamphetamine, and the permit system covers category 2 only — so there is no application to make and no document that helps. Ask your prescriber about switching to methylphenidate or lisdexamfetamine before the trip: both have a legal route in, and lisdexamfetamine is the closer swap.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Dextroamphetamine

    ADHD stimulant

    Sold as Dexedrine, Zenzedi, ProCentra, Dexamfetamine

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category 1
    Quantity
    None — the FDA issues no permit for this class
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 1 — import prohibited

    Checked under both spellings the FDA database holds (dextroamphetamine and dexamphetamine); both return category 1. Same answer as Adderall, same lack of a permit route.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Sibutramine

    Appetite suppressant

    Sold as Reductil, Meridia

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic category 1
    Quantity
    None — the FDA issues no permit for this class
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 1 — import prohibited

    Withdrawn from legitimate markets after 2010 for cardiovascular risk, but still turns up in grey-market slimming capsules bought online. Thailand treats it as psychotropic category 1, the prohibited tier — importing it is a drug offence, not a customs infraction.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Cannabis flower and THC products

    Cannabinoid

    Sold as Weed, Marijuana, Cannabis edibles, THC vape carts, Tetrahydrocannabinol

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category 5 (cannabis) / psychotropic category 1 (THC)
    Quantity
    None — the FDA issues no permit for this class
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 5 and Psychotropic Substance 1 — import prohibited

    Whatever the dispensary signs in Sukhumvit suggest, bringing cannabis or a THC product across the Thai border is a separate offence from buying it here — the checker returns the prohibited tier for both cannabis and tetrahydrocannabinol. That runs in both directions: taking any out at departure is treated as trafficking.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Medical cannabis on a foreign prescription

    Cannabinoid (prescribed)

    Sold as Sativex, Epidiolex, Bedrocan, Nabiximols, Medical marijuana card

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category 5 / psychotropic category 1
    Quantity
    None — the FDA issues no permit for this class
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 5 — import prohibited

    A prescription written outside Thailand carries no weight here — even for cannabis bought legally at home, and even for a patient whose condition is one Thai clinics also treat with cannabis. The domestic route is a Thai practitioner's PT33 prescription issued in Thailand, which is a different thing from carrying your own supply in.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Kratom (mitragynine)

    Herbal stimulant/opioid-receptor agonist

    Sold as Mitragyna speciosa, Krathom, Kratom powder, 4x100

    Thai classification
    Legal to buy in Thailand; narcotic category 5 for import
    Quantity
    None — the FDA issues no permit for this class
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 5 — import prohibited

    The split that catches people out: kratom came off the narcotics list in 2021 and adults buy leaves and tea legally from licensed Thai vendors, but the traveller checker still returns category 5 for bringing your own in — and taking any out needs a licence. Buy it here, use it here, leave it here.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • CBD oil and hemp extracts

    Cannabinoid (non-intoxicating)Verify before you rely on this

    Sold as CBD tincture, CBD gummies, Full-spectrum hemp oil, Cannabidiol

    Thai classification
    Unclear for travellers — cannabidiol is not in the checker's database
    Quantity
    None — the FDA issues no permit for this class
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    No entry for cannabidiol; cannabis and THC both return the prohibited tier

    The checker holds no record for cannabidiol itself, so there is no clean official answer for a CBD-only product. What is clear is that the plant it comes from and its intoxicating cousin are both in prohibited tiers, that most full-spectrum oils contain some THC, and that a border officer reads a label, not a certificate of analysis. We list it as prohibited because that is the safe reading, not because a rule says so in those words.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

Permit first

Approved permit, obtained before you fly

10 entries

Narcotic category II preparations. Apply on Form IC-1 through the FDA permit portal at least 15 days before departure; the approval comes back by email as certificate Form IC-2, which you carry with the medicine.

  • Lisdexamfetamine

    ADHD stimulant

    Sold as Vyvanse, Elvanse, Tyvense

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category II preparation
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage (the FDA's written guidance says up to 90)
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 2 — permit required
    What to carry
    • Form IC-1 application submitted online at least 15 days before departure
    • The approved Form IC-2 certificate, printed
    • The prescription from the doctor treating you
    • A certificate from a health authority in your departure country, where your country issues one
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    The result that surprises most ADHD travellers: lisdexamfetamine metabolises to dextroamphetamine, but Thailand classes the prodrug preparation as narcotic category II rather than category 1 — so unlike Adderall it has a permit route. Start the IC-1 application a month out; 15 days is the stated minimum and approval alone takes about 3 working days once the file is complete.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Codeine

    Opioid painkiller / cough suppressant

    Sold as Co-codamol, Tylenol #3, Panadeine, Solpadeine, Nurofen Plus, Codeine linctus

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category II preparation
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage (the FDA's written guidance says up to 90)
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 2 — permit required
    What to carry
    • Form IC-1 application submitted online at least 15 days before departure
    • The approved Form IC-2 certificate, printed
    • The prescription from the doctor treating you
    • A certificate from a health authority in your departure country, where your country issues one
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Combination packs count. The checker returns the same category for codeine on its own, codeine with paracetamol and codeine with ibuprofen — so a strip of co-codamol from a UK pharmacy needs the same permit as a bottle of morphine. This is the single most common way an ordinary traveller ends up on the wrong side of the rule.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Dihydrocodeine

    Opioid painkiller

    Sold as DF118 Forte, Paramol, Codydramol

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category II preparation
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage (the FDA's written guidance says up to 90)
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 2 — permit required
    What to carry
    • Form IC-1 application submitted online at least 15 days before departure
    • The approved Form IC-2 certificate, printed
    • The prescription from the doctor treating you
    • A certificate from a health authority in your departure country, where your country issues one
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Sold over the counter in a few countries in low-dose combinations, which is exactly why it travels unnoticed. Thailand puts it in the permit tier alongside codeine.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Oxycodone

    Opioid painkiller

    Sold as OxyContin, Percocet, Roxicodone, Targin, Endone

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category II preparation
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage (the FDA's written guidance says up to 90)
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 2 — permit required
    What to carry
    • Form IC-1 application submitted online at least 15 days before departure
    • The approved Form IC-2 certificate, printed
    • The prescription from the doctor treating you
    • A certificate from a health authority in your departure country, where your country issues one
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Combinations with paracetamol, aspirin, ibuprofen and naloxone are all in the FDA's controlled list under their own names, so a Percocet or Targin pack is in the permit tier too.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Morphine

    Opioid painkiller

    Sold as MS Contin, Oramorph, Sevredol, Zomorph

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category II preparation
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage (the FDA's written guidance says up to 90)
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 2 — permit required
    What to carry
    • Form IC-1 application submitted online at least 15 days before departure
    • The approved Form IC-2 certificate, printed
    • The prescription from the doctor treating you
    • A certificate from a health authority in your departure country, where your country issues one
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    The drug the traveller-permit system was built around, and the one the FDA's own worked example uses. Palliative and post-surgical patients travelling with a syringe driver or long-acting tablets should also carry a letter naming the dose and the reason.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Methadone

    Opioid substitution therapy

    Sold as Dolophine, Methadose, Physeptone

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category II preparation
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage (the FDA's written guidance says up to 90)
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 2 — permit required
    What to carry
    • Form IC-1 application submitted online at least 15 days before departure
    • The approved Form IC-2 certificate, printed
    • The prescription from the doctor treating you
    • A certificate from a health authority in your departure country, where your country issues one
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Take-home doses for a trip need the permit and the clinic letter, and the 30-day ceiling in the checker's text is a real constraint on a long stay. Thai opioid-substitution clinics exist but transferring a foreign prescription to one is not quick — plan it with your clinic months out, not weeks.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Hydrocodone

    Opioid painkiller

    Sold as Vicodin, Norco, Lortab, Hysingla

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category II preparation
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage (the FDA's written guidance says up to 90)
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 2 — permit required
    What to carry
    • Form IC-1 application submitted online at least 15 days before departure
    • The approved Form IC-2 certificate, printed
    • The prescription from the doctor treating you
    • A certificate from a health authority in your departure country, where your country issues one
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    The FDA's controlled list holds 21 separate hydrocodone combination entries, including the cough syrups that pair it with guaifenesin or an antihistamine. All of them sit in the permit tier.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Fentanyl

    Opioid painkiller

    Sold as Duragesic, Actiq, Abstral, Matrifen

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category II preparation
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage (the FDA's written guidance says up to 90)
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 2 — permit required
    What to carry
    • Form IC-1 application submitted online at least 15 days before departure
    • The approved Form IC-2 certificate, printed
    • The prescription from the doctor treating you
    • A certificate from a health authority in your departure country, where your country issues one
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Patches count as a supply: a box of seven 72-hour patches is a 21-day supply, so a longer trip runs into the ceiling fast. Carry the used-patch disposal instructions too, since a partly-used patch found loose is harder to explain than a sealed box.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Tapentadol

    Opioid painkiller

    Sold as Nucynta, Palexia

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category II preparation
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage (the FDA's written guidance says up to 90)
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 2 — permit required
    What to carry
    • Form IC-1 application submitted online at least 15 days before departure
    • The approved Form IC-2 certificate, printed
    • The prescription from the doctor treating you
    • A certificate from a health authority in your departure country, where your country issues one
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Often prescribed as the gentler alternative to oxycodone for chronic pain, and often assumed to be uncontrolled abroad. Thailand puts it in the permit tier.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Diphenoxylate

    Antidiarrhoeal

    Sold as Lomotil, Diphenoxylate + atropine

    Thai classification
    Narcotic category II preparation
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage (the FDA's written guidance says up to 90)
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Narcotics 2 — permit required
    What to carry
    • Form IC-1 application submitted online at least 15 days before departure
    • The approved Form IC-2 certificate, printed
    • The prescription from the doctor treating you
    • A certificate from a health authority in your departure country, where your country issues one
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    A travel-kit staple in some countries and a permit-tier narcotic here — the one entry on this list people pack precisely because they are going somewhere with unfamiliar food. Loperamide (Imodium) is the unscheduled alternative and is sold in every Thai pharmacy.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

Prescription + 30 days

A prescription and the original box, up to 30 days

46 entries

No permit needed for a supply of 30 days or less carried with a valid prescription or a letter from the prescribing doctor, in the original labelled packaging. Over 30 days, the same IC-1 permit applies.

  • Methylphenidate

    ADHD stimulant

    Sold as Ritalin, Concerta, Medikinet, Equasym, Daytrana, Metadate

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance (Psychotropic Substances Act B.E. 2559)
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    The ADHD medication with the cleanest route in: no permit for 30 days or less, just the prescription and the labelled box. It is also prescribed in Thailand, so a longer stay can be handled by a Bangkok psychiatrist rather than by carrying more — expect to bring your diagnosis paperwork to that appointment.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Alprazolam

    Benzodiazepine

    Sold as Xanax, Xanor, Niravam

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Thailand tightened alprazolam's domestic scheduling after a misuse wave, and it is not casually dispensed in Thai pharmacies the way some visitors expect. Bringing your own 30-day supply with the prescription is the straightforward path; buying it here is not.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Diazepam

    Benzodiazepine

    Sold as Valium, Diastat, Stesolid

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Flight-anxiety prescriptions are the common case: a strip of 10 tablets with the pharmacy label and the prescription is inside the rule. A loose handful in a pill organiser, without the box, is what turns a routine bag check awkward.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Clonazepam

    Benzodiazepine / anticonvulsant

    Sold as Klonopin, Rivotril

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Prescribed for seizures as often as for panic, and the epilepsy case is the one worth documenting: a doctor's letter naming the condition removes any question about why you are carrying a month of a controlled sedative.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Lorazepam

    Benzodiazepine

    Sold as Ativan, Temesta, Orfidal

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Same tier and same paperwork as diazepam. Keep it in hand luggage: a checked bag that goes missing takes a controlled prescription with it, and replacing one in Thailand means a local consultation.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Temazepam

    Benzodiazepine (hypnotic)

    Sold as Restoril, Normison

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Prescribed for the jet lag that a Europe-to-Bangkok flight creates rather than for the flight itself. The 30-day allowance is comfortably more than any trip needs.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Chlordiazepoxide

    Benzodiazepine

    Sold as Librium, Librax

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Librax pairs it with clidinium for gut spasm, and the FDA's controlled list holds that combination under its own name — so the antispasmodic version is in the same tier, not exempt.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Midazolam

    Benzodiazepine (sedative)

    Sold as Dormicum, Buccolam, Versed

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Mostly relevant as buccal midazolam carried as seizure rescue medication for a child. Carry the care plan alongside the prescription — it explains the syringes in the same bag.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Other benzodiazepines

    Benzodiazepine

    Sold as Nitrazepam, Bromazepam, Oxazepam, Triazolam, Clobazam, Mogadon, Lexotan, Halcion, Frisium

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Nitrazepam, bromazepam, oxazepam, triazolam and clobazam were each checked individually on 7 September 2026 and each returned the same allowable psychotropic tier — a 30-day supply with the prescription, no permit. If your benzodiazepine is not named anywhere on this page, check the name itself rather than assuming the class result carries over.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Zolpidem

    Z-drug hypnotic

    Sold as Ambien, Stilnox, Stilnoct, Edluar

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    The most-carried sleep prescription on the Bangkok run, and one that Thai pharmacies will not sell you over the counter despite what forum posts claim. Bring it with the prescription.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Zopiclone

    Z-drug hypnotic

    Sold as Imovane, Zimovane, Zileze

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Same tier as zolpidem, same paperwork. Eszopiclone and zaleplon return the same result.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Eszopiclone

    Z-drug hypnotic

    Sold as Lunesta, Fulsed

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Checked separately from zopiclone because the two are distinct entries in the FDA list; both come back allowable with a prescription.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Zaleplon

    Z-drug hypnotic

    Sold as Sonata, Starnoc

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Short-acting, so it is often prescribed for the middle-of-the-night waking that follows a long eastbound flight. Scheduled here like the other Z-drugs.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Phenobarbital

    Barbiturate anticonvulsant

    Sold as Luminal, Phenobarbitone, Gardenal

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Still a first-line epilepsy drug in much of the world. Allowable with the prescription; the phenobarbital-plus-phenytoin combination is a separate entry on the FDA list and lands in the same tier.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Ketamine

    Anaesthetic / dissociative antidepressant

    Sold as Ketalar, Ketanest, Spravato (esketamine)

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    The checker returns the allowable psychotropic tier, which surprises people who know ketamine as a club drug — recreational possession is prosecuted hard, with supply offences reaching long sentences. Treatment-resistant-depression patients on take-home esketamine should carry the clinic letter as well as the prescription, because the paperwork is what separates the two situations.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Buprenorphine

    Opioid substitution / painkiller

    Sold as Subutex, Suboxone, Temgesic, Butrans, Sublocade

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Classified as a psychotropic rather than a narcotic here, so unlike methadone it needs no permit for a 30-day supply — a meaningful difference for anyone on opioid substitution planning a trip. Buprenorphine with naloxone is a separate FDA list entry in the same tier.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Phentermine

    Appetite suppressant

    Sold as Adipex-P, Ionamin, Duromine, Qsymia

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Allowable with a prescription, unlike sibutramine, which is in the prohibited tier and still turns up in slimming capsules sold online. Amfepramone (diethylpropion) checks into the same allowable tier as phentermine.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Pseudoephedrine

    Decongestant

    Sold as Sudafed, Actifed, Claritin-D, Zyrtec-D, Aerinase

    Thai classification
    Psychotropic substance
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Psychotropic Substance 2 — allowed, 30 days
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    The everyday cold remedy on the controlled list. Thai pharmacies pulled it years ago over methamphetamine-precursor diversion, and the combinations sold abroad as Claritin-D or Zyrtec-D are separate entries in the same tier. Phenylephrine-based decongestants are unscheduled if you want a simpler pack.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Tramadol

    Opioid painkiller

    Sold as Ultram, Tramal, Zydol, Tramacet

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    The one that goes the other way from expectation: tramadol is a controlled drug in the UK, Australia and much of the Gulf, but Thailand's checker returns it as unscheduled, with the plain 30-day personal-use allowance and no permit. The tramadol-and-paracetamol combination returns the same. Bring the prescription anyway — the allowance is for prescribed use.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Modafinil

    Wakefulness-promoting agent

    Sold as Provigil, Modalert, Modvigil, Alertec, Armodafinil, Nuvigil

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Unscheduled here, unlike in Japan or the UAE where it triggers real trouble — worth knowing if Thailand is a stopover rather than the destination. Armodafinil is not in the checker's database under that name, so check the exact product if that is what you carry.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Gabapentin

    Anticonvulsant / neuropathic pain

    Sold as Neurontin, Gralise, Horizant

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    A Class C controlled drug in the UK since 2019 and unscheduled in Thailand — the reverse of what most people assume travels well.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Pregabalin

    Anticonvulsant / neuropathic pain

    Sold as Lyrica, Alzain, Axalid

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Same answer as gabapentin from the checker, and the same inversion: controlled in the UK and several Gulf states, unscheduled here. Thailand does have a domestic pregabalin misuse problem, so a prescription in the bag is the difference between a prescribed medicine and an unexplained box of capsules.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Atomoxetine

    ADHD non-stimulant

    Sold as Strattera

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    The simplest ADHD medication to travel with: unscheduled, no permit, 30-day allowance like any other prescription.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Guanfacine

    ADHD non-stimulant

    Sold as Intuniv, Tenex

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Unscheduled, and the usual choice for children whose stimulant is one of the prohibited entries above.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • SSRIs and SNRIs

    Antidepressant

    Sold as Sertraline, Zoloft, Fluoxetine, Prozac, Escitalopram, Lexapro, Citalopram, Venlafaxine, Effexor, Duloxetine, Cymbalta, Paroxetine

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Sertraline, fluoxetine, escitalopram, venlafaxine and duloxetine were each checked on 7 September 2026 and all returned unscheduled. Bupropion, mirtazapine, trazodone and amitriptyline return the same. Bring the labelled boxes; a longer stay is better solved by a Bangkok prescription than by carrying six months of tablets.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Antipsychotics

    Antipsychotic

    Sold as Quetiapine, Seroquel, Olanzapine, Zyprexa, Risperidone, Risperdal, Aripiprazole, Abilify

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Quetiapine, olanzapine, risperidone and aripiprazole each returned unscheduled. The confusing part is the label: 'psychotropic substance' is a legal category in Thai law, not a description of what a drug does, so a psychiatric medicine can sit outside it while a decongestant sits inside it.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Lithium

    Mood stabiliserVerify before you rely on this

    Sold as Priadel, Camcolit, Lithobid, Quilonum

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    No entry under 'lithium carbonate'; treated under the general 30-day rule
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    The checker's database returned nothing for lithium carbonate, which for an unscheduled medicine means it simply is not on the controlled list rather than that it is restricted. The practical issue is heat, not customs: lithium levels rise with dehydration, and Bangkok in April makes that easy — carry the prescription and know where a hospital lab is if you are staying long.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Insulin

    Diabetes medication

    Sold as Lantus, Humalog, NovoRapid, Tresiba, Levemir, Toujeo

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    No practical limit — bring the full trip supply plus a margin
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription or doctor's letter naming insulin and needles
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact
    • A cool bag; keep pens in hand luggage, never in the hold

    Unscheduled, so the paperwork exists for the needles rather than the drug — a letter naming the insulin and the injection equipment settles the question at security. Hold temperatures are unreliable and a frozen pen is a ruined pen, so pens travel in the cabin. Bangkok pharmacies stock the common analogues, which makes a lost bag recoverable.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • GLP-1 injectables

    Diabetes / weight-loss injectableVerify before you rely on this

    Sold as Ozempic, Wegovy, Semaglutide, Saxenda, Liraglutide, Mounjaro, Tirzepatide, Trulicity

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Liraglutide returns 'Others'; semaglutide and tirzepatide are not in the checker's database
    What to carry
    • Prescription or doctor's letter naming the pen and the needles
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact
    • A cool bag; pens stay in hand luggage

    Liraglutide checks out as unscheduled and the newer molecules are simply absent from the checker's list rather than restricted by it. The friction is the same as insulin: needles in the cabin, a letter that names them, and a fridge at the other end. Counterfeit semaglutide pens are a real problem in the region, so this is not a drug to top up from a shop that does not ask for a prescription.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Metformin

    Diabetes medication

    Sold as Glucophage, Glumetza, Fortamet

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Unscheduled, and stocked by every Thai pharmacy at a fraction of US prices — a lost supply is a minor inconvenience rather than a trip-ending one.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Testosterone

    Hormone therapy

    Sold as Testogel, Androgel, Sustanon, Nebido, Testosterone cypionate, Testosterone enanthate

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    'Testosterone and derivatives' returns 'Others'
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Unscheduled for import, which puts it in a different position from the US, where it is a Schedule III controlled substance. Carrying vials and needles without a prescription is the part that draws questions — the letter is what makes the kit legible.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Anabolic steroids

    Anabolic-androgenic steroid

    Sold as Nandrolone, Deca-Durabolin, Oxandrolone, Anavar, Stanozolol, Winstrol, Methyltestosterone

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Nandrolone, oxandrolone, stanozolol and methyltestosterone each return unscheduled — the reason Thailand has a reputation as an easy place to buy them. Unscheduled is not the same as unregulated: they are prescription medicines under the Drug Act, quantities beyond personal use read as commercial import, and taking them home runs into your own country's controlled-substance law, which is where most of the arrests actually happen.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Feminising HRT

    Gender-affirming / menopausal hormone therapy

    Sold as Estradiol, Estrogel, Progynova, Cyproterone acetate, Androcur, Spironolactone, Aldactone

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Estradiol, cyproterone and spironolactone each return unscheduled. Thailand is one of the easier places in Asia to continue this treatment — the medicines are widely stocked and gender-affirming care is routine in Bangkok private hospitals — so a lost supply is replaceable with a local consultation.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Menopausal HRT and progestogens

    Hormone therapy

    Sold as Norethisterone, Medroxyprogesterone, Provera, Utrogestan, Kliovance

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Norethisterone and medroxyprogesterone both return unscheduled. Norethisterone is also the tablet often prescribed to delay a period around a trip; the same rule covers it.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Human growth hormone

    Hormone

    Sold as Somatropin, Genotropin, Norditropin, Humatrope, Omnitrope

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription or doctor's letter naming the diagnosis
    • Original packaging; keep pens refrigerated and in hand luggage

    Somatropin returns unscheduled, so a prescribed deficiency treatment travels under the ordinary rule. The grey market around anti-ageing clinics is a separate story: counterfeit pens are common and an unlabelled vial invites the questions a prescription would have answered.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Epinephrine auto-injector

    Emergency allergy treatment

    Sold as EpiPen, Jext, Emerade, Anapen, Auvi-Q, Adrenaline

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    Bring two devices, as your allergy plan says
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    'Epinephrine' returns 'Others'
    What to carry
    • Prescription or allergy action plan naming the device
    • Original labelled carton
    • Both devices in hand luggage

    Unscheduled, and worth carrying two: replacement auto-injectors are not reliably stocked in Thai pharmacies, and a device left in a checked bag is a device you do not have. Thai food carries peanut, shellfish and fish sauce far more often than menus admit — a Thai-language allergy card does more for you here than the prescription does.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Naloxone

    Opioid overdose reversal

    Sold as Narcan, Nyxoid, Prenoxad

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Unscheduled on its own, which matters for anyone who carries a nasal spray alongside prescribed opioids. Combination products that pair it with oxycodone or buprenorphine follow the tier of the opioid, not of the naloxone.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • PrEP and HIV antiretrovirals

    Antiretroviral

    Sold as Truvada, Descovy, Tenofovir, Emtricitabine, Biktarvy, Dolutegravir

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    Bring the full trip supply — treatment interruption is the real risk
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Tenofovir and emtricitabine both return unscheduled, and there is no HIV-status entry requirement for a tourist visit. Thailand runs some of Asia's most established PrEP and antiretroviral services and Bangkok clinics dispense generics cheaply, so a lost supply is fixable here — but carry enough that you never have to test that.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Blood thinners

    Anticoagulant

    Sold as Warfarin, Coumadin, Apixaban, Eliquis, Rivaroxaban, Xarelto, Clopidogrel

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Warfarin, apixaban and rivaroxaban all return unscheduled. If you are on warfarin, the trip planning that matters is the INR check rather than customs — Bangkok private hospitals run walk-in anticoagulation clinics.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Blood pressure and heart medication

    Cardiovascular

    Sold as Amlodipine, Atenolol, Losartan, Bisoprolol, Ramipril, Atorvastatin

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Amlodipine, atenolol and losartan each return unscheduled, and all three are sold cheaply in Thai pharmacies. Heat and dehydration change how these feel: a beta blocker plus 35°C plus a day of walking is a common reason visitors end up light-headed.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Thyroid medication

    EndocrineVerify before you rely on this

    Sold as Levothyroxine, Synthroid, Euthyrox, Eltroxin, Carbimazole

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    No entry for levothyroxine; treated under the general 30-day rule
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Absent from the controlled list, which for an unscheduled medicine means no restriction rather than a gap in the rules. Levothyroxine degrades in heat, so a strip left in a hot room or a car loses potency — keep it with the rest of your medicines, out of the sun.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Asthma inhalers

    Respiratory

    Sold as Salbutamol, Ventolin, Albuterol, Symbicort, Seretide, Fostair

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    Bring the full trip supply plus a spare reliever
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    'Salbutamol' returns 'Others'
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Unscheduled. The reason to bring a spare is Bangkok's air: PM2.5 spikes between December and March push readings well past WHO guidance, and asthma that is stable at home is not always stable here. Our air-quality page tracks the live reading.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Malaria prophylaxis

    Antimalarial

    Sold as Malarone, Atovaquone-proguanil, Doxycycline, Mefloquine, Lariam

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    The full course, including the tail after you leave
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Atovaquone, proguanil, doxycycline and mefloquine all return unscheduled. Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and the main islands are not malaria-risk areas — prophylaxis is a border-province and forested-frontier question, so check where you are actually going before packing a course.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Scopolamine patches

    Antiemetic

    Sold as Transderm Scop, Kwells, Hyoscine hydrobromide, Scopoderm

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    'Hyoscine' returns 'Others'
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Prescription-only in most countries but unscheduled here. The use case is the Gulf of Thailand crossing to Koh Tao or Koh Phangan, which is rough enough between June and September that the ferry crew hand out bags.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Orlistat

    Weight-loss medication

    Sold as Xenical, Alli

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Unscheduled, unlike phentermine and sibutramine. Worth naming because slimming products sold informally in Thailand have repeatedly been found adulterated with sibutramine, which is in the prohibited tier at the top of this page.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Immunosuppressants and steroids

    Corticosteroid

    Sold as Prednisolone, Prednisone, Methylprednisolone, Medrol

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription, or a letter from the prescribing doctor
    • Original packaging with the pharmacy label intact

    Prednisolone, prednisone and methylprednisolone all return unscheduled. Carry a letter if you are on long-term steroids: it is the document a Thai emergency department will want if you need a stress dose.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

OTC here

On sale at any Thai pharmacy

10 entries

Unscheduled and available from Thai pharmacies without a prescription, which usually makes packing a big supply pointless — a Bangkok pharmacy will have it cheaper.

  • Melatonin

    Sleep aid

    Sold as Circadin, Slenyto, Melatonin gummies

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Original packaging

    Unscheduled for import. Thailand regulates it as a medicine rather than a supplement, so it sits behind the pharmacy counter instead of on the shelf next to the vitamins — ask the pharmacist rather than hunting for it in 7-Eleven.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Paracetamol and ibuprofen

    Analgesic

    Sold as Panadol, Tylenol, Nurofen, Advil, Sara

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    No restriction on a personal quantity
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic

    Sold in every 7-Eleven and pharmacy — a strip of Sara paracetamol runs about ฿10-15 in 2026. The only thing to watch is the combination pack: paracetamol with codeine is in the permit tier at the top of this page.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Common oral antibiotics

    Antibiotic

    Sold as Amoxicillin, Azithromycin, Ciprofloxacin, Doxycycline, Augmentin

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    30 days of prescribed usage
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Prescription if you have one
    • Original packaging

    Amoxicillin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin and doxycycline all return unscheduled, and Thai pharmacies dispense them without a prescription — which is why a standby course is rarely worth the suitcase space. It also means the pharmacy counter is not a substitute for a diagnosis.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Combined oral contraceptives

    Contraceptive

    Sold as Yasmin, Microgynon, Diane-35, Marvelon, Levonorgestrel

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    No restriction on a personal quantity
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Original packaging

    Levonorgestrel and ethinylestradiol both return unscheduled, and the pill is sold over the counter at Thai pharmacies for roughly ฿60-150 a month in 2026 — a fraction of what a prescription costs in the US. Bring your own brand if you react badly to switching; formulations differ.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Emergency contraception

    Contraceptive

    Sold as Postinor, Madonna, Plan B, ellaOne

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    No restriction on a personal quantity
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic
    What to carry
    • Original packaging

    Sold over the counter at Thai pharmacies without a prescription, usually as Postinor or Madonna, for around ฿50-100 a pack in 2026. Pharmacy opening hours are the practical constraint outside city centres, not the law.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Antihistamines

    Antihistamine

    Sold as Cetirizine, Zyrtec, Loratadine, Claritin, Fexofenadine, Telfast

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    No restriction on a personal quantity
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic

    Cetirizine and loratadine both return unscheduled and both are OTC here. The catch is the decongestant version: Zyrtec-D and Claritin-D add pseudoephedrine, which is a controlled psychotropic — buy the plain one, or bring the prescription.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Sedating OTC sleep aids

    Antihistamine sleep aid

    Sold as Diphenhydramine, Benadryl, Doxylamine, Nytol, Unisom

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    No restriction on a personal quantity
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    'Doxylamine' returns 'Others'; 'diphenhydramine' also appears in narcotic combination products
    What to carry
    • Original packaging

    Plain diphenhydramine and doxylamine are unscheduled. Diphenhydramine also shows up inside American hydrocodone cough syrups, and it is the opioid in those that puts them in the permit tier — the antihistamine on its own is not the problem.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Traveller's diarrhoea kit

    Gastrointestinal

    Sold as Loperamide, Imodium, Oral rehydration salts, Ondansetron, Zofran

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    No restriction on a personal quantity
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic

    Loperamide and ondansetron both return unscheduled, and both are stocked by Thai pharmacies. Pack this rather than Lomotil: diphenoxylate is chemically an opioid and sits in the permit tier above.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Nicotine replacement therapy

    Smoking cessation

    Sold as Nicorette, Nicotine patches, Nicotine gum, Nicotine lozenges

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    No restriction on a personal quantity
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    'Nicotine' returns 'Others'
    What to carry
    • Original packaging

    Patches, gum and lozenges are unscheduled and legal to bring. Vapes, pods, e-liquid and heated-tobacco devices are a completely different matter — banned outright, with fines reaching ฿30,000, and they are covered in the banned-items section below.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

  • Motion sickness tablets

    Antiemetic

    Sold as Dimenhydrinate, Dramamine, Cinnarizine, Stugeron

    Thai classification
    Not a narcotic or psychotropic under Thai law
    Quantity
    No restriction on a personal quantity
    FDA drug-checker result, 7 September 2026
    Others — not a narcotic or psychotropic

    Dimenhydrinate returns unscheduled and Thai pharmacies sell it cheaply. Buy it here on the way to the pier rather than carrying it from home.

    Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

The permit, step by step

This applies to every narcotic category II medicine, and to any psychotropic supply over 30 days. It is one online form and a two-week wait, and it is the difference between carrying a prescribed opioid and carrying an undeclared narcotic.

  1. 1.Check the exact generic name first

    Run your medication through the FDA's drug-checker before assuming anything. Close relatives land in different tiers — lisdexamfetamine needs a permit while amphetamine has no route at all, and buprenorphine needs no permit while methadone does. Search the generic name, not the brand.

  2. 2.Collect three documents

    The prescription from the doctor treating you; where your country issues one, a certificate from a health authority or government department confirming you may carry the medicine for personal use; and a copy of your passport photo page. Some countries have the treating physician complete the certificate and a health authority stamp it — the FDA accepts either route.

  3. 3.Apply on Form IC-1, at least 15 days before departure

    Submit the Application for Carry In (Form IC-1) through the FDA permit portal. The FDA states processing takes about 3 working days once the file is complete, but 15 days is the stated minimum lead time — and an incomplete application resets the clock, so build in more.

  4. 4.Print the Form IC-2 certificate that comes back

    The approval arrives by email as certificate Form IC-2. Print it and pack it with the medicine in your hand luggage, not in the hold — a permit in a checked bag is a permit you cannot show.

  5. 5.Have it out at customs, not buried in a bag

    For a psychotropic supply within the 30-day limit, the checker's own text says you may use the Green Channel if you have nothing else to declare, because the medicine counts as personal belongings. For anything you hold an IC-2 for, declare it: keep the permit, the prescription and the labelled box together and hand them over as one bundle.

  6. 6.Leaving again with the same medicine

    Taking a controlled medicine out of Thailand is a separate application — Form OC-1, Application for Carry Out, on the same portal. It matters if you get a Thai prescription filled here and fly on somewhere else.

Portal: permitfortraveler.fda.moph.go.th · the written rules: Thai FDA guidance for travellers under treatment.

Before you fly

  • Look up every generic name, not the brand. Close relatives land in different tiers: lisdexamfetamine needs a permit, amphetamine has no route; buprenorphine needs no permit, methadone does.
  • Check the combination products separately. Paracetamol is unscheduled; paracetamol with codeine is a category II narcotic. Loratadine is fine; loratadine with pseudoephedrine is a controlled psychotropic.
  • Keep everything in the original labelled box. A weekly pill organiser is the single most common problem: loose tablets with no pharmacy label are impossible for an officer to match to your prescription.
  • Carry the prescription, and a letter for anything unusual. A doctor's letter on letterhead naming the condition, the drug, the dose and the daily quantity answers the questions before they are asked — particularly for injectables, needles and controlled sedatives.
  • Count the days, not the boxes. The limit is 30 days of prescribed usage. Two tablets a day for a 45-day trip is 90 tablets and is over the line even though it is one box.
  • Medicines go in hand luggage. A permit in a checked bag is a permit you cannot show, and hold temperatures ruin insulin, GLP-1 pens and growth hormone.
  • Start the permit 15 days out at the latest. The FDA quotes about 3 working days to process a complete file, but an incomplete one restarts the clock.
  • Plan the way back too. Taking a controlled medicine out of Thailand — including one prescribed here — is a separate Form OC-1 application.

Travelling with a condition that needs treatment while you are here? Bangkok's private hospitals prescribe most of what is on this page, and the safety guide covers insurance and which hospitals take walk-ins.

Banned and restricted items for tourists

Medication is one line on a longer customs list. These 11 categories are the ones visitors actually get caught by — most of them things that are ordinary, legal and unremarkable at home.

The rest of what the border asks for — the TDAC arrival card, proof of funds, an onward ticket, the vape and drone rules — is on the entry requirements checklist, and the separate question of what is legal once you are inside the country is on cannabis & kratom laws.

Last verified: 7 September 2026. The baseline list of what may not cross the border at all, and what needs another agency's permit first, is the Customs Department's own prohibited and restricted goods page; each row below carries the source it was checked against.

Banned

No exceptions — leave it at home

4 categories

Vapes, e-cigarettes & heated tobacco (IQOS, glo, Ploom)

Complete ban on import, sale, possession and use since 2014 — and enforcement sharply intensified in 2026.

  • The Ministry of Commerce banned importing e-cigarettes in November 2014, and the Consumer Protection Board banned sale in 2015 (updated by a 2024 Committee on Safety of Products and Services decree). The ban covers devices, disposables, pods, e-liquid and heated-tobacco products like IQOS, glo and Ploom, not just "vapes" narrowly.
  • Penalties run up to ฿30,000 in fines, with import/possession-for-sale cases exposed to the Customs Act's far heavier penalties (years in prison) on top of the product-specific fine.
  • As of August 2026, r/Thailand and r/Bangkok logged 117 mentions of vape confiscations and fines across 104 threads — travellers report devices seized at both departure security abroad and Thai arrivals customs, plus street stops in nightlife areas.
  • Enforcement has escalated further since: the Royal Thai Police stood up a dedicated E-Cigarette Control Centre on 29 June 2026 and ran a nationwide crackdown from 1-15 July 2026, coordinating customs, the Consumer Protection Board and Ministry of Public Health.

Source: Royal Thai Embassy Stockholm: ban on electronic cigarettes · checked 7 September 2026

Sex toys

Verify before you rely on this

Classed as obscene objects — importing, selling or possessing them is a criminal offence.

  • "Pornographic materials" is one of five categories the Customs Department lists as prohibited from both import and export, alongside narcotics, counterfeit goods, fake currency and CITES wildlife. Thai practice reads sex toys into that category as obscene objects under Article 287 of the Criminal Code.
  • Reported penalties run to 3 years in prison, a ฿60,000 fine, or both — for possession and purchase, not only for selling.
  • The rule and the street do not match: these are sold openly in some tourist-area shops, and customs has separately seized thousands of units from postal and courier shipments, so mail-order is not the workaround it looks like.

Source: Thai Customs Department: prohibited goods · checked 7 September 2026

Cannabis & THC products

Legal to buy inside Thailand on a Thai prescription; still prohibited to carry across the border in either direction.

  • Checked on 7 September 2026, the Thai FDA's traveller drug-checker returns cannabis in narcotic category 5 and tetrahydrocannabinol in psychotropic category 1 — both are import-prohibited tiers for which the FDA issues no permit.
  • That is a different question from what you may buy here. Since 25 June 2025 cannabis is prescription-only domestically, on a Thai practitioner's PT33 prescription; a prescription written abroad does not qualify and does not help at the border.
  • Departing with any is treated as trafficking, airport transit included. Full history, penalties and what visitors can actually do is on the cannabis and kratom guide.

Full cannabis & kratom guide

Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

Kratom

Legal to buy and use in Thailand, prohibited to bring in — the two rules point opposite ways.

  • Kratom came off the narcotics list in 2021 and the Kratom Plant Act (2022) regulates it: adults buy leaves and tea from licensed vendors with no possession limit.
  • The traveller rule did not follow. Checked on 7 September 2026, the FDA drug-checker returns Mitragyna speciosa in narcotic category 5 — an import-prohibited tier with no permit route — and taking any out needs a licence.
  • Buy it here, use it here, leave it here. It is also banned or controlled in many home countries, which is where the more serious trouble usually starts.

Full cannabis & kratom guide

Source: Thai FDA traveller drug-checker · checked 7 September 2026

Permit first

Legal only with a registration, licence or permit

5 categories

Drones

Dual registration (CAAT + NBTC) is mandatory for any camera drone or one over 250g — no tourist exemption.

  • Both the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) require registration before you fly, and this applies to short-term visitors, not just residents.
  • You need a Thai SIM and an entry stamp to start the process; CAAT approval can take up to 14 days, and NBTC registration is due within 30 days of entering Thailand or buying a drone here — even if you never actually fly it.
  • Flying unregistered: up to ฿100,000 and 5 years in prison for the NBTC side, up to ฿40,000 and 1 year for the CAAT side. A Singaporean photographer was arrested and had his drone, controller and goggles confiscated for flying over Pattaya's Walking Street during a no-fly period in August 2025.

Source: Royal Thai Embassy Stockholm: drone registration for holiday visitors · checked 7 September 2026

Cash — declaring foreign currency and baht

Verify before you rely on this

Declare foreign currency over USD 20,000 (or equivalent); Thai baht over ฿50,000 leaving overland to non-bordering countries.

  • Thailand's official guidance sets the foreign-currency declaration threshold at an aggregate of USD 20,000 or equivalent, brought in or taken out — declare it on the FMC-1 currency declaration form at the Customs Department.
  • Some private guides cite a lower USD 15,000 Bank of Thailand reporting threshold for a related but separate exchange-control rule; if you're anywhere near either figure, declare rather than guess.
  • Separately, Thai baht taken overland is capped at ฿500,000 to a bordering country and ฿50,000 to anywhere else without separate authorisation.
  • Failing to declare, or declaring falsely, is a criminal offence, not just a fine — the cash itself can be seized.

Source: Royal Thai Government: bringing currency into or out of the Kingdom · checked 7 September 2026

Buddha images & religious antiques

Verify before you rely on this

Export permit required from the Fine Arts Department for images over ~12cm; genuine antiques may not leave at all.

  • A Fine Arts Department export permit is required for Buddha images and Buddhism-related statues above roughly 12cm — only full-body images qualify (heads, hands or feet alone are not exportable), and the limit is reportedly 5 pieces per person.
  • Genuine antique Buddha images can be treated as national heritage and refused an export permit outright, regardless of how or where you bought them.
  • Applying takes a passport copy and two front-view photos of the piece; officials inspect it before issuing the permit, typically over 3-5 working days — budget for this before your flight, not the morning of.

Source: Thai Customs Department: restricted goods (Fine Arts Department permit) · checked 7 September 2026

Counterfeit goods

Personal-use souvenirs are generally tolerated; anything in commercial quantity risks seizure and prosecution.

  • Importing or exporting counterfeit branded goods carries penalties up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to four times the goods' duty-paid value under the Customs Act, or up to ฿500,000 depending on the provision applied.
  • Brand owners can file a customs recordation with the Department of Intellectual Property, after which customs actively monitors and seizes suspected fakes at the border — seized goods are held and ultimately destroyed.
  • A reasonable personal quantity of souvenirs for your own use is generally allowed through; shipping multiples home, or carrying enough to suggest resale, is where enforcement kicks in.

Source: Thai Customs Department: prohibited goods · checked 7 September 2026

Satellite phones & radio equipment

NBTC licence required for satellite phones, ham radios and walkie-talkies — tourists rarely qualify.

  • Any satellite communication terminal, ham radio or two-way radio needs approval from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) under the Radiocommunications Act before it can be imported or used.
  • Short-term visitors are not automatically exempt and rarely have a route to the licence in the time available — unlicensed equipment can be seized at the border.

Source: Thai Customs Department: restricted goods (NBTC permit) · checked 7 September 2026

Within a limit

Allowed up to a duty-free limit

2 categories

Cigarettes & tobacco (duty-free allowance)

200 cigarettes OR 250g of other tobacco (cigars, pipe tobacco) — pick one, not both.

  • The Customs Department's own wording: "200 cigarette or cigar of 250 g each or 250 g of all these multiple types however, cigarettes are limited to no more than 200 pcs." The categories are not additive — 200 cigarettes and a box of cigars is over the line.
  • This is separate from the vape ban above: ordinary cigarettes are legal to bring and to buy in Thailand; e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco devices are not, whatever the tobacco allowance says.
  • Tobacco is also on Customs' restricted list, meaning the Excise Department is the agency behind the limit — going over is a duty and excise question, not a discretionary warning.

Source: Thai Customs Department: personal effects allowance · checked 7 September 2026

Alcohol (duty-free allowance)

1 litre per person aged 20+, including anything bought at duty-free.

  • The Customs Department states the allowance as "one litre of liquor" per person. It applies regardless of how many bottles or what proof — a single 1.5-litre bottle is already over.
  • Buying more at the airport duty-free shop does not create a second allowance; it counts toward the same litre.
  • Alcohol sits on Customs' restricted list under the Excise Department, so over-allowance bottles are assessed for duty rather than waved through.

Source: Thai Customs Department: personal effects allowance · checked 7 September 2026

Frequently asked questions

Can I bring Adderall into Thailand?

No. Thailand classes amphetamine and dextroamphetamine — Adderall's two active ingredients — as narcotic category 1, the tier that also holds heroin and methamphetamine, and the FDA's permit system covers category 2 only. There is no application to make and a prescription from home does not help. Lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse) is the closest alternative that does have a route in: it sits in narcotic category II, which means an approved permit before you fly. Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta) needs no permit at all for a 30-day supply. Verified against the Thai FDA drug-checker on 7 September 2026.

Do I need a permit to bring Xanax or Valium into Thailand?

No, provided you carry 30 days of prescribed usage or less. Alprazolam, diazepam, clonazepam, lorazepam, temazepam and the Z-drug sleep aids (zolpidem, zopiclone, eszopiclone, zaleplon) are psychotropic substances, and the FDA's rule for that class is a prescription or a letter from the prescribing doctor plus the original labelled packaging — no permit. The checker's own result text adds that with nothing else to declare you may use the Green Channel, because the medicine counts as personal belongings. Over 30 days, the permit process applies.

Is codeine legal to bring into Thailand?

Only with a permit approved before you travel. Codeine is a narcotic category II preparation, and the combination packs count the same: the FDA's controlled list holds codeine with paracetamol, codeine with ibuprofen and codeine with aspirin as separate entries in the same tier. That means a strip of co-codamol from a British pharmacy or a bottle of Tylenol #3 needs the same Form IC-1 application as morphine. It is the most common way an ordinary traveller ends up carrying a controlled narcotic without knowing it.

How do I apply for a Thai FDA medication permit?

Through the Narcotics Control Division's permit portal at permitfortraveler.fda.moph.go.th. Submit the Application for Carry In (Form IC-1) with your prescription, a copy of your passport photo page and — where your country issues one — a certificate from a health authority confirming you may carry the medicine for personal use. The FDA states processing takes about 3 working days once the file is complete, and asks for a minimum of 15 days' lead time. The approval comes back by email as certificate Form IC-2; print it and pack it with the medicine. Taking a controlled medicine back out is a separate application, Form OC-1.

How much medication can I bring into Thailand?

The two official sources disagree, so plan for the tighter one. The FDA's written traveller guidance allows up to a 90-day supply of a permitted narcotic and a 31-to-90-day psychotropic supply under permit. The FDA's own drug-checker caps every result at "not exceeding 30 days of prescribed usage", whatever the classification. Thirty days is the figure an officer reads back off the tool, so a longer stay is better handled by a Thai prescription than by a bigger suitcase — Bangkok private hospitals prescribe most of what is on this page.

Can I bring my vape or e-cigarette into Thailand?

No. Import has been banned since November 2014 and sale since 2015, and the ban covers devices, disposables, pods, e-liquid and heated-tobacco products such as IQOS, glo and Ploom — not only what people call a vape. Fines reach ฿30,000, with the Customs Act's heavier penalties available on top for import cases. Enforcement stepped up through 2026: the Royal Thai Police opened a dedicated E-Cigarette Control Centre on 29 June 2026 and ran a nationwide crackdown from 1 to 15 July 2026. Across August 2026, r/Thailand and r/Bangkok carried 117 mentions of vape confiscations and fines in 104 threads.

This is not legal or medical advice

We are a Bangkok directory, not a law firm or a clinic. This page records what the Thai FDA's traveller drug-checker and the Customs Department published on 7 September 2026, with the source printed on every row so you can check it yourself. Classifications change, tools carry gaps, and an officer's reading of your particular circumstances is the one that counts at the border.

Before you fly, run your own medicine through the FDA drug-checker and, for anything in the prohibited or permit tiers, confirm with the Thai FDA or your nearest Royal Thai Embassy. Talk to your prescriber about the trip too — for a medicine with no route in, the fix is a different prescription, and that takes time to settle.

Found something here that is out of date or wrong? Tell us on the contact page and we will re-check it against the source and correct it in the open.

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