Doctor's letter for travelling with medication — what it must say

Primary sources only. Where the official page disagrees with this one, it is right.

Why the brand name is the problem

Control lists are written in generic names. The UN narcotics and psychotropics lists, the UAE's controlled-substances list, Japan's stimulant schedules and Singapore's Misuse of Drugs Regulations all name substances, not products. An officer holding a letter that says “Adderall” is looking at a list that says “amphetamine”. A letter that names only the brand asks the officer to do the translation, and the officer is not obliged to do it in your favour.

Name the active ingredient in generic form, with the strength and the daily dose. That single habit resolves most of what goes wrong at a border with legitimate medicine.

The minimum the letter must state

The UK Home Office is the most explicit about this, and its four requirements are a good floor anywhere:

• your name
• the dates you are travelling
• a list of your medicine, including how much you have, the doses and the strength
• the signature of the person who prescribed it

What to add beyond the floor

• the generic (INN) name of each active ingredient, alongside the brand
• your date of birth and passport number, so the letter ties to the document you present
• the condition being treated, in one line
• the prescriber's licence or registration number, facility name and a contact number
• the total quantity carried and the number of days of treatment it covers — stating the arithmetic yourself stops the officer from doing it

Written on the prescriber's letterhead, dated, signed. An unsigned printout is a draft.

Template

Hand this to your doctor rather than asking them to compose one. Replace everything in square brackets.

[PRESCRIBER LETTERHEAD]

[Date]

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN — TRAVELLER CARRYING PRESCRIBED MEDICATION

Patient:        [Full name as printed in passport]
Date of birth:  [YYYY-MM-DD]
Passport no.:   [Number]
Travelling to:  [Country]   Dates: [YYYY-MM-DD] to [YYYY-MM-DD]

The above patient is under my care for [condition, one line]. The
medication listed below is prescribed for this patient's own
treatment and the quantity carried corresponds to the duration of
travel stated above.

  1. Brand name:        [Brand]
     Active ingredient: [Generic / INN name]
     Strength:          [e.g. 10 mg per tablet]
     Dose:              [e.g. 1 tablet twice daily]
     Quantity carried:  [e.g. 60 tablets = 30 days]

  2. [repeat per medicine]

This patient requires this medication for the duration of travel.
I can be contacted at the number below for verification.

[Prescriber name]
[Qualification]
[Licence / registration number]
[Facility name and address]
[Telephone]   [Email]

[Signature]

What the letter does not replace

A letter is not an import permit. Where a country requires prior approval, the letter is an attachment to that application, not an alternative to it — Japan, Singapore and the UAE each run their own process. And no letter makes a prohibited substance importable; for those the useful conversation is with your prescriber about an alternative that is legal where you are going.

Keep the original packaging

Singapore states the requirement plainly — each medicine in its original container, labelled with the patient’s name, the medication name and the quantity, applied by the dispensing pharmacy — and it is good practice everywhere. Decanting a trip's worth of tablets into an unlabelled organiser destroys the link between the medicine and the prescription. Carry the box as well as the organiser.

Three months is the recurring ceiling

The quantity limits are set independently by each country, but three of the strictest converge near the same figure: the UK allows up to three months' supply, Singapore three months’ supply, and the UAE for the period of stay or a maximum of three months’ use, whichever is less. It is not a universal rule and it is not a defence anywhere, but if you are packing more than three months of a controlled medicine you are outside what the strict jurisdictions contemplate, and that is worth knowing before you pack rather than after.

Sources

UK Government — travelling with controlled medicine, and what the prescriber’s letter must state
Health Sciences Authority — prescription or doctor’s letter and original labelled packaging
International Narcotics Control Board — Yellow List, narcotic drugs under international control
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — packing medicines for travel

Last checked 2 October 2026. Where the official pages above disagree with this one, they are right and we are out of date.

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