Primary sources only. Where the official page disagrees with this one, it is right.
Singapore's Health Sciences Authority requires prior approval for medicines containing controlled substances. The authoritative list is Appendix A of HSA's document guide for bringing in personal medications, which draws on the Second and Third Schedules to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations and the First Schedule to the Health Products (Therapeutic Products) Regulations 2016. Check your medicine against that appendix by active ingredient, not by brand name.
You may bring up to three months’ supply of a medicine that is neither controlled nor prohibited. That ceiling applies to the quantity you carry, not to the length of your trip.
The application form is at go.gov.sg/hsa-ptm. Submit it at least two weeks before you arrive, which HSA asks for so there is time to process it. An application filed from the departure lounge is not an application.
• A copy of a valid prescription, or a doctor's letter from your country of residence.
• Each medicine in its original container or packaging, labelled with the patient’s name, the medication name and the quantity, applied by the dispensing pharmacy.
The labelling requirement is the one travellers break without noticing: decanting a month of tablets into an unlabelled weekly organiser removes the only proof that the medicine is yours and was dispensed to you. Carry the original box even if you also carry an organiser. Our doctor's letter template covers the fields HSA and other authorities ask for.
Approval is a process for controlled medicines, not a workaround for prohibited ones. Cannabis derivatives are the clearest example — Singapore's ban covers them regardless of THC content, so no approval is available. The individual pages are more specific: Adderall · codeine · Ambien · CBD.
Health Sciences Authority — travelling with medication to Singapore
HSA — application form for bringing in personal medication
Last checked 2 October 2026. Where the official pages above disagree with this one, they are right and we are out of date.